Factors affecting sisal cultivation and adoption in Kiomo division, Kitui county, Kenya

Sisal cultivation has the potential of contributing immensely towards the economic development of a given country, resulting to improved standards of living. The exportation of sisal fibre can be a great source of foreign exchange in a given country. Further, sisal related industry can be a great source of employment to the global economy. Moreover, sisal is a drought resistant crop, whose cultivation can lead to effective use of the greater arid and semi-arid land in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the benefits that would accrue to a country as a result of sisal cultivation, the global sisal cultivation has been declining. In Kenya, for instance, sisal production has been on a decline since 1960. The sisal plantations are being replaced by other crops, with the fibre industries turning to synthetic fibres which have been proven to be environmentally unfriendly. Moreover, the vast majority of land in arid and semi-arid areas which are not fertile go to waste. This study examined the factors contributing to the low sisal cultivation and adoption in Kiomo division in Kitui County, Kenya. During the study, 184 randomly sampled farmers took part in the study. Both the secondary and primary data were used in the study, with the statistical package for social scientist (SPSS) software being used for the analysis of the collected data. The study revealed that 57 % of the respondents were aware of sisal cultivation as a commercial activity. Majority of the respondents were females (90.67%) which signified that gender contributed a lot in sisal cultivation, with the study showing that there was a relationship between gender and awareness of sisal cultivation as a commercial activity (P-Value=.215>P=0.05). However, although more than half of the population were aware of sisal cultivation as a commercial activity, only 1.32% of them were aware of the best +practices in sisal cultivation.it was also revealed that there was a relationship between age and awareness of sisal cultivation as a commercial activity (p-value=0.809>p=0.05). Further, 30.65% of factors identified to be contributing to the low sisal propagation in the area related to lack of knowledge and 0.77% related to financial constraints. This showed that there was an association between the awareness of sisal cultivation as a commercial activity and a highest level of education (P-value= 0.332>P=0.005). In addition, the study revealed the role of self-help group and development partners like ADRA Kenya in promoting sisal cultivation with over 76% of the respondents identifying ADRA Kenya as the major source of information on sisal cultivation. The study revealed that there was association between the awareness of sisal cultivation as a commercial activity and highest level of education (P value=.332>P=0.05).

This study contributes to the existing literature on sisal production in the world and Kenya in particular. The analysis of the various restraining factors and driving factors will not only create a good foundation for future research but also provide guidance in policy formulation