International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue XII, December 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
Beatrice Chepkoech1, Atsiaya Obwina Godfrey2
1Department of Agricultural Education and Extension, Egerton University, P.O Box 536-20115, Kenya
2Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Egerton University, P.O Box 536 -20115, Kenya
Abstract: This study aims to analyze the factors influencing the performance of climate-smart agriculture projects for smallholder farmers in Nakuru County, Kenya. This cross-sectional study was conducted to discover the factors behind the slow performance of climate-Smart agriculture projects in adopting, mitigating, and increasing productivity, and therefore improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The research was conducted in the 11 Sub-Counties of Nakuru County, Kenya. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire survey administered to 110 agriculture extension workers. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis. The results indicated that farmers’ factors, project, and political factors significantly affected the performance of the agricultural projects at variation of 83.3 % (R2 = 0.833). The study recommends that the government and all relevant stakeholders work jointly to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. It is especially important to ensure that smallholder farmers are equipped with self-help capabilities and allowed to participate in climate-smart agriculture project decision-making. In addition, it is critical to examine the issues of funding disbursement, improve the political environment in which CSA projects work, and project factors.
Keywords: Climate-smart agriculture, farmer factors, project factors, political factors, smallholder farmers
I. INTRODUCTION
Agriculture plays an important role in Africa’s economy with about 70% of the continent’s population practicing it for their livelihoods (Adenle et al., 2019). Hence, the significance of this sector in providing employment and motivating economic growth in a developing nation such as Kenya cannot be undermined. Kenya’s economy is largely agriculture-driven with the majority of the population who dwell in rural areas deriving their livelihood directly or indirectly from the agricultural sector (Eichsteller et al., 2022). About 40% of the overall workforce of which 70% of the rural workforce and about 25% of the annual workforce are from the agricultural sector (Amwata, 2020). Kenyan agriculture is endowered by small-, medium, and large-scale farming though smallholder production represents roughly 75 per cent of the total agricultural output (Birch, 2018).