Uptake of technology and competitiveness of legume production in small scale farming in South Kivu, Democratic republic of Congo

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dc.contributor.authorFidele, Barhebwa Balangaliza
dc.date.accessioned2015-09-30T12:33:08Z
dc.date.available2015-09-30T12:33:08Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.descriptionA research thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements tor the degree of Master of Science in Agribusiness Management and Trade in School of Agriculture and Enterprise Development of Kenyatta University. SB 203 .C6B3, September 2014en_US
dc.descriptionSB 203 .C6B3
dc.description.abstractLegumes are considered vital for achieving food and nutritional security for both poor producers and consumers. Despite their importance in human nutrition and role in sustainability of agriculture systems, grain legume yields are low and unstable across seasons and environments with declining per capita availability, there is an immediate need to address their production. As in other parts of SS A, Legumes constitute a major part of the population', diet in Democratic Republic of Congo. Although there is evidence that DR Congo has adequate land for Iegume i reduction, the yields and adoption of new varieties of legume still remains low. The country has recorded an average yield of 0.2 to 0.5 ton ha-: Oy";' the y ars compared to potential of i .0-2.0 ton ha-I .This has necessitated Vill ;0'18 stakeholders such as (,IAT to be at the forefront in the promotion q( legume productivity ill" Eastern DR Congo through the N2Africa project, focusing on common beans and SOWl beans. However. the level 0f knowledge and degree of uptake of the technology disseminated by N2AfTic<l project, the profitability of legume p eduction compared to other principal crops available to smallholder farmers (cassava. sweet potato and maize), factors that influence uptake and had not been assessed in Eastern DR Congo. Therefore, this study investigated the competitiveness of legumes compared to other principal crops to bridge the existing knowledge gap. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire from a randomly selected sample of 291 farmers in Eastern DR Congo: Kabare, Kalehe, Mwenga and Walungu territories. !\ combination of descriptive and inferential statistics was used 0 determine the level of knowledge and the degree of uptake of the technology disseminated by N2AfTica project. Gross margin and Tobit models were used for analysis of the profitability of various crop enterprises and the factors influencing the uptake of the technology disseminated by N2Africa project. The results of the study showed that the technology knowledge level was high in spacing (76%) and improved seeds (73%) aspects but was low in fertilizer (32%) and rhizobium (30%) aspects. The degree of uptake was high in' spacing and improved seeds aspects but was moderate in rhizobium whereas fertilizer uptake was low. The study found that legume farming experience, gender, head of household, total farm size, farmer group membership and profitability of beans significantly influenced the uptake of technology disseminated by N2AfTica project. In addition, the study found out that common bean had the highest profitability compared to other principal crop enterprises in Eastern DR Congo. It is recommended that policy makers in DR Congo should focus on pioneering effective institutional structures that would enable establishment of e 'tension services systems to promote uptake of farming technologies. It is also recommended that as much as legume production is being promoted, the government and NGOs should work towards emphasizing on the importance of farm enterprise suitability mapping. Finally, facilitation by agricultural sector stakeholders should be rendered towards forming services oriented farmer groups to enhance uptake of technology disseminated by N2Africa projecten_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/13719
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherKenyatta Universityen_US
dc.titleUptake of technology and competitiveness of legume production in small scale farming in South Kivu, Democratic republic of Congoen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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