Andrew Waaswa
North Carolina State University, Agricultural and Human Sciences, Department Member
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) adoption rates have remained low in Kenya despite being promoted by the Kenyan government and its development partners. Analyzing institutional factors could help inform efforts to mitigate potential... more
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) adoption rates have remained low in Kenya despite being promoted by the Kenyan government and its development partners. Analyzing institutional factors could help inform efforts to mitigate potential climate adaptation mal-actions in Kenya and other contexts. This study examined the relationship between institutional factors and CSA adoption among smallholder potato farmers in Gilgil Sub County of Nakuru County, Kenya. The institutional factors selected for this study included access to credit, training on CSA, non-governmental organization (NGO) support, and farmers' group membership. A binary logistic regression analysis unveiled that smallholder potato farmers' adoption of CSA was positively related to institutional factors, which was statistically significant at a 5% significance level (χ 2 = 10.219, df = 4, p < 0.05). However, only access to credit was positive and statistically significant at a 5% significance level (Wald χ 2 = 4.524, df = 1, p < 0.05) among the four explanatory variables included in the binary logistic regression model. Therefore, warranting access to credit is deemed to produce favorable requisites for adopting farming methods befitted to adapting agriculture to the effects of climate change. One way of warranting access to credit could be mobilizing farmers to join groups that serve as Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) and Village Savings and Lending Associations (VSLAs) because farmers that join SACCOs or VSLAs have access to loans that may otherwise be challenging to obtain from conventional financial institutions.
Research Interests:
Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) presents the opportunity to meet the world’s increasing food demands in the face of climate variability. It is more responsive to the achievement of Sustainable De...
Research Interests:
The social component of the environment associated mostly with human activities has significantly imposed a threat to the only life-support systems of the earth. Uganda made adjustments in its planning process to prioritize environment... more
The social component of the environment associated mostly with human activities has significantly imposed a threat to the only life-support systems of the earth. Uganda made adjustments in its planning process to prioritize environment conservation. However, in the recent past years, mostly between 2013 and 2017, the country stretched its resources to increase agricultural production, both livestock and crops. The objective of this study was to establish and document the development and the environment conservation strategies at global and regional levels with an overview on the development planning process in agricultural sector, in Uganda. The results showed that the sustainable development plans with participatory approach at international, regional, national and local or community levels are the best methods to cope with and reduce the negative impacts of man’s activities on the environment. The understanding of the complexes of the environment is very important to ensure the re...
Research Interests: Business, Climate Change, Learning and Teaching, Sustainable Development, Agriculture, and 8 moreEnvironmental Sustainability, Business and Management, Technology Adoption and Diffusion, Natural Resources Management, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT, Program Planning and Implementation, Agricultural Extension Systems and Approaches, and Extension and Training Methods
Research Interests:
Besides climate-smart agriculture's (CSA) potential to meet the world's increasing food demands in the face of climate variability through sustainably increasing food production, its acceptance among farmers is still low. This could be... more
Besides climate-smart agriculture's (CSA) potential to meet the world's increasing food demands in the face of climate variability through sustainably increasing food production, its acceptance among farmers is still low. This could be partly because of limited insight into the contextual underpinnings of its uptake. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between selected socioeconomic factors and the adoption of CSA in Gilgil Sub-County. This study's results were attained from a binary logistic regression model, using a sample of 120 smallholder potato farmers in two wards of Gilgil Sub-County of Nakuru County, Kenya. An analysis of the five hypothesized explanatory socioeconomic variables contained in the model disclosed that a relationship between socioeconomic factors and adoption of CSAPs was statistically significant at a 5% level of significance (χ 2 = 17.966, df = 5, p < 0.05). It further revealed that only two variables had a significant relationship with the adoption of CSAPs. Among these, included gender which was negative and statistically significant at a 5% level of significance (Wald χ 2 = 6.701, df = 1, p < 0.05) and annual farm income, which was positive and statistically significant at a 5% level of significance (Wald χ 2 = 8.402, df = 1, p < 0.05). Therefore, securing access to vital resources for women farmers is indispensable to enhance their capacity and compliance to adjust production methods in response to climate change. Facilitating increased farm output and income among the farmers is greatly recommended.
Research Interests:
Proven and sustainable practices like climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) need to be prioritized and promoted for uptake especially by the farmers to achieve sustainable development. These are capable of contributing to the... more
Proven and sustainable practices like climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) need to be prioritized and promoted for uptake especially by the farmers to achieve sustainable development. These are capable of contributing to the realization of sustainable development goals through averting food and nutritional insecurity, increasing and sustaining yields that translate into increased incomes and later reduced poverty. This is because CSAPs enable farmers to adapt and mitigate climate change effects. However, due to inappropriate communication of CSAPs to the farmers, to date, some farmers still see no escape route from the frightening effects of climate change and they are currently adopting a rather fatalistic attitude. This study investigated the information dissemination pathways used by different categories of smallholder potato farmers for and practice of CSAPs. It found a difference between information sources and practice of CSAPs at a 5% level of significance (χ2 ¼ 100.12139, df ¼ 2, p < 0.05, Cramer's V ¼ 1.0), and a difference in the use of the three information dissemination pathways between men and women at a 5% level of significance (χ2 ¼ 6.05949, df ¼ 2, p < 0.05, Cramer's V ¼ 0.17406). The three information dissemination pathways included media, neighbors and friends, and extension officers. Generally, farmers were aware and practiced the CSAPs investigated in this study except for irrigation with high awareness yet with low uptake percentage and potato seedlings and minitubers both with low awareness and practice respectively. This study recommended mainstreaming of CSAPs information.
Research Interests:
The social component of the environment associated mostly with human activities has significantly imposed a threat to the only life-support systems of the earth. Uganda made adjustments in its planning process to prioritize environment... more
The social component of the environment associated mostly with human activities has significantly imposed a threat to the only life-support systems of the earth. Uganda made adjustments in its planning process to prioritize environment conservation. However, in the recent past years, mostly between 2013 and 2017, the country stretched its resources to increase agricultural production, both livestock and crops. The objective of this study was to establish and document the development and the environment conservation strategies at global and regional levels with an overview on the development planning process in agricultural sector, in Uganda. The results showed that the sustainable development plans with participatory approach at international, regional, national and local or community levels are the best methods to cope with and reduce the negative impacts of man's activities on the environment. The understanding of the complexes of the environment is very important to ensure the relationship between the social, economic and environmental protection for a sustainable development. The results also indicated that in Uganda, the agriculture industry made consistent efforts to increase agricultural production by 431,161 hectares and livestock heads by 7,878,000 (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry) between 2013 and 2017. This increased agricultural greenhouse gas emission due to the use of synthetic fertilizers, burning of the cleared grasses, and use of manures applied to boost soil fertility and the reduction in the trees that sequester CO2. This study recommended that the agricultural sector should opt for sustainable agriculture by adopting practices like use of multipurpose crops that can offer environmental services like binding soil particles together to control erosion as well as yielding more food products. Dual-purpose livestock breeds should be adopted to avoid immense numbers that serve different purposes that will probably lead to increased GHG emissions.
Research Interests: Climate Change, Learning and Teaching, Agriculture, Environmental Sustainability, Technology Adoption and Diffusion, and 8 moreResearch, Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessment Studies, Natural Resources Management, International Agricultural Development With Focus on Food Security and Poverty Reduction;, • Gender and Agricultural Development, Program Planning and Implementation, Participatory Approaches to Rural Development , Agricultural Extension Systems and Approaches, and Extension and Training Methods
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Climate variability, characterized by low precipitation, flooding, high temperatures, prolonged sunshine, and delayed rainfall, has threatened agricultural productivity, leading to food insecurity and chronic poverty, especially among... more
Climate variability, characterized by low precipitation, flooding, high temperatures, prolonged sunshine, and delayed rainfall, has threatened agricultural productivity, leading to food insecurity and chronic poverty, especially among resource-constrained farmers. Several climate-smart agriculture (CSA) strategies have been developed to address these challenges. Based on the CSA practices diffused among Kenyan farmers, this study tested a hypothesis that adopting CSA is a significant strategy for climate change adaptation. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from a random sample of 120 smallholder potato farmers in Gilgil Sub-County of Kenya. Data was collected using a structured researcheradministered questionnaire, and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 28 was used for data analysis. The percentages and frequencies for the CSA adoption rates and potentials of different CSAPs were computed using descriptive analysis. A binary regression analysis revealed that CSA is a significant climate change adaptation strategy (Wald χ2 ¼ 49.417, df ¼ 1, p < 0.001). Further, implementing CSA increased the farmers' chances to adapt to climate change by 19 times more than non-adopters. Explicitly, this study revealed that CSA significantly contributed to farmers' adaptation potentials through reducing soil erosion, increasing livelihood diversification, reducing input expenses, and increasing product quality. To exploit the benefits of CSA, this study recommends using experiential learning approaches, establishing linkages between research institutions, and capitalizing on progressive farmers to hasten the acceptance of CSA.