MJAMR

Water Security and Rural Livelihoods in Uganda. A Case Study of Lwengo District

Victor Mugabi, Alex Irumba


Abstract

This study examined the relationship between water security and livelihood of people within Malongo and Kyazanga Sub Counties, Lwengo District. The study objectives were to: (i) identify water security indicators; (ii) identify the main livelihoods; and (iii) establish the relationship between water security and livelihood. The study used SPSS v20 to extract descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis to answer earlier objectives. The study found a low water security. Over 43.94% revealed that had only well water as their main source of water while only 14.24% used tap water and 3.03%, boreholes. Averagely, 56.7% required over 2 hours before they could access a water source whereas it took over 51-6% less than <30 min to wait at the water source. Also, 39% of the households were also dissatisfied with quality and quantity of water due to the particles, colour, smell, taste, salinity in the water and fear of infections. The coping strategies were also low as all households had jerricans along with 83.6% that had clay pots as well. Tanks were posed by only 12.4%. Water treatment was also found to be low as over 48% relied on filtering rather than using chemicals and boiling water. In relation to livelihood, households were found to engage in on-farm activities as the key source of income and livelihood with 62% acknowledging. Yet 84% of the on-farm activities are on a small scale (<2 acres of agriculture cover). Livestock on the other hand was reported to be declining in most of the households. The study also found a significant positive relationship between water security and livelihood among households with 98.2% with a prediction of 40.6% towards sustainable livelihood within the area. This study recommended that the Government of Uganda should advocate for a policy approach that focuses on the inter-linkages and interdependencies between sectors in research.miu.ac.ug/publications 931 METROPOLITAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ISSN: 1813-4270 Vol. 2 Issue 5, August - 2023, Pages: 931-948 solving crosssectorial problems, promote appropriate technologies and initiatives like Rain Water Harvesting and Proper maintenance and development of water distribution facilities.

Keywords

water security and rural livelihoods
Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research

Cite This Article

Victor Mugabi & Alex Irumba (2023). Water Security and Rural Livelihoods in Uganda. A Case Study of Lwengo District. Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research, 2(8). https://journals.miu.ac.ug/pages/article.php?article_id=1359

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