ABSTRACT This study is about climate change adaptation and small scale maize farming in Ifunda village. The problem under research is „effectiveness of climate change adaptation for small scale maize farming in Ifunda village.‟ The sampling techniques applied were simple random sampling for 85 household respondents and purposive sampling for 15 key informants. Data collection methods employed were survey using questionnaires for household respondents, interview using interview guides for...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted in four villages namely Mpunguzi, Mbabala, Bihawana and Mvumi in Dodoma region, Tanzania. Objective of the study was to analyze factors limiting contribution of wine grape farming to the improvement of livelihood of small scale farmers. The specifically the study intended to analyze social economic characteristics of small scale wine grape farmers, to analyze the wine grapes marketing system and to analyze challenges facing wine grape small scale farmers in ...
The large scale maize farming is often faces diverse risks that undermine the financial viability of the farming venture. These risks include variability in prices occasioned by changes in market factors, risks of pests, climate change, theft, low yield and poor seed quality. These risks work to undermine the financial performance of the large scale maize farming. This study sought to examine the manner in which enterprise risk management practices impacts on the financial performance of...
ABSTRACT The present study was conducted to determine population size, infestation level and farmer’s understanding of banana weevils in different banana-based farming systems (BFS) namely banana monoculture, banana-beans, banana-coffee and banana-maize. This was conducted by using banana pseudostem traps, coefficient of infestation method and standard interviewing. It was conducted from June to September 2017 in Nkoaranga, Mbuguni and Ngurdoto villages (Meru District) and Uduru, Uraa and ...
ABSTRACT Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is viewed as a driver for both developed and developing countries. The benefits of ICT adoption by organizations range from opportunity and market access to operational efficiencies and making enterprises more competitive and successful. In assessing the usefulness of ICT in agriculture, significant strides in efficiency can be achieved through the use of modern technology in upstream and downstream processes within cooperative societie...
ABSTRACT Food insecurity remains a major challenge among the small-scale farmers in Kyuso SubCounty. Though the Ministry of Agriculture has been training small-scale farmers on various dryland farming technologies, Kyuso Sub-County has remained food insecure. This is evidenced by the fact that small-scale farmers in the Sub-County depend on food aid for their survival. The role played by the dryland farming technologies in ensuring household food security among the small-scale farmers has no...
ABSTRACT Conventional Extension Approaches used over decades achieved minimal successes in creating impact in terms of agricultural production and improved livelihood of smallholder farmers in Kenya. The Participatory Extension Approaches, in particularly the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach have been tried widely and created positive impact in Asian countries. Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) introduced FFS approach in 2001 as an alternative to conventional approach to promote...
Abstract There are indications that the domestic demand for cassava particularly as staple food may in no time outweigh that of the industrial sector, except contract and non-contract farming entrepreneurs operate within the framework of sustainable agriculture. The study thus examines the effects of contract farming scheme on cassava production in Oyo State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used. Oyo and Ibadan/Ibarapa zones were randomly selected from the four Agricultura...
ABSTRACT The sugar sector generates an estimated 12 billion shillings annually, supporting livelihoods of about six million people in Kenya. Women bear the greatest responsibility of managing contracted sugarcane while men benefit from the profits as farming contracts are owned by the latter. Aspects of critical evaluation of patriarchal structures, equitable sharing of sugarcane profits and compensation for labour provided on the farms have not been documented and these comprised the focus ...
ABSTRACT Evidence has shown that Time Allocation (TA) to various activities by gender has implications for the poverty status of households. Yet, there is little empirical evidence on the influence of TA on household poverty in rural Nigeria. Hence, the influence of gender TA on the poverty status of rural farming households in Southwestern Nigeria (SWN) was investigated. Oyo and Osun states were randomly selected from SWN. Two rural Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly chosen from eac...
ABSTRACT Agricultural productivity in Kenya, as in many developing countries, is significantly affected by rainfall variability. The reliability of the rain for agricultural purposes has reduced in the recent years due to climate variability. In the study area, there is a continued trend of more frequent and intense climate related disasters which is expected to have significant impacts on the livelihood activities. Most studies on the impact of climate variability on farming practices and th...
The livestock sector is an important component of the Kenyan economy and contributes about 40% of the agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is about 10% of the nationalGDP. Dairy farming sub-sector plays a very significant role in the development of the Kenyan economy due to its impact on the GDP, alleviation of poverty, food security, employment creation and provision of raw materials to milk processors. Over 70% of the dairy farmers in Kenya are smallholders. Lack of credit ...
ABSTRACT Highland catchments of Lake Manyara basin are undergoing degradation through human activities from the adjacent communities. This study was conducted to assess the impact of farming systems on vegetations in the highland catchments of Lake Manyara basin namely Chemchem and Endabash rivers. The specific objectives were to identify the farming systems used and their sustainability with regard to wetland conservation, assess and compare the plant species composition and diversity betwe...
ABSTRACT This study assesses the impact of contract farming on farm productivity and returns in tobacco farming. The study was conducted in Uyui district, Tabora region Tanzania. Specifically, the study investigates the profitability of tobacco production under contract farming arrangement vis-à-vis tobacco production before the arrangement, analyzes problems affecting tobacco productivity among smallholder farmers and determines farmers’ perception about contract farming. A cross sectio...
ABSTRACT In recent years, organic agriculture has been gaining considerable importance. Many farmers today show interest all over the world in organic farming. Several of them have begun switching to this traditional method of cultivation as a means to produce safe foodstuffs and preserve the environment. The concept of organic farming is not new, but it has been scantly studied. An organic spice farming is a part of the organic farming which requires to be studied widely. Spice production i...