Soil fertility management among smallholder farmers in Mount Kenya East region
| Autor: | Erika Michéli, Evans Mutuma, Ádám Csorba, J. Tóth, Mark Szalai, Eszter Kovács, Amos W. Wawire |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
media_common.quotation_subject Fertility Innovative financing Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) Soil fertility Soil management Minimum tillage 03 medical and health sciences Agricultural science Agricultural technology adoption 0302 clinical medicine Fertilizer Agricultural productivity lcsh:Social sciences (General) lcsh:Science (General) media_common Multidisciplinary Sub-Saharan Africa business.industry Manure Kenya 030104 developmental biology Geography Agriculture lcsh:H1-99 business Technology clusters 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Research Article lcsh:Q1-390 |
| Zdroj: | Heliyon, Vol 7, Iss 3, Pp e06488-(2021) Heliyon |
| ISSN: | 2405-8440 |
| Popis: | Declining soil fertility continues to hinder agricultural production especially among resource-constrained smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, prompting for evaluation of the strategies used by these farming communities. In this study, we assess soil fertility management among smallholder farmers in Mount Kenya East region. The aim is to examine underlying factors conditioning the uptake of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices in this region; determine the adoption relationship between the practices; and to cluster these techniques. Data for this study was collected between January–March 2019 through a household survey based on a farm household questionnaire and complemented with semi-structured interview with farmers and extension officers. Statistical analyses were generated using SPSS. We use hierarchical clustering analysis to visualize ISFM combination patterns, and correlation matrix in factor analysis to determine the inter-relationship between different ISFM practices. Fisher's exact test and Welch's t-test were used to examine the association between explanatory variables and adoption of ISFM practices. Results show that the decision to invest in fertility practices was correlated with a number of farmers' socio-economic, farm-related factors and institutional characteristics. Fertilizer application correlated significantly with manure use, agroforestry and minimum tillage. ISFM techniques were separated into 3 sets following Ward's hierarchical clustering, namely, manure, fertilizer use and agroforestry (cluster 1 or C1), slash-no-burn, residue burn and fallowing (C2); and residue application and minimum tillage (C3). The study recommends creation of an enabling environment including innovative financing opportunities to facilitate farmers' investment capacities in ISFM and cushion them from potential income loss resulting from implementation of some technologies. Soil fertility; Technology clusters; Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM); Fertilizer; Manure; Agricultural technology adoption; Kenya; Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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