N. Chianu

SUMMARYDeclining soil fertility is a major cause of low per capita food production on smallholder farms of sub-Saharan Africa. This study attempted to provide an empirical explanation of the factors associated with farmers' decisions to adopt or not to adopt newly introduced integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies consisting of combinations of organics and mineral fertilizer in Meru South district of the central highlands of Kenya. Out of 106 households interviewed, 46% were ‘adopters’ while 54% were ‘non-adopters’. A logistic regression model showed that the factors that significantly influenced adoption positively were farm management, ability to hire labour and months in a year households bought food for their families, while age of household head and number of mature cattle negatively influenced adoption. The implication of these results is that the adoption of ISFM practices could be enhanced through targeting of younger families where both spouses work on ...

Widespread and increasing rural poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been of great concern to development community. Compared to other developing regions of the world, low use of inputs by small farmers is one of the factors responsible for the gap between potential and actual yields. Market constraints reduce profitability in use of inputs, increasing production risks. This study interviewed 130 agro-input dealers in Kenya to analyze trends, inputs stocked, distance to markets, services to farmers, and constraints and suggests how to improve input delivery to farmers. Results indicate that although the number of agro-dealers is still small relative to farmer population, there has been a steady annual increase (2–22%, with mean of 16% across inputs) in their number from 2003 to 2005. DAP fertilizer (stocked by 92% of respondents) was most commonly stocked. Others are CAN fertilizer (84%), urea (78%), and NPK (40%). Other services provided by agro-dealers are input information (75% of respondents), credit (13%), bulk breaking (8%), and spraying (4%). Selling price of inputs increased with distance to markets. High transport cost (53%), low demand (30%), lack of market information (21%), lack of storage facilities (13%), and limited business knowledge (12%) were the most important constraints faced by agro-dealers. Policies and institutional frameworks suggested by dealers to streamline agro-input trade were associated, and government was the main institution proposed. The study concludes with suggestions on how to enhance efficiency of agro-dealers in input delivery – timely since SSA governments are presently creating structures to enhance input use.

Push-pull technology (PPT) is currently and widely promoted as a control measure for stemborers, Striga weed and soil fertility improvement in maize fields in western Kenya in order to improve on cereal production. Since it is a new and relatively knowledge-...

Push-Pull technology (PPT) has been promoted as an innovative approach of addressing yield losses due to Striga and stem borer infestations on farmers' maize fields in western Kenya. The technology has been disseminated through different pathways each ...

Maize is the staple food for most Kenyan households, and grown in almost all the farming systems. Due to diminishing farm sizes in Kakamega District, crop productivity and the efficiency of farming systems are of great concern. This paper aims to provide empirical evidence ...

The study examined livelihoods and wealth distribution among farm households in western Kenya. Stratified random sampling was used to select 252 households from eight districts. Focus group discussions were used to collect complementary community-level data. Results indicate that average household size was seven persons. The cropping system was over 70% mixed. Agriculture was the main source of livelihoods. Labour was mainly allocated to crop enterprises, with household heads allocating > 50% of their labour to it. Maize (Zea mays) and common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were the most important staple/traded food crops. Poultry, followed by cattle dominated livestock enterprises. Few households diversified into small businesses, employment and artisan to enhance livelihoods. Despite this, 5 – 95% of people remained food insecure. Lack of cash and limited land access were the most important factors constraining agricultural development. Although, most households preferred selling pr...

Page 1. REVIEW ARTICLE Mineral fertilizers in the farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa. A review Jonas N. Chianu & Justina N. Chianu & Franklin Mairura Accepted: 12 July 2011 © INRA – DIB / Springer-Verlag France 2011 ...

Using groundnut (Arachis hypogea) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), this study empirically demonstrated the correlation between crop storage and economic competitiveness of producers, captured from the degree of market integration and producer shares of the prices paid by consumers, among others. Secondary data covering 1963-1997 were used and complemented with primary data. Results from analysis of market integration showed delayed information

The paper reviews the market share of improved bean varieties in Malawi. An assessment of the market share of old improved varieties and new improved varieties that are preferred by the consumers is discussed. The seasonal and regional variations among commonly traded varieties are identified, and alongside the consumers of commonly traded bean varieties. A comparison of the average buying and selling prices of improved and local bean varieties and observed seasonal variations is also carried out. A total of 28 bean varieties were traded of these 10 are dominant across the regions and were commonly bought by households, local traders, schools, hospitals, and exporters. The average market share (n terms of quantity purchased by traders) of improved common bean varieties was 80% while that of local bean varieties was 20%. Newly improved common bean varieties accounted for 12% of the 80% share of improved bean. Bean varieties dominated the seasons and regions on the basis of their avai...

Since its introduction, the ‘push–pull’ technology (PPT) has been promoted as an innovative approach for addressing yield losses caused by Striga weeds and stemborer infestations on farmers’ maize fields in western Kenya. The technology has been disseminated through different pathways each of which might have different uptake enhancement capabilities. This study was concerned with how different dissemination pathways impacted on

African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 3 (3), pp. 167-173, March 2008 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR ISSN 1991-637X © 2008 Academic Journals ... Farm input marketing in western Kenya: Challenges ... Jonas N. Chianu*, Franklin Mairura, ...