Factors Influencing Choice and Adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management Technologies in Central Kenya Highlands
Date
2007Author
Mureithi, B.M
Kimani, S.K
Odera, M.M
Mwangi, E.M
Gachanja, E
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The paper presents the findings of a study conducted to determine farmers’ perceptions of some of soil fertility
management-specific attributes and influence on adoption decisions. The specific objectives were: (i) to determine
the relationship between perceptions and choice of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM), and (ii) to evaluate
the perceptions among farmers for specific attributes inherent in some of ISFM strategies
Mother trials were established in a centralized place in Mukanduini Village of Central division of Kirinyaga
district and Kariti in Kandara, Maragua district during the long rains of the year 2003. Fourteen ISFM strategies
were established in the two seasons wherein the farmers were exposed to the fourteen strategies in a participatory
manner. It was anticipated that after the initial exposure to the technologies, the farmers would be encouraged to
replicate the same on their farms within the constraints of resource endowment and preference considerations.
The results of the project activities revealed the following: (i) Majority (70.2%) of the willing participants were
predominantly male (ii) Majority (52.6%) of the participating farmers had below secondary school level of educa-
tion, (iii) the participants were elderly (49.0 years average), (iv) the average farm size in across the two villages was
1.92 acres (std. dev.
=
1.7), (iii) approximately 73% of the farmers confirmed that availability of the inputs used in
the ISFM strategies is important, (iv) about 98.2% of the farmers confirmed that use of some of the ISFM strategies
resulted in enhanced crop growth vigour, (vii) majority of the farmers (66.7%) did not find labour associated with
the use of technologies an important factor in determining their adoption decisions, (viii) about 94.7% of the farmers
consider use of Tithonia a viable ISFM option, (ix) approximately 38.6% of the farmers consider cost implication
of the technologies an important factor in determining their adoption decisions, and (x) use of green manures is not
a preferred ISFM option but fertilizer manure mixtures produce favourable results hence attractive to over 70% of
the farmers.
The study concludes that future technology up-scaling efforts put into consideration the farmers’ prevailing
circumstances and the identified farmer preference considerations in promotional strategies
URI
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-5760-1_90#page-1http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/61557
Citation
Mureithi, B. M., Kimani, S. K., Oderas, M. M., Mwangi, E. M., & Gachanja, E. (2007). Factors Influencing Choice and Adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management Technologies in Central Kenya Highlands. In Advances in Integrated Soil Fertility Management in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities (pp. 941-946). Springer Netherlands.Publisher
University of Nairobi Agricultural Economics