IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v194y2017icp150-159.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Socio-economic factors influencing utilisation of rain water harvesting and saving technologies in Tharaka South, Eastern Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Muriu-Ng’ang’a, F.W.
  • Mucheru-Muna, M.
  • Waswa, F.
  • Mairura, F.S

Abstract

Low levels of soil moisture makes rain water harvesting and saving technologies important interventions for water supply and food production in arid and semi-arids lands of Kenya. Despite much research around this theme, factors affecting utilisation of these technologies by farmers have not been well understood and the low adoption and adaptation levels of these beneficial technologies remains a challenge. This paper extends this dimension with emphasis on Tharaka South sub-county where water scarcity, unreliable rainfall and soil water stress is a major cause of household food insecurity. Farm and social data were collected using a cross-sectional survey design targeting a total of 351 household heads. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The utilization of in situ rainwater harvesting and saving technologies was higher for trashlines (73%) as compared to micro-catchments, Zai pits (26%) and Negarims (13%). Socio-economic characteristics that were positively and significantly associated with Zai pit utilisation included household size (p<0.01), training in Zai pits (p<0.002), while total farm size (p<0.01) and land tenure (p<0.01) showed negative co-efficients. Both formal and informal sources of training were important tools in disseminating rain-water harvesting and saving technologies. The study concluded that farmer age, household size, farm size, farming history, training, and formal education were important factors which influenced utilisation of rain water harvesting and saving technologies in Tharaka sub-county. Specific approaches are needed to scale-up resource-intensive technologies (Fanya juu, Zai pits, and Negarims) compared to less resource-intensive technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Muriu-Ng’ang’a, F.W. & Mucheru-Muna, M. & Waswa, F. & Mairura, F.S, 2017. "Socio-economic factors influencing utilisation of rain water harvesting and saving technologies in Tharaka South, Eastern Kenya," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 150-159.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:194:y:2017:i:c:p:150-159
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2017.09.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377417303001
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2017.09.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vanesse Labeyrie & Bernard Rono & Christian Leclerc, 2014. "How social organization shapes crop diversity: an ecological anthropology approach among Tharaka farmers of Mount Kenya," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(1), pages 97-107, March.
    2. Sidibe, Amadou, 2005. "Farm-level adoption of soil and water conservation techniques in northern Burkina Faso," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 211-224, February.
    3. Adesina, Akinwumi A. & Zinnah, Moses M., 1993. "Technology characteristics, farmers' perceptions and adoption decisions: A Tobit model application in Sierra Leone," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 297-311, December.
    4. John Furlow & Joel Smith & Glen Anderson & William Breed & Jon Padgham, 2011. "Building resilience to climate change through development assistance: USAID’s climate adaptation program," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 108(3), pages 411-421, October.
    5. He, Xue-Feng & Cao, Huhua & Li, Feng-Min, 2007. "Econometric analysis of the determinants of adoption of rainwater harvesting and supplementary irrigation technology (RHSIT) in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 243-250, May.
    6. Neupane, Ramji P. & Sharma, Khem R. & Thapa, Gopal B., 2002. "Adoption of agroforestry in the hills of Nepal: a logistic regression analysis," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 177-196, June.
    7. Nangia, V. & de Fraiture, C. & Turral, H., 2008. "Water quality implications of raising crop water productivity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 825-835, July.
    8. Oecd, 2009. "Climate Change and Africa," OECD Journal: General Papers, OECD Publishing, vol. 2009(1), pages 5-35.
    9. Akinwumi A. Adesina & Moses M. Zinnah, 1993. "Technology characteristics, farmers' perceptions and adoption decisions: A Tobit model application in Sierra Leone," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 9(4), pages 297-311, December.
    10. Bekele Shiferaw & Julius Okello & Ratna Reddy, 2009. "Adoption and adaptation of natural resource management innovations in smallholder agriculture: reflections on key lessons and best practices," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 601-619, June.
    11. Oostendorp, Remco H. & Zaal, Fred, 2012. "Land Acquisition and the Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Techniques: A Duration Analysis for Kenya and The Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1240-1254.
    12. Mati, Bancy Mbura, 2005. "Overview of water and soil nutrient management under smallholder rain-fed agriculture in East Africa," IWMI Working Papers H038576, International Water Management Institute.
    13. Zoebl, Dirk, 2006. "Is water productivity a useful concept in agricultural water management?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 265-273, August.
    14. Aklilu Amsalu & Jan Graaff, 2006. "Farmers’ Views of Soil Erosion Problems and their Conservation Knowledge at Beressa Watershed, Central Highlands of Ethiopia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 23(1), pages 99-108, March.
    15. Birungi, Patrick & Hassan, Rashid M., 2007. "Impact of Alternative Land Management Options on Soil Fertility and Erosion in Uganda," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 46(3), pages 1-15, September.
    16. Scherr, Sara J., 2000. "A downward spiral? Research evidence on the relationship between poverty and natural resource degradation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 479-498, August.
    17. Polson, Rudulph A. & Spencer, Dunstan S. C., 1991. "The technology adoption process in subsistence agriculture: The case of cassava in Southwestern Nigeria," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 65-78.
    18. Adesina, Akinwumi A. & Baidu-Forson, Jojo, 1995. "Farmers' perceptions and adoption of new agricultural technology: evidence from analysis in Burkina Faso and Guinea, West Africa," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, October.
    19. Katungi, Enid & Machethe, Charles Lepepeule & Smale, Melinda, 2007. "Determinants of social capital formation in rural Uganda: Implications for group-based agricultural extension approaches," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 1(2), pages 1-24, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ullah, Ayat & Arshad, Muhammad & Kächele, Harald & Zeb, Alam & Mahmood, Nasir & Müller, Klaus, 2020. "Socio-economic analysis of farmers facing asymmetric information in inputs markets: evidence from the rainfed zone of Pakistan," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    2. Kebede Manjur Gebru & Kifle Woldearegay & Frank van Steenbergen & Aregawi Beyene & Letty Fajardo Vera & Kidane Tesfay Gebreegziabher & Taye Alemayhu, 2020. "Adoption of Road Water Harvesting Practices and Their Impacts: Evidence from a Semi-Arid Region of Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-25, October.
    3. Tadros, Maher J. & Al-Mefleh, Naji K. & Othman, Yahia A. & Al-Assaf, Amani, 2021. "Water harvesting techniques for improving soil water content, and morpho-physiology of pistachio trees under rainfed conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Boris Bravo & Horacio Cocchi & Daniel Solís, 2006. "Adoption of Soil Conservation Technologies in El Salvador: A cross-Section and Over-Time Analysis," OVE Working Papers 1806, Inter-American Development Bank, Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE).
    2. Wafula, Teresia Nekesah & Okello, Julius Juma & Otieno, David Jakinda, 2017. "Analysis Of The Use Of Inoculant-Based Technologies By Smallholder Farmers And Its Effect On Output Commercialization: Case Of Field Bean Farmers In Western Kenya," Dissertations and Theses 269392, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    3. BLAZY Jean-Marc & CARPENTIER Alain & THOMAS Alban, 2008. "An ex ante adoption model of low input innovations applied to banana growers in the French West Indies," LERNA Working Papers 08.32.276, LERNA, University of Toulouse.
    4. Meskerem Abi & Aad Kessler & Peter Oosterveer & Degefa Tolossa, 2018. "Understanding the Spontaneous Spreading of Stone Bunds in Ethiopia: Implications for Sustainable Land Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-14, July.
    5. Ahsanuzzaman, Ahsanuzzaman, 2015. "Duration Analysis of Technology Adoption in Bangladeshi Agriculture," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 200406, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Varshney, Deepak & Joshi, P.K. & Roy, Devesh & Kumar, Anjani, 2021. "Understanding the Adoption of Modern Cultivars in India: Adoption probability and use intensity," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 47(1), January.
    7. Meskerem Abi & Aad Kessler & Peter Oosterveer & Degefa Tolossa, 2020. "How farmers’ characteristics influence spontaneous spreading of stone bunds in the highlands of Ethiopia: a case study in the Girar Jarso woreda," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 317-335, January.
    8. Alcon, Francisco & De Miguel, María Dolores & Burton, Michael P., 2008. "Adopción de tecnología de distribución y control del agua en las Comunidades de Regantes de la Región de Murcia," Economia Agraria y Recursos Naturales, Spanish Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 8(01), pages 1-19.
    9. Ayuk, Elias T., 1997. "Adoption of agroforestry technology: The case of live hedges in the central plateau of Burkina Faso," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 189-206, June.
    10. Wafullah, Teresah Nekesah, 2017. "Analysis Of The Use Of Inoculant-Based Technologies By Smallholder Farmers And Its Effect On Output Commercialization: Case Of Field Bean Farmers In Western Kenya," Research Theses 276457, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    11. Avila-Santamaria, Jorge J. & Useche, Maria P., 2016. "Urea Subsidies and the Decision to Allocate Land to a New Fertilizing Technology: Ex-ante Analysis in Ecuador," 2016 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2016, San Antonio, Texas 229851, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    12. Martey, Edward & Wiredu, Alexander Nimo & Etwire, Prince M. & Fosu, Mathias & Buah, S. S. J. & Bidzakin, John & Ahiabor, Benjamin D. K. & Kusi, Francis, 2014. "Fertilizer Adoption and Use Intensity Among Smallholder Farmers in Northern Ghana: A Case Study of the AGRA Soil Health Project," Sustainable Agriculture Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 3(1).
    13. Caroline Roussy & Aude Ridier & Karim Chaïb, 2014. "Adoption d’innovations par les agriculteurs : rôle des perceptions et des préférences," Post-Print hal-01123427, HAL.
    14. Shaosheng Jin & Bashiru Mansaray & Xin Jin & Haoyang Li, 2020. "Farmers’ preferences for attributes of rice varieties in Sierra Leone," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(5), pages 1185-1197, October.
    15. Wubeneh, Nega Gebreselassie & Sanders, J.H., 2006. "Farm-level adoption of sorghum technologies in Tigray, Ethiopia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 122-134, November.
    16. Kenneth, Akankwasa & Gerald, Ortmann & Edilegnaw, Wale & Wilberforce, Tushemereirwe, 2012. "Ex-Ante Adoption of New Cooking Banana (Matooke) Hybrids in Uganda Based on Farmers' Perceptions," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 123302, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Wossink, G. A. A. & de Buck, A. J. & van Niejenhuis, J. H. & Haverkamp, H. C. M., 1997. "Farmer perceptions of weed control techniques in sugarbeet," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 409-423, November.
    18. Batz, F. -J. & Peters, K. J. & Janssen, W., 1999. "The influence of technology characteristics on the rate and speed of adoption," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 121-130, October.
    19. Adesina, Akinwumi A. & Baidu-Forson, Jojo, 1995. "Farmers' perceptions and adoption of new agricultural technology: evidence from analysis in Burkina Faso and Guinea, West Africa," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, October.
    20. Raju Ghimire & Wen-Chi Huang, 2015. "Household wealth and adoption of improved maize varieties in Nepal: a double-hurdle approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1321-1335, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:194:y:2017:i:c:p:150-159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.