Adoption Intensity of Selected Organic-Based Soil Fertility Management Technologies in the Central Highlands of Kenya

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMwaura, George G.
dc.contributor.authorKiboi, Milka N.
dc.contributor.authorBett, Eric K.
dc.contributor.authorMugwe, Jayne N.
dc.contributor.authorMuriuki, Anne
dc.contributor.authorNicolay, Gian
dc.contributor.authorNgetich, Felix K.
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-06T13:02:20Z
dc.date.available2021-10-06T13:02:20Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.descriptionA research article published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systemsen_US
dc.description.abstractSoil fertility decline continues to be a major challenge limiting agricultural productivity globally. Despite the novelty of organic-based technologies in enhancing agricultural production in Kenya’s central highlands, adoption is low. Therefore, we carried out a cross-sectional household survey of 300 randomly selected smallholder farmers to determine the specific organic-based practices by farmers; and the socioeconomic factors that influence the adoption intensity of selected organic-based technologies. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the data and the Tobit regression model to evaluate the socioeconomic determinants of adoption intensity of selected organic-based technologies. We identified nine organic-based technologies that had different adoption rates among the farmers. The majority of the farmers had adopted manure (97%) and manure combined with fertilizer (92%) in Murang’a and Tharaka-Nithi, respectively. Manure was applied to the largest land in Murang’a with 31% of the cultivated land. In comparison, manure combined with fertilizer had the highest adoption intensity in Tharaka-Nithi applied to about 25% of the cultivated land. Gender, age of the household head, level of education, household size, access to external labor, training, Tropical Livestock Unit, agriculture group membership, access to credit, land cultivated, and farming experience influenced the adoption intensity of organic-based technologies among smallholder farmers. Based on the smallholder farmers’ adoption behavior, this study can be used to disaggregate the farming households better in order to tailor specific organic-based soil fertility technologies solutions that meet their unique needs. One group would be those households that face specific constraints, as reflected in their low adoption rates, women-headed households and older farmers, and thus require more targeted / intensive efforts to overcome these barriers. The other group would be those households that require less focus because, when confronted with the technologies, they are more likely to adopt them easily, for example, the male-headed households. Hence, the smallholder farmers’ adoption behavior, can enable policymakers to form a base for designing appropriate policies that encourage the adoption of organic-based soil fertility technology by smallholder farmers.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMwaura GG, Kiboi MN, Bett EK, Mugwe JN, Muriuki A, Nicolay G and Ngetich FK (2021) Adoption Intensity of Selected Organic-Based Soil Fertility Management Technologies in the Central Highlands of Kenya. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 4:570190. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.570190en_US
dc.identifier.issn2571-581X
dc.identifier.otherDOI=10.3389/fsufs.2020.570190
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fsufs.2020.570190
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/22742
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherFrontiersen_US
dc.subjectSocioeconomic determinantsen_US
dc.subjectOrganic inputsen_US
dc.subjectSmallholder farmersen_US
dc.subjectSub-Saharan Africaen_US
dc.subjectManureen_US
dc.subjectTropical livestock uniten_US
dc.titleAdoption Intensity of Selected Organic-Based Soil Fertility Management Technologies in the Central Highlands of Kenyaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Adoption Intensity of Selected Organic-Based Soil.pdf
Size:
637.71 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Full text article
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
RP-Department of Agricultural Resources Management (ARM)