The social-economic and institutional conditions that influence the adoption of soil conservation and rehabilitation technologies in Bungoma County, Kenya

David Alubokho Shisia; Alice Chesambu Ndiema; Vitalis Ogema

doi:10.51867/AQSSR.2.4.46

Authors

Shisia Alubokho David Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8604-7883
Chesambu Alice Ndiema Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4153-5637
Ogema Vitalis Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/AQSSR.2.4.46

Keywords:

Conservation, Erosion, Fertility, Soil

Abstract

In Kenya, soil erosion is one of the major risks to the productivity and sustainability of the environment. In Bungoma County, food security and rural livelihoods are still threatened by declining soil fertility, soil erosion, and unsustainable agricultural activities. This research paper looks into the socio-economic and institutional determinants of the adoption of soil conservation and rehabilitation technologies in Bungoma County. The study was guided by diffusion of innovations theory. The research was based on a descriptive survey design. The target population was 41,109 farm households. Out of this population, a sample population of 381 households was calculated using the formula of determining the sample size by Krejcie and Morgan, which used a 95 per cent confidence level, a 0.05 margin of error, and a 50 per cent proportion of the population in order to be representative. Data were gathered by questionnaire and interview using a descriptive survey design for the farmers. The chi-square test was used to establish the associations between variables, including education level, land area, land ownership type, access to credit, and access to extension services and the adoption of different technologies, which included composting, vermicast, agroforestry, physical measures, and minimum tillage. The results highlight that the level of education, size of land, secure tenure, availability of credit, and extension services play a major role in the adoption of some conservation technologies. The paper concludes that socio-economic empowerment, better access to credit and extension services, and tenure security are the keys to making soil management sustainable. It suggests the need to enhance institutional structures, provide soil conservation training to the farmers, and implement inclusive financial schemes to promote the general acceptance of soil conservation technologies.

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