INFLUENCE OF LAND TENURE AND FARMER INCOME ON ADOPTION OF INDIGENOUS AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN CHUKA SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Indigenous agricultural practices (IAPs) are environmentally and agriculturally sustainable. Among the widely applied IAPs include crop rotation, agroforestry, intercropping, organic manure application, and minimum tillage. A lot of research has been conducted to reveal the determinants of adoption levels of modern technologies among smallholder farmers. However, little literature exists on factors that contribute to improved adoption of IAPs in Kenya. The research was aimed at determining the influence of land tenure and level of farm income on the adoption levels of IAPs in Chuka Sub-County. A descriptive correlational design was utilized to guide data collection and analysis. The study targeted a population of 22,400 smallholder farmers involving a sample of 100 participants selected through stratified sampling from Mugwe, Karingani, and Magumoni Wards. A semi-structured questionnaire was utilized as a data collection tool. A pilot study was conducted in Muthambi Ward to aid in the checking and improvement of validity of the research instrument. Hypothesis testing involved use of ANOVA and t-tests. The results indicated that land tenure had a significant large effect on the adoption of IAPs, F (2, 97) = 6.59, p = 0.002, ω2 = 0.10. Farm income had a significantly moderate effect on the adoption of IAPs t (97.00) = 4.57, p < .05. The adoption level of IAPs was still moderate given the low frequency of application by many smallholder farmers. The County Government and Ministry of Agriculture should give sufficient support to farmers, strengthen land tenure systems, and sensitize farmers on the importance of IAPs so as to increase the adoption.