Adoption of Agricultural Innovations:The Effectiveness of Communication Channels Used in The Diffusion of Zero Grazing Among Dairy Farmers in Bureti Sub County, Kericho County, Kenya
- August 7, 2021
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: Agriculture, IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VII, July 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
Emily Keles Muli
School of Science and Technology, University of Kabianga, Kenya
Abstract: This study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of communication channels on the diffusion and adoption of zero grazing farming method among dairy farmers in Bureti Sub-County of Kericho County. Mixed method research approach was adopted and data was collected using observation, focus group discussions and structured interviews to provide both qualitative and quantitative data. The sample size was determined by a simplified formula provided by Yamane (1967) to obtain a sample of 396 households at 95% confidence level. The study showed that radio, TV, internet, agro-vets and ‘other farmers’ were the preferred sources of farming information among dairy farmers in Bureti Sub County. The sources used by change agents – demos/workshops, meetings/barazas and extension workers were rarely used by farmers either as sources of farming information or for decision making in the adoption of zero-grazing method. In decisions to adopt zero-grazing, the radio, the TV and internet were the preferred communication methods.
Key words: Food Security, Communication and diffusion of innovations, diffusion of agricultural innovations, zero grazing, zero-grazing in Kenya.
I.INTRODUCTION
Kenya’s dairy sub sector today contributes about 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with most farmers being small scale. However, the demand of milk is still much ahead of production which is 3.43 billion litres annually against an increasing demand that had reached about 4 billion liters by 2012. Consumption is estimated to rise by three to four per cent annually driven by increase in population, urbanization and income. It was anticipated that by the year 2020, the consumption would rise to 4.7 billion litres, still far ahead of the anticipated production increase (GoK, 2013; Omunyin, Ruto, Yegon and Bii, 2014). Furthermore, FAO recommends annual per capita milk consumption of 220 litres while the current Kenyan annual per capita milk consumption is 120 litres. More milk is therefore needed to meet the increasing demand (FAO, 2019).
The zero-grazing method of cattle rearing was introduced in Kenya by the National Dairy Development Project (NDDP) in
