ABSTRACT Climate change exacerbates the already daunting challenge facing the agricultural sector, and this is particularly the case in developing countries. There are roughly 800 million food insecure people in the world today, each having this status because food is unavailable, unaffordable or they are too unhealthy to make use of it or some combination of the three. Innovations in agriculture will even be more vital in the context of climate change as they allow farmers to adapt efficient...
ABSTRACT Efficient breeding and selection of elite tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) clones require sound knowledge and understanding of genetics associated with yield, quality and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. A series of experiments were carried out to elucidate the genetic parameters and map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for agronomic and quality attributes in tea. The combining abilities and heterosis for yield, drought tolerance (DT), and quality traits (percent total p...
Extension strategies that stimulate commercialization of smallholder farming aim to increase agricultural productivity. The National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Programme (NALEP) working with smallholder farmers introduced Common Interest Groups (CIGs) approach. CIG is a congregation of farmers brought together for the purpose of imparting technologies to increase farm productivity. When farmers come together through indigenous chicken Common Interest Groups, it is expected that ...
ABSTRACT This study was undertaken to access on roles of women’s non-farm income generating activities with respect to food security in the households in rural villages. The study was conducted in Bagamoyo District, Coast Region. The overall objective was to examine the contribution of women’s non-farm income generating activities to household food security. Specifically, the study intended to identify types of non- farm income generating activities undertaken by women, to determine the...
ABSTRACT The study investigated the economics of catfish (Clarias gariepinus) production in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The broad objective of the study was to examine the economics of Catfish production in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: (i) describe the socioeconomic characteristics of catfish farming; (ii) determine the technical efficiency of catfish farming; (iii) identify factors that influence technical efficiency of catfish farming; (iv) analyze the costs and ret...
ABSTRACT Smallholder farming systems in Njoro are characterized by the application of sub- optimal rates or non-utilization of inorganic fertilizers due to their exorbitant prices vis-à-vis low financial returns from crops. Efficient application of natural materials in agro ecosystems, viz. the use of Minjingu phosphate rock (MPR) as a fertilizer is an attractive alternative to inorganic fertilizers, however, releases phosphorous slowly due to its low solubility. The use of the legumes apart...
ABSTRACT Livestock production is one of the major sources of income in Rwanda. Pigs are among preferred livestock due to their short generation interval and small space requirement. Feeds account for 65-70% of total production costs in pig rearing, which invariably affects profit margins. Therefore search for alternative feedstuffs that are locally available and affordable like brewers’ spent grains (BSG) can be used to feed pigs and reduce the cost of production. BSG is the first solid mat...
Homa Bay County has great potential in terms of the existing arable land, availability of water, human resources base, technological options as well as market growth opportunities. A majority of household engage in fishing and agriculture as a source of livelihood with previous studies indicating that an estimate of 60% engage in sweet potato production. Kasipul, Kabondo Kasipul and Ndhiwa sub-counties have a high potential for sweet potato production. However the abundant production has...
ABSTRACT Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has been encouraging adoption of sustainable tea production, through FFS and RA certification, among small-scale tea producers west of Kenya‘s Rift Valley since 2006 and 2010 respectively. FFS was a methodology of choice because of its experiential and practical learning approach. Those organisations that had used FFS approach had reported it to be successful, whereas RA certification guarantees sustainable use of agricultural and forestry resour...
ABSTRACT In rural areas particularly arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), smallholder farmers produce mainly under subsistence system due to poor access of market. Farmers in ASALs particularly in Laikipia County depend on horticultural crop production for their livelihood and as a major source of income and rural employment. The purpose of the study was to determine factors influencing choice of market facilitators and their impact on smallholder horticultural farmers’ livelihood. Primary dat...
ABSTRACT Wild foods comprise of all edible products that are found growing naturally in forests, woodlands or farms. They include both fauna and flora species that are consumed either as wholly or partly. This study was designed to investigate the role of wild foods to household income and food security at Mufindi district in Iringa region. Data were collected using both structured and non-structured interviews. Purposive sampling procedures were used to obtain six representative villages. A...
ABSTRACT Dairy ration formulation in Kenya is currently based on the singular objective of least cost (LCF) that only considers cost to the economic advantage of feed millers. The interest of dairy producers is milk profit above feed costs while regulatory authorities are interested in feed quality standards and environmental health. Industry stakeholder interests on feed processing and utilisation and critical feed formulation goals present challenges to sustainable dairy production. To bet...
ABSTRACT Kenya’s Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS), envisions a food secure and prosperous nation with the overall goal of the agricultural sector to achieve an average growth rate of 7 percent per year. The strategy has, among others, target to reduce food insecurity by 30 percent to surpass the MDGs by the year 2015. About 60 per cent of households in western Kenya live below poverty line an indication of a high proportion of the population without adequate quantity and qua...
EXTENDED ABSTRACT The preliminary experiment was done by using Jaffa orange variety to assess the effects of different concentrations of hexanal, calcium chloride and smoke treatment on physicochemical quality. Jaffa orange fruits were separately (i) dipped in hexanal at 0.01%, 0.02% and 0.04% volume/voume for five minutes (ii) dipped in calcium chloride 1%, 2% and 4% weight/volume for five minutes (iii) fruits were smoked by burning 0.5 kg, 1.0 kg and 1.5 kg of dry banana leaves (iv) Untre...
ABSTRACT Small ruminants provide very important genetic resources that can be exploited for continued improvements of the livelihoods of poor livestock keepers in the pastoral production system, particularly in the developing country situation, Kenya being one of them. Though important, the motivation of livestock keepers to hold and maintain particular AnGr in conditions of decreasing animal genetic resource base is imperfectly understood. Consequently, in an endeavour to improve the livelih...