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Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is adversely affected by climate variability and change due to the dependence of its economies and livelihoods primarily on rain-fed agriculture. Agro-advisories boost informed decision-making as well as planning of farm activities. The purpose of this study was to characterize the pathways through which farmers receive usable location-specific agro-advisories as well as to evaluate the effect of the socio-economic environment in the access to such information. Data was collected from 400 randomly selected households in lower eastern Kenya in a cross-sectional survey. Multivariate probit regression was used to determine the factors influencing the choice of pathways used in accessing climate change adaptation information. Household socio-economic characteristics that were found to be significant in explaining access to disseminated agro-advisories include phone and radio ownership, level of education, marital status, and farm size among others. Based on these findings a conclusion is made that the socio-economic environment within which information is disseminated is vital in determining those who access information and probably act on it. Additionally, pathways found to be complementary or substitutable give information providers new insights on the channels to use in information dissemination. The study recommends that these factors be considered in efforts geared towards promoting agro-advisory preparation and dissemination to improve adaptation to climate variability and change in dryland areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Majority of the rural households in Kenya depend on agriculture as a source of food and livelihood. Agricultural productivity has been declining due to many factors resulting in increased food insecurity in the country. Consequently, there is a renewed interest in promoting drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum which thrives in the arid and semiarid lands of the developing world. However, performance of sorghum production among the smallholder farmers has still remained low. This study was thus carried out to identify factors that influence technical efficiency of sorghum production among smallholder farmers in Machakos and Makindu districts of the lower eastern Kenya. Collected data on farm and farmer characteristics were analysed by use of descriptive statistics and Tobit model. Result highlights show that technical efficiency was influenced positively by formal education level of the household, experience in sorghum farming, membership in farmers associations, use of hired labour, production advice, and use of manure. Surprisingly household size, meant to enhance labour, had a negative influence. To increase technical efficiency, efforts should focus on improving information flows on agronomic practices. Farmers should also be encouraged to form and actively participate in various farmers associations, which enhance learning and pooling of labour resources, hence improving technical efficiency.

This paper examines the adoption of improved pigeon peas in female-headed households (FHHs) and male-headed households (MHHs) in semi-arid Kenya and its effect on yield as a proxy for household food security. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 450 households through a multi-stage sampling approach. We applied the endogenous switching regression model to establish the determinants of adoption decision and their effects on yield. Results showed that adoption increased crop yield. The adopting MHHs had significantly higher yield compared with the FHHs. The difference in yield was explained by both observed and unobserved characteristics in gender of the household head. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land degradation and low rainfall seriously constrain agricultural production in arid and semi-arid areas. A study was conducted at Katumani Research Centre between 2009 and 2013 to investigate the effect of pigeonpea and crop residues on soil physical properties and maize yields. Sole- and inter-crops of maize and pigeonpea varieties drawn from three maturity groups and three crop residue application rates were evaluated in a split-split plot design with pigeonpea varieties, cropping systems and crop residue application rates as the main plot, sub-plot and sub-sub-plot, respectively. Results showed that maize-pigeonpea intercrops accumulated very low soil organic matter and hence, did not improve soil physical properties. Instead, they increased soil bulk density and reduced soil aggregation. Intercropping maize with pigeonpea requires more water compared to maize and pigeonpea sole crops. Mbaazi II-maize intercrop offers the best option since it gave the highest maize and pigeonpea grain yields and produced sufficient stover and stalks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]