Abstract:
The aim of the study was to assess the impact of Irish potato growing on the welfare of farmers in Binyiny sub-county, Kween district, examining the benefits of Irish potato growing on the welfare of farmers, identifying the limitations facing Irish potato growers and finding out how to overcome the limitations facing farmers growing Irish potatoes and the research questions were derived from the objectives. The study covered all the five parishes in Binyiny sub-county.
The research included views from different other researchers on; level of Irish potato production, contributions of Irish potatoes on farmers‟ welfare, limitations facing Irish potato growers and the solutions to the limitations facing Irish potato growers.
The study population was about 34 Irish potato growers in Binyiny sub-county. A sample size of 31 respondents was adopted who contributed to the data obtained using purposive sampling technique. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Data was collected using questionnaire, observation and interview methods by the researcher.
The data collected was then analyzed in Microsoft excel and it was presented inform of tables and charts like pie charts and line graphs. The data presented were; the demographic characteristics of the respondents, limitations of Irish potato growing and the agricultural inputs used by farmers.
The findings revealed that there are clear benefits of Irish potato growing towards farmers’ welfare which included, provides employment to those working in the Irish potato plantations, source of food, source of income when potatoes are sold, provides revenue to the government through taxes levied on produced potatoes which is in turn used by the government to provide extension services to the people that's to say health services. This research also revealed that poor marketing channel was the most limitation hindering Irish potato growers.
