Abstract: Soil erosion is one of the most serious environmental problems in the highlands of Ethiopia. The prevalence of traditional methods of agricultural land use and the absence of appropriate resource management practices often result in the degradation of natural soil fertility. Hence, this study assesses farm households’ willingness to pay for soil conservation practices in Jarso district. Singlebounded dichotomous choice with an open ended follow up format was used to elicit househ...
Abstract: Invasive Alien species (IAS) are considered to be one of the most serious challenges worldwide to mankind, biodiversity and environment. But, studies widely agree that actions to eradicate and control the effects of invasive alien species focused largely within developed countries. However, in poor, fragile and vulnerable developing countries, invasive alien species cause similar or worse problems, for development as well as conservation of biodiversity. Addressing the problem of i...
Abstract: In this study, market chain of wheat in Misha woreda was analyzed. The area is known for its potential production of wheat. However, the market chain of wheat was not well understood. The objectives of this study were to analyze the structure, conduct, and performance of wheat markets; to identify factors affecting the market supply of wheat and producers’ market outlet's choice in Misha woreda. Qualitative and quantitative data from primary and secondary sources were used. Prima...
ABSTRACT Africa’s development depends heavily on soil ecosystem services. However current soil degradation coupled with increasing pressure on land is threatening the soil resource base. There is an urgent need to establish soil health surveillance systems to guide investments and monitor trends in soil health status and impacts of interventions. Surveillance systems require appropriate and rapid, low cost methods that directly measure soil functional properties and can be applied at large...
ABSTRACT In the highland of South-Kivu, DR.Congo, soybean farming is increasingly practiced by smallholder farmers but it productivity remains low. Both productivity and N2-fixing abilities of legumes can be enhanced not only by Rhizobium spp but also by colonization of their roots by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF). The objectives of this study were:- to evaluate symbiotic effectiveness of bradyrhizobia isolates for soybean inoculant production, their effect on indigenous AMF root coloni...
ABSTRACT Mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit is produced and consumed globally, regionally, and locally. The fruit is a potential source of essential nutrients including potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and is an excellent source of vitamin A and C. Mangoes can also be sold to earn income. However, most smallholder mango farmers in Matinyani Sub-county experience lack of clean planting materials, inadequate production technologies, inadequate mango varieties with long production cycles and poo...
ABSTRACT Ensuring food security is a global significant challenge despite struggles to increase agricultural productivity, food distribution and identify appropriate policy interventions to cub food shortage. The recent recurrent incidences of food deficit in Kenya have placed the nation among the 20 most food insecure countries in the world. Food insecurity in the country is a prevalent issue since approximately 84% the country’s landmass is covered by arid and semi-arid land. Achieving su...
ABSTRACT Cereals are important crops grown and consumed globally, regionally and locally. However, world cereal yields have declined due to frequent droughts, erratic and unreliable rainfall especially in sub-saharan Africa. Pearl millet accounts for almost half of the global production of the millet species. Therefore, identifying high yielding pearl millet genotypes with farmer preffered traits and adapted to drought stress is key for food security. The objective of the field study was to d...
ABSTRACT In 2010, the Economic Stimulus Program (ESP) was initiated by the Government of Kenya with the aim of encouraging aquaculture in Kenya. Kitui Central Sub- County benefited with 200 fish ponds under ESP. However, their status is not known in terms of production, challenges and the contribution of fish farming to household wellbeing. To address this, a sample of sixty (60) fish farmers were used from the targeted 200 fish farmers who benefited from the Government’s support. The prima...
ABSTRACT In 2010, the Economic Stimulus Program (ESP) was initiated by the Government of Kenya with the aim of encouraging aquaculture in Kenya. Kitui Central Sub- County benefited with 200 fish ponds under ESP. However, their status is not known in terms of production, challenges and the contribution of fish farming to household wellbeing. To address this, a sample of sixty (60) fish farmers were used from the targeted 200 fish farmers who benefited from the Government’s support. The prima...
Abstract Cookability of common bean is constrained by hardness which results to extend cooking times, low widespread consumption, and high cost of cooking fuel, the consequence of this is malnutrition due to nutritional deficiencies and food insecurity. A study was conducted in the seed Laboratory of Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Institute (KALRO)-Katumani to investigate the effects of physical properties of eleven bean varieties (GLPX92, KATX69, EMBEAN118, WAIRIMU, EMBEAN14, GLP2...
ABSTRACT Farm credit offered by AFC is an important tool in poverty alleviation through creation of working opportunities for beneficiaries. The facility improves the economic and social status through poverty alleviation, employment creation and income generation for low income farmers with limited opportunities. Through this facility, the government mainly targets to improve the livelihood and food sufficiency among the rural populace. However, loan repayment is faced by high levels of defa...
ABSTRACT Businesses operate in a world in which information is more readily and publicly available than ever before. Thanks to the development of the Internet, information on market trends, legislation, customers, suppliers, competitors, distributors, product development and almost every other conceivable topic is available at the click of a mouse. Search engines, online libraries, company websites and other sources provide information in an increasingly plentiful, easy to find, and easy to d...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify the natural and socio economic factors that affect indigenous chicken production and the level of their impact in Katangi and Ikombe divisions of Yatta sub county, Machakos County. The study therefore sought to establish why despite the Government, Non Governmental organizations and the communities spending a lot of resources in tackling food insecurity among the local communities through poultry keeping, there has been an increase in the num...
Abstract Cassava mosaic geminiviruses (CMGs) and cassava brown streak viruses (CBSVs) respectively cause cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) which significantly inhibit cassava production in Kenya. This study aimed at determining the prevalence and incidence of CMD and CBSD in lower eastern Kenya and resistance response of new improved cassava genotypes. To determine the prevalence and incidence of CMD and CBSD in lower eastern Kenya, survey was conducted in M...