Influence of Cultural Practices on the Adoption of Sustainable Agriculture in Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya
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Date
2025-11
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
The global food security and human wellbeing is seriously threatened by the rise in the global human population and the challenges emanating from climate change. This situation could however be mitigated through the adoption of sustainable agriculture. This calls for the farmers to shift from conventional agricultural practices to agricultural systems that are; environmentally sound whereby issues such as conservation of natural resources are considered, economically viable where farmers are able to meet their financial needs from their agricultural enterprises, socially just where issues of social inclusion such as gender equality are ensured, culturally appropriate where cultural knowledge is leveraged on and based on a rounded scientific approaches that embraces agricultural innovations. The adoption process is however influenced by the culture of the concerned community where the beliefs, practices, norms and values of the community enhance or hamper the process. The objectives of this study was to establish; the extent of adoption of sustainable agriculture by the community in Mitheru division of Tharaka-Nithi County, the influence of cultural practices on willingness to embrace sustainable agricultural practices by this community and the social and economic challenges to the adoption of the sustainable agricultural practices. The study assumed a descriptive survey design where semi-structured questionnaires and interview schedules were used in collecting qualitative and quantitative data. Primary data was collected from the residents of the area and government officials while secondary data was collected from journals articles, reports of various organizations, conference papers and books. Data was organized using SPSS version 24 and descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were used to analyse the data. Relationship between the variables was established using chi-square and ANOVA tests while the Pearson correlation coefficient was used in establishing the strength of the relationship. From the study it was determined that 86.5% of the farmers in the area of study were familiar with the term sustainable agriculture but could not define its key pillars. It is therefore recommended that there was need for education programs for the farmers so as to create awareness and boost their understanding of sustainable agriculture. 49% of the farmers felt that the cultural practices of the community were a hindrance to the embracing of sustainable agriculture by the community. It was hence recommended that there should be creation of awareness to the farmers on the negative effects of some of the cultural practices on the adoption process so as to prevent them from sticking to them. On the other hand 35% of the farmers felt that some of the cultural practices promoted the adoption sustainable agriculture and should therefore be integrated in sustainable agriculture promotion initiatives. Culture was therefore both a barrier and an enabler to the adoption process. It was also found out that the adoption of sustainable agriculture was influenced by social-economic factors such as; lack of financial capacity, expensive farm inputs, inefficient markets and inadequate labour supply. The study hence recommended that there should be interventions such as; provision of access to financial resources, streamlining of the product markets, and boosting agricultural production through provision of affordable farm inputs to address these challenges. The study established that there was a link between the cultural practices of the community and the adoption of sustainable agriculture. This finding will guide the county and the national governments in the development of more effective policies on how culture can be integrated in the enhancement of the uptake of sustainable agriculture by the rural farmers.
Description
A Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Environmental Studies and Community Development in the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences of Kenyatta University, November 2025.
Supervisors
1. Njeru Zachary Njue
2. Dr. Peter Wangai