Search

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is an important indigenous multi-purpose crop grown in arid and semiarid areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The cowpea has nutritional and economic value, especially for smallholder farmers in dry lands. However, poor farming practices have declined cowpea productivity over the years. Low soil nutrient replenishment exacerbates the situation, leading to low soil fertility. Uptake of regenerative agriculture (RA) technologies is critical to building more resilient ecosystems that improve soil fertility and agricultural productivity while mitigating climate change effects. This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of the uptake of RA technologies on the productivity of cowpea in the dry lands of Embu County, Kenya. A survey involving 400 farming households was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and a stochastic log-linearized Cobb-Douglas production function were used for the data analysis. The study results showed that RA technologies commonly used by farming households were: cereal-legume intercrop, mulching, minimum tillage, crop rotations, pasture cropping, organic agriculture, and compost manure. The findings also revealed that inputs, farm size, labour cost, and used manure amount positively influenced cowpea productivity. The results also showed that cereal-legume intercrop, crop rotations, pasture cropping, and organic agriculture significantly influenced cowpea productivity, while minimum tillage showed a negative relationship. Therefore, the current study's results recommend that the uptake of RA technologies should be scaled to scale up cowpea productivity in dry lands. The study contributes to determining appropriate technologies for cowpea production in arid and semiarid areas. These results will help the government, policymakers, and other inventors to make the right decisions while disseminating or introducing innovations in dry areas.

Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is adversely affected by climate variability and change due to the dependence of its economies and livelihoods primarily on rain-fed agriculture. Agro-advisories boost informed decision-making as well as planning of farm activities. The purpose of this study was to characterize the pathways through which farmers receive usable location-specific agro-advisories as well as to evaluate the effect of the socio-economic environment in the access to such information. Data was collected from 400 randomly selected households in lower eastern Kenya in a cross-sectional survey. Multivariate probit regression was used to determine the factors influencing the choice of pathways used in accessing climate change adaptation information. Household socio-economic characteristics that were found to be significant in explaining access to disseminated agro-advisories include phone and radio ownership, level of education, marital status, and farm size among others. Based on these findings a conclusion is made that the socio-economic environment within which information is disseminated is vital in determining those who access information and probably act on it. Additionally, pathways found to be complementary or substitutable give information providers new insights on the channels to use in information dissemination. The study recommends that these factors be considered in efforts geared towards promoting agro-advisory preparation and dissemination to improve adaptation to climate variability and change in dryland areas.

The study examined the adoption determinants of adapted climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies among smallholder farmers. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select a total sample of 384 households. Percentages and regression were employed in data analysis. The results revealed that 47.4% adapted to climate change using integrated farming system, intercropping, crop rotation and agroforestry. Sex (0.9%), education level (9.2%) significantly influenced adoption of the adaptation strategies. Moreover, information sources such as mobile phones (0.9%), and neighbors/friends (0.2%) negatively affected the adaptation strategies. Future policy should aim at creating more awareness through different information sources and provide local extension services. Keywords: Adaptation, smallholder farmers

This study ascertained the socioeconomic determinants of farmers’ knowledge on soil and water conservation technologies in Dry zones of Central Highlands of Kenya involving 400 farming households. Results showed that the majority of the farmers had inadequate knowledge on the use and benefits of soil and water conservation technologies. The socio-economic factors that influence knowledge levels of the knowledge-intensive technologies were education level, gender, perceptions on soil fertility, farmer group membership, access to training, farm size, access to credit, number of livestock kept and access to farm equipment. This implies that there is the need to come up with an all-inclusive policy that can be employed in improving farmer’s level of knowledge through the use of more innovative methods of information dissemination. This can be done by strengthening the existing farmer groups, enhancing extension services, and also formulating gender-friendly policies.

Integrated soil fertility and soil water conservation technologies are possible solutions to the low per capita food production in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Nonetheless, the rate of adoption of these technologies by smallholder farmers has stagnated over the years despite being recommended. This has been attributed to the existence of wide communication gaps among researchers, extension agents, and farmers. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the influence of communication factors on the adoption of the selected technologies among smallholder farmers in the drylands of Tharaka-Nithi County. We used a cross-sectional survey design and collected data using an interview schedule from 400 randomly selected farming households. Binary logistic regression was employed for data analysis. Results showed that accessibility of extension agents after introducing the technology significantly influenced the adoption of combined organic and inorganic fertilizers (p = 0.056), mulch (p = 0.051), and Zai pit (p = 0.058). Similarly, practical orientation significantly influenced the adoption of combined organic and inorganic fertilizers (p = 0.001), mulch (p = 0.010), and Zai pit (p = 0.003). Information repetition significantly influenced the adoption of combined organic and inorganic fertilizers, mulch, and Zai pit at p-value 0.003, 0.001, and 0.001, respectively. Training was essential for mulch and Zai pit technologies at (p = 0.030) and (p = 0.001) respectively, while farmer group membership significantly influenced adoption for combined organic and inorganic fertilizers (p = 0.045) and Zai pit (p = 0.057) technologies. Extension agents should increase their interactions with farmers after the introduction of technologies. Equally use of demonstrations should be encouraged during the dissemination of these technologies among the farmers as they enhance the chances of adoption of the technologies., Communication factors, Adoption, Integrated soil fertility management, Soil water conservation technologies.

This work covers the dissemination of climate change adaptation information in arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya with the aim of improving the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers through dissemination of well package technologies referred to as agro-advisories.

Degraded landscapes and soil water stress are long-standing problems to smallholder agriculture in the drylands. Despite the important roles of zai technology in restoring degraded landscapes and improving agricultural productivity, the technology is yet to be adopted to its fullest extent. This can be attributed to gender-linked disparities in agricultural technology utilization. The study, therefore, sought to determine gender-specific determinants of zai technology choice and use-intensity. A multistage sampling technique was employed in randomly selecting 133 female-headed households and 267 male-headed households in Tharaka South sub-county. Quantitative data were collected in a cross-sectional survey using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Using sex-disaggregated data, Chi-square and t-test statistic were employed to test the statistical significance of dummy and mean value of continuous variables, respectively. Gender specific determinants of zai technology choice and use-intensity were determined using the Heckman-two-step econometric model. The results revealed that, more women farmers (44%) were using zai technology as compared to men (38%). Among women farmers, total cultivated land, access to animal-drawn farm implements, and group membership had an influence on zai technology choice. For men, total cultivated land, group membership and access to extension services positively influenced choice of zai technology. With regard to zai technology use-intensity, total land cultivated, livestock densities, group membership and frequency of trainings on soil and water management were important determinants among women farmers. For men, zai technology use-intensity was determined by total cultivated land and farmers’ perceptions on soil erosion. We recommend that, gender-sensitive farm-level policies oriented towards farmer socioeconomic profiles are important deliberations towards choice and intense application of soil and water conservation strategies such as the zai technology., Male-headed households, Female-headed households, Choice, Heckman-two-step selection model.