Challenges women farmers face in accessing agricultural extension services, in Kamugere Sub location of Embu county
Abstract
Agriculture is not only one of the most important sources of rural livelihoods in Kenya but also
makes vital contributions to the country’s economy. Rural women are major agricultural
producers especially at
the household level. But unfortunately they have least access to
agricultural extension services. There are many constraints which are being faced by farm
women in attaining access to extension services. To explore challenges women face in accessing
agric
ultural extension services, the present research was undertaken in Kamugere sub location in
Embu County. A convenient sampling technique was employed to select the study respondents.
Data were collected over a one week period in th
e month of November 2014
from 30
women
small holder farmers. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were used and
analysis was done by using computer Excel software.
The results showed that women farmers’ access to agricultural extension services was limited.
Among different challenges which hinder women’s access to agricultural extension services
were cultural constraints, low literacy levels among women, non
-
availability of female extension
staff in agricultural extension departments, lack of local women org
anizations, violence against
women, limited access to credit facilities, less control over resources, social structure, and
limited access to market information, mobility and lack of self
-
confidence. Based on the findings
of this study it was concluded tha
t for women to make meaningful contributions in increasing
agricultural productivity it is necessary that more AES be provided to women farmers and their
accessibility increased. The study suggests that for women to embrace modern agricultural
practices th
ere is an urgent need
for
the challenges identified to be addressed and for further
studies to be undertaken involving larger samples. The main weakness of this study is that
findings cannot be generalized beyond the sample of
3
0 women who provided the inf
ormation
used in this study.
Publisher
University of Nairobi