For countries where the agricultural sector supports a majority of the population as in Uganda, the link between poverty and land degradation is of great significance. Soil and water conservation technologies are a recommended means of reducing degradation rates. However, ex-ante and ex-post analyses of the impact of these technologies remain few.

Cultivation of drought-tolerant (DT) maize seed reduces drought risk in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from eastern Uganda reveal gender gaps in awareness and adoption of DT maize. Among surveyed male household heads, 67.6 percent had awareness of DT maize varieties and 29.2 percent grew them. Corresponding figures for female household heads were 43.3 percent (awareness) and 5.3 percent (adoption) and those for wives in spousal couple households were 51.0 percent and 11.1 percent. Propensity score matching (PSM) found that awareness of the technology has a decisive role in DT maize adoption.

Using a dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model of Uganda, we simulate the effects of water shortages and their impact on agricultural production and the broader Ugandan economy. It is expected that Ugandan crop production will be hit hard over the next forty years by increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation associated with climate change. We use forecasts from the literature for ten specific crop outputs to simulate the effects of weather-related agricultural disruption on the rest of the economy.