Analysis of Institutional Bias as a Barrier to Indigenous Knowledge Climate Adaptation Methods: A Case Study of NAADS and Smallholder Farmers in Bukedi Sub-Region, Eastern Uganda

Abstract

Background: Climate change poses existential threats to smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, with Eastern Uganda experiencing increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, and crop failures. Indigenous knowledge (IK) offers locally adapted, cost-effective climate adaptation strategies, yet institutional frameworks, particularly the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), systematically marginalize these methods. Objective: This study analyzes how institutional bias within NAADS creates barriers to the adoption of proven IK climate adaptation methods among smallholder farmers in the Bukedi sub-region, Eastern Uganda. Methods: A qualitative case study design was employed, utilizing 30 in-depth interviews (18 women, 12 men), 10 focus group discussions stratified by age and gender (80 participants), and six weeks of participant observation. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis guided by critical realism, with abductive and retroductive reasoning applied to identify institutional mechanisms generating bias. Results: The findings reveal systematic institutional bias operating at three levels: policy (national agricultural policy mentions IK but provides no operational framework); institutional implementation (NAADS extension agents, trained in curricula that exclude IK, dismiss traditional practices); and stakeholder interests (the system benefits input suppliers, agribusiness, and extension agents oriented toward commercial agriculture). Farmers reported that NAADS agents: (1) actively discouraged IK practices (78% of respondents), (2) failed to provide climate information relevant to local conditions (83%), and (3) promoted expensive external inputs farmers could not afford (92%). This institutional bias has resulted in the erosion of 11 documented weather forecasting indicators, with youth retention dropping to 40% of elder knowledge. Conclusion: Institutional bias within NAADS constitutes a significant barrier to climate adaptation, perpetuating dependency on external inputs while eroding locally validated knowledge. Addressing this requires: (1) curriculum reform to integrate IK into extension training; (2) institutional restructuring to create accountability mechanisms for IK integration; (3) participatory extension models that value farmer knowledge; and (4) policy reform to operationalize IK in climate adaptation strategies.