Assessment of rangeland degradation and the economic benefits of rangeland rehabilitation interventions in Uganda’s cattle corridor

Abstract

Rangeland degradation in Central and South-western rangelands of Uganda is a major constraint to sustainable and long-term productivity of livestock. The conversion of grasslands into other land uses/cover types including bare lands is the most significant form of rangeland degradation that requires action. This study determined the dynamics and magnitude of degradation and evaluated the economic benefits of rehabilitation interventions. Satellite images from 1990 to 2020 were used to determine the area that underwent degradation, the changing land uses and cover types. Four rehabilitation interventions namely reseeding, night kraaling and reseeding, bush clearing and over sowing, and night kraaling were evaluated on 60 farms together with two farmers’ practices that resulted into highest and lowest biomass. The total costs involved in the implementation of the interventions and benefits obtained were assessed. Cost benefit ratios (CBR) and net incomes were obtained for each of the interventions and used for comparison among the interventions and farmers’ practices. There were conspicuous changes in the magnitude and patterns of land use/cover with significant (82%) losses of forest and grassland (57%) cover between 1990 and 2020. These were transformed into bare land, cropland, and settlements. All the four rehabilitation interventions increased pasture biomass but had varying CBR in the short, medium and long term, with reseeding having a lower CBR within the first year of intervention (short term) while others break through at medium (5 years) and long (10 years) term. 

Keywords: Cost benefit analysis, land cover change, magnitude and dynamics, net income, pasture, Uganda