Influence of Farmer’s Income Level on Adoption of Agricultural Water Management Practices among Smallholder Farmers in Rongai Sub-county, Kenya

Water is a resource that cannot be replaced and can only be renewed if it is well managed. It is basic for all forms of life, for every aspects of socio-economic development, and for the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem. Agriculture is the biggest water user globally, accounting for 70 percent of total water withdrawals on average. There are different practices that can aid in managing water used for agriculture. Some of these agricultural water management practices are; rainwater harvesting, irrigation, organic farming, and use of drought resistant crops. Farmer’s decision to either adopt or reject these practices can be affected by several factors, some of which are socio-economic. Some of the socio-economic factors that may influence adoption of these practices include farmer’s educational level, income level and farm size. This study examined the influence of farmer’s income level on adoption of agricultural water management practices (Rainwater harvesting, Irrigation Drought resistant crops). Cross-sectional survey design was adopted, while proportionate and simple random sampling technique was used to obtain the respondents. The accessible population was 6,230 smallholder farmers from the target population of 26,804 smallholder farmers in Rongai sub county Kenya. The study was done in August 2023 to November 2023.The study included 120 smallholder farmers in Rongai Sub County. The study used questionnaire to collect data while binary logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that adoption of agricultural water management practices is low, only 36% of smallholder farmers had adopted agricultural water management practices. The P value calculated for the 120 smallholder farmers was P=.033 which is < than .05 and therefore the null hypothesis was rejected concluding that in this study income level had statistically significant influence on adoption of agricultural water management practices among smallholder farmers in Rongai sub-county in Nakuru ,Kenya. The findings may help in emphasizing the necessity of assisting farmers in removing financial obstacles that may hinder adoption of agricultural water management practices.