ABSTRACT This study aimed at undertaking a comparative analysis of farm power technologies; manual, oxen, 2WT and 4WT in Rice Production for Smallholder Farmers in Mbarali District, Tanzania. The study had three objectives namely: (i) identification of different farm operations by power sources used by smallholder farmers in paddy production, (ii) analysing costs and returns per unit area of using the mentioned sources of farm power and (iii) examining factors influencing smallholder farmers�...
ABSTRACT The study examined determinants of farmer participation in agriculture micro insurance in Zimbabwe specific reference to peri urban area in Harare. The study was promoted by low uptake of agriculture insurance products being experienced by companies offering agriculture micro insurance. There was need in the market to develop a product that is affordable due to the informalised nature of the Zimbabwean sector. There is need to reach to the poor households and mitigate their level of ...
Abstract: Given the need to boost food production while guaranteeing environmental sustainability, the black soldier fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens (L.), Diptera: Stratiomyidae) is gaining traction worldwide as an alternative protein source. In Kenya, BSF production and its use as a feed component is an emerging business, but farmer awareness of the potential use of BSF in animal feed has received limited attention. This study examined the factors influencing farmer awareness of insect farming...
Abstract/Overview In Kenya, value addition in Irish potatoes provides farmers with substantial income. However, the adoption of value addition practices is still low among farmers. Currently, there is a dearth of information on the factors affecting the adoption of value addition practices among smallholder Irish potato farmers in Bomet County. Using single cross-sectional data from 200 randomly selected respondents, the study determined factors affecting the uptake of value addition prac...
Abstract/Overview Maize (Zea mays L.) is a crop of livelihood, nutritional, economic, and political importance in Kenya. Its productivity growth is estimated at 2% annually, with average yields of 2 tons/ha against a potential 6 tons/ha. Annual production lags behind demand. This study was conducted in a typically rural location of Nandi County in Kenya to investigate smallholder farmers’ social capital, sources of finances, information, and their implications on maize yields. Data from...
Abstract: Social networks are an essential source of risk-sharing and capacity building strategies for responding the adverse effects of climate change. However, researches on climate change adaptation strategies not recognized the role of social networks. The current study aims to assess the role of social networks in facilitating smallholder farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate change in Woreilu district, South Wollo zone, Amhara national regional state, Ethiopia. More specifically,...
ABSTRACT Market intergration and access, are critical and important aspects to rural poor households. They are a pre-requisite for enhancing agriculture based economic growth through the improvement of competitiveness of farming enterprise and improving rural incomes. Several studies have been conducted on participation and access of small-scale farmers in rice and other crops marketing in Africa, but, specific information on the extent to which small-scale rice farmers are integrated into d...
ABSTRACT Horticultural sector is an important sector in production of food and generation of income. According to Kenya‘s vision 2030, crop cultivation is one of the main pillars of unlocking the potential of Kenya through increased productivity. The importance of snow peas is increasing greatly due to its high demand especially in Europe. In spite of the benefits associated with the production of snow peas, farmers in Nyandarua county have been withdrawing from its production probably due...
TABLE OF CONTENTSDECLARATION ................................................................................................................... iAPPROVAL. ......................................................................................................................... iiDEDICATION ..................................................................................................................... iiiACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................
ABSTRACT Cocoa production, one of the most important economic activities in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, has for sometime now been bedevilled with several problems. The most important of these is the black pod disease caused by the Phytophthora megakarya strain of fungus, which is destroying pods in large quantities and thus causing substantial financial loss to cocoa farmers. Research has made available a tried and tested control technology whose adoption in the Ashanti Region is ve...
Smallholder farmers in East Africa need information and knowledge on appropriate climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices, technologies, and institutional innovations in order to effectively adapt to changing climatic conditions and cope with climate variability. This paper assesses farmer adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices and innovation after being exposed to Farms of the Future Approach (FotF). First; we explore and assess the various CSA technologies and practices; includin...
ABSTRACT The poultry sub-sector in Kenya accounts for about fifty five percent of the livestock sector and thirty percent of the agricultural Gross Domestic Product. However, gains from the Indigenous Chicken (IC) enterprises have been challenged by market inefficiencies characterised by high transaction costs and poor accessibility of market information. In response to this, the Kenyan government private sector partnership has in the recent times, been promoting the formation and developm...
ABSTRACT This study examined the contribution of oil palm farming to poverty reduction for small scale farmers in Kigoma Rural District, Tanzania. Specifically, the study identified different sources of income among small scale farmers; compared poverty levels between small scale oil palm farmers and non-oil palm farmers and examined the challenges which small scale farmers face. The study employed descriptive survey design (cross-sectional), whereby 50 respondents in the category of small sc...
ABSTRACT Grape is one of the most important economic fruits crop grown in Dodoma Region - Tanzania. However, grape production faces challenge of low yield of 5.6 t/ha compared to the established yield potential of 25 t/ha under irrigation and 17.3 t/ha under rain-fed in Tanzania. This low productivity was mainly due to rising cost of production, which is coupled with low output prices and an unreliable market. The most cost effective way to improve farm productivity is through efficient use o...
ABSTRACT This study aims to determine the differences in productivity and technical efficiency levels of maize producers in three ecological zones in Ghana. It also seeks to identify the sources of inefficiency and identify constraints faced by maize farmers within these ecological zones. The study used a cross section of 224 maize producers from the savannah, forest and transition zones in Ghana. This research adopts the Metafrontier and the stochastic frontier models to compute the technic...