RP-Department of Agribusiness Management and Trade (AMT)
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Browsing RP-Department of Agribusiness Management and Trade (AMT) by Subject "Agriculture"
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Item Experts' Opinion on Aging Kenyan Farm Managers: Impact on the Future of Agriculture(Tropentag, 2012-09) Nyairo, N.M.; Bett, E.K.Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya's economy contributing greatly to GDP and absolutely to food security. There is growing evidence of youth avoidance of participation in the agricultural sector evidenced by mass migration to urban areas. This study seeks to investigate these assertions and to suggest policy actions that may applied to reverse the trend. An agricultural experts' opinion on the future participation of youth in Kenya's agriculture are analysed in view of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and Kenya's Vision 2030. A cross-cutting agenda in both the MDG and the Kenya's Vision 2030 is ensuring greater food security, among other development priorities. The results from this qualitative analysis suggest that potential young farmers' «35) participation in agriculture is mainly threatened by the growing expectation of better opportunities in urban areas. As a remedy, the results suggest that relevant and quality agricultural programs, particularly tertiary agriculture education is likely to positively contribute to influence a change of attitude towards agriculture. Other factors however are evident from the analysis. First, most farm household heads are reluctant to hand over the farms to potential heirs. In effect, this discourages <35 potential farmers from developing interest in farming. Secondly, farming as an activity has not been well promoted as an enterprising activity attractive to young potential farmers. Therefore, it is evident that aggressive national programs need to be launched in order include the youth in agriculture for the year 2050 and beyond if the future of Kenya's agriculture will have to remain competitive.Item Pesticide Handling Practices by Vegetable Farmer in Kenya(Springer Science, 2012-11) Macharia, Ibrahim; Mithofer, D.; Waibel, H.Pesticide handling practices have a strong bearing on the exposure of toxic effects to target and nontarget organism. A clear understanding of determinants of pesticide handling practices is a precondition in the design and implementation of policy intervention. To accomplish this, a household survey of 425 respondents was conducted in 2008. Majority of the farmers (85 %) had inappropriately handled pesticides, mainly through, unsafe storage (23 %), unsafe disposal of leftover in either sprays solutions, or rinsate and empty pesticide containers (40 %), failure to wear the required minimum protective gear (68 %), or overdosed pesticides (27 %). However, majority of those farmers were aware of the risks of pesticide use, with over 81 % expressing the view that pesticides have harmful effects on human health, livestock, beneficial arthropods, and on water. Econometric models showed that pesticide handling practices were significantly influenced by variation in record keeping, main source advice on pesticide use, toxicity of pesticide, and geographical location. Pesticide risk perception and negative impacts experiences had no association with handling practices. The study recommends policymakers to design effective, participatory, and location targeted outreach programmes, which deal specifically on promotion of record keeping and reduction in use of harmful pesticides.