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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]

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]