Full Length Research Paper

Factors responsible for differences in uptake of integrated soil fertility management practices amongst smallholders in western Kenya

Martins Odendo¹*, Gideon Obare² and Beatrice Salasya¹

¹Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), P. O. Box 169, Kakamega, Kenya.

²Egerton University, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agri-Business Management, P.O. Box 536, Njoro, Kenya.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: Odendos@yahoo.com.  Tel: +254 733 883 594.

Accepted 18 September, 2009

   Abstract

To address soil fertility depletion and the attendant low agricultural productivity in western Kenya, many attempts have been made to develop and popularize integrated soil nutrient management (INM) practices. Adoption of INM practices appears to be an appropriate strategy for restoring soil fertility, yet patterns of adoption and factors influencing the adoption process are not clearly understood. This paper evaluated adoption patterns of INM components and investigated factors that determine the adoption patterns. Data were collected from a random sample of 331 households in western Kenya using a questionnaire and analysed by descriptive statistics and binary logit model. Results show that animal manure was the most widely applied soil management practice. About 25% of the households applied combinations of organic and inorganic inputs. Determinants of the adoption of INM practices varied by the INM practices surveyed. However, education level of household head, livestock units and the district where the farm is located had statistically significant positive effects on integrated use of organic and inorganic inputs, whilst land per capita had a significant negative effect. Targeting different INM components to the farmers and areas with suitable characteristics is recommended to spur adoption of INM practices.

Key words: Adoption, soil fertility, integrated soil fertility management.