Browsing by Author "Kizito, Kwena"

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    Exploring Socio-Economic Characteristics on Adoption Intensity of Biochar Among Farming Households in Sub-Humid Regions of Western Kenya
    (UoEm, 2025-01-08) Kyalo, Annastacia Maitha; Mogaka, Hezron; Kirimi, Florence Kaumi; Kizito, Kwena; Ndirangu, Samuel Njiri; Onyari, Charles Nyambane; Muriithi, Lydia; Elvin, Otara Nyaboe; Mutungi, Scholastica Katava; Kiprotich, Shadrack; Njiru, Moses Muchangi; Kamau, Ezekiel Areri;
    Agriculture is a cornerstone of Kenya's economy, yet declining soil fertility and low adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies, such as biochar, have hindered productivity among smallholder farmers. Biochar is perceived to be a costeffective technology especially among resource constraint farming households. Despite many smallholder farmers acknowledging the importance of biochar as a soil amendment, most farmers face socio-economic barriers that hinder its adoption at scale. This study focused on how socio-economic factors influence adoption intensity of biochar, with a focus on the farming households in the sub-humid regions of Western Kenya. Employing a multistage stratified sampling procedure and Heckman selection model, the study reveals that awareness of biochar, access to credits, total land used in farming and education level positively and significantly influences adoption of biochar while total land owned in acres negatively and significantly influences adoption of biochar. Similarly, awareness of biochar, access to credits, and education level positively and significantly influences adoption intensity of biochar while terms of land ownership negatively and significantly influence adoption intensity of biochar. The study identifies awareness of biochar, education, credit access, and land ownership as key factors influencing its adoption by smallholder farmers. Promoting biochar as a soil amendment and carbon sequestration technique for farmers should be the main goal of the government, non-governmental organizations, and development organizations. Promoting the advantages of biochar for crop yields and soil fertility should be spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture's Extension Department. While development organizations offer financial assistance and training to promote adoption, policymakers should push farmer cooperatives to reduce the cost of biochar production and implementation
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    Exploring Socio-Economic Characteristics on Adoption Intensity of Biochar Among Farming Households In Sub-Humid Regions of Western Kenya
    (University of Embu, 2025-02-13) Kyalo, Annastacia Maitha; Mogaka, Hezron; Kirimi, Florence Kaumi; Kizito, Kwena; Ndirangu, Samuel Njiri; Onyari, Charles Nyambane; Muriithi, Lydia; Elvin, Otara Nyaboe; Mutungi, Scholastica Katava; Kiprotich, Shadrack; Njiru, Moses Muchangi; Kamau, Ezekiel Areri
    Agriculture is a cornerstone of Kenya's economy, yet declining soil fertility and low adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies, such as biochar, have hindered productivity among smallholder farmers. Biochar is perceived to be a cost- effective technology especially among resource constraint farming households. Despite many smallholder farmers acknowledging the importance of biochar as a soil amendment, most farmers face socio-economic barriers that hinder its adoption at scale. This study focused on how socio-economic factors influence adoption intensity of biochar, with a focus on the farming households in the sub-humid regions of Western Kenya. Employing a multistage stratified sampling procedure and Heckman selection model, the study reveals that awareness of biochar, access to credits, total land used in farming and education level positively and significantly influences adoption of biochar while total land owned in acres negatively and significantly influences adoption of biochar. Similarly, awareness of biochar, access to credits, and education level positively and significantly influences adoption intensity of biochar while terms of land ownership negatively and significantly influence adoption intensity of biochar. The study identifies awareness of biochar, education, credit access, and land ownership as key factors influencing its adoption by smallholder farmers. Promoting biochar as a soil amendment and carbon sequestration technique for farmers should be the main goal of the government, non-governmental organizations, and development organizations. Promoting the advantages of biochar for crop yields and soil fertility should be spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture's Extension Department. While development organizations offer financial assistance and training to promote adoption, policymakers should push farmer cooperatives to reduce the cost of biochar production and implementation
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    Factors That Influence Technical Efficiency of Sorghum Production: A Case of Small Holder Sorghum Producers in Lower Eastern Kenya
    (Hindawi, 2015-06) Chepng’etich, Evaline; Nyamwaro, Sospeter Onchoke; Bett, Eric Kiprotich; Kizito, Kwena
    Majority of the rural households in Kenya depend on agriculture as a source of food and livelihood. Agricultural productivity has been declining due to many factors resulting in increased food insecurity in the country. Consequently, there is a renewed interest in promoting drought-tolerant crops such as sorghumwhich thrives in the arid and semiarid lands of the developing world. However, performance of sorghum production among the smallholder farmers has still remained low.This study was thus carried out to identify factors that influence technical efficiency of sorghum production among smallholder farmers in Machakos and Makindu districts of the lower eastern Kenya. Collected data on farmand farmer characteristics were analysed by use of descriptive statistics and Tobit model. Result highlights show that technical efficiency was influenced positively by formal education level of the household, experience in sorghum farming, membership in farmers associations, use of hired labour, production advice, and use of manure. Surprisingly household size, meant to enhance labour, had a negative influence. To increase technical efficiency, efforts should focus on improving information flows on agronomic practices. Farmers should also be encouraged to form and actively participate in various farmers associations, which enhance learning and pooling of labour resources, hence improving technical efficiency.
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    Household socio-economic factors influencing choice of agro-advisory dissemination pathways for climate change in semi-arid areas of Kenya
    (Sage publishers, 2021-07-02) Onyango, Debra, A; Mogaka, Hezron; Ndirangu, Samuel; Kizito, Kwena
    Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is adversely affected by climate change and variability due to the dependence of its economies and livelihoods primarily on rain-fed agriculture. This creates the need for agro-advisories to enable farming communities make strategic and tactical farm level investment decisions likely to minimize on the impacts of climate change and seasonal variability induced risks. Agro-advisories boost informed decision-making as well as planning of farm activities. Farmers have often failed to get such information where the need is greatest especially in a form they can understand and use. The purpose of this study was to characterize the pathways through which farmers receive usable location-specific agro-advisories as well as to evaluate the effect of the socio-economic environment in the access of such information. Data was collected from 400 randomly selected households in lower eastern Kenya in a cross-sectional survey. Multivariate probit regression was used to determine the factors that are significant in influencing the choice of pathways used in accessing climate change adaptation information. The study recommends that the significant factors be considered in efforts geared towards promoting agro-advisory preparation and dissemination to improve adaptation to climate variability and change in dryland areas.