Identification of environmentally-sound options for agricultural resource management is necessary to obtain food security for smallhold farming communities in Uganda. Qualitative and quantitative appraisals were conducted in Bukoto county, Masaka district to assess the socioeconomic and biophysical status of the banana and coffee farming system. Three main hypotheses were tested: the banana-coffee system is relatively static; the farmers production and socioecological goals are constrained by socioeconomic and biophysical factors; and that the system consists of interacting components. In order to test these hypotheses a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was conducted, followed by a systematic land resource evaluation and structured household interviews . The study revealed significant changes in the system in terms of major activities, nature and status of resources and constraints encountered in pursuit of production goals. Although coffee is still an important cash crop and banana an important food crop, other income-generating activities (e.g. growing of beans, cassava and vegetables, brick-making, local retailing) have gained significant importance among farm households. In order of importance, coffee ranks first followed by beans and bananas, respectively. The notable loss in status by banana to the third position was attributed to several factors including nutrient depletion (ettaka likadiye), unreliable rainfall and increased infestation of pests and diseases. Over the years, low banana yields have been increasingly compensated by expansion of production area rather than unit productivity. There is a general consensus among the farmers that the soils are no longer productive due to continuous cultivation and soil erosion and this was confirmed by the notable decrement in soil quality. pH, CEC, P and K in top soil (0-20 cm) decreased from 5.1, 13.4 cmol kg-1, 9.7 mg kg-1 and 0.2 mg kg-1 to 4.7, 6.09 cmol kg-1, 1.38 mg kg-1 and 0.07 mg kg-1, respectively. The cause of continuous cultivation is a high population pressure that creates land fragmentation while soil erosion is attributed to persistent failure by farmers to adopt soil and water conservation practices. All the farmers visited were aware of the importance of soil and water conservation (mulching, contour bunds, diversion channels, soak pits and agroforestry) but were constrained by labour, time and insufficient supply of inputs (e.g., mulch materials). There must be soil fertility status improvement, erosion control, integrated pest management (IPM) and stabilisation of soil moisture status for sustainable agricultural productivity to meet the demands of the increasing population.