Inter-seasonal Effects on Selected Maturity Parameters of DK8031 Maize Grown under Varying Irrigation and Nitrogen Levels in Embu County, Kenya

Maize is a staple food and a source of carbohydrates to a large proportion of people in Kenya. The performance of crop plants such as maize depends on a number of factors such as climate, soil characteristics and plant species. The maturity parameters such time to tassel, milk stage, physiological maturity and biological maturity are consequently affected which in turn has an influence on crop performance. A study was carried out at University of Embu Demonstration Farm that lies at 03° 30′ S latitude, 37° 30′ E longitude, and altitude 1480 m above sea level, soils being Humic Nitisols. To evaluate the effects of seasonal weather variability on maturity parameters of DK8031 maize, a CRBD in a split plot experimental arrangement was set up in which four irrigation levels (I) and five nitrogen fertilizer rates (N) were allocated the main and subplot treatments in two seasons, respectively. The results revealed that the irrigation levels and nitrogen rates significantly (P<0.05) affected the time to reach the 50% tasseling, 50% milk stage and 50% physiological maturity, ranging from 69 to 73, 99 to 107 and 128 to 140 days after planting, respectively. In all cases, Season I (cool and less rainfall, 530.3 mm) crop took longer to reach any the three developmental stages, compared to Season II (warm and more rainfall = 605.6 mm). The time variation in reaching the developmental stages was attributed to the seasonal weather conditions. Farmers can opt to plant their maize crop in Season II to take advantage of the shorter period the crop takes to mature

Extension-Market Linkages on Banana Commercialisation Among Smallholder Farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design, sampling 370 and 30 farmers proportionately from 269,499 and 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties of Kenya, respectively. The Tobit model was used to analyze the effect of extension-Market linkages on banana commercialization. The results revealed that sources of the Marketing information (Coef. -.0676939) had a negative influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The result showed that the Reliability of local extension service provider in enabling farmers access to market information (Coef. 0.037) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in commercializing banana business (Coef. 0.636157) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. It is recommended that the government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialize banana. This will help farmers increase their income

Extension-Market Linkages on Banana Commercialisation Among Smallholder Farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design, sampling 370 and 30 farmers proportionately from 269,499 and 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties of Kenya, respectively. The Tobit model was used to analyze the effect of extension-Market linkages on banana commercialization. The results revealed that sources of the Marketing information (Coef. -.0676939) had a negative influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The result showed that the Reliability of local extension service provider in enabling farmers access to market information (Coef. 0.037) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in commercializing banana business (Coef. 0.636157) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. It is recommended that the government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialize banana. This will help farmers increase their income

Determinants Influencing the Adoption of Rice Intensification System among Smallholders in Mwea Irrigation Scheme, Kenya

Rice farming has received considerable attention in developing countries and particularly in Kenya due to its impact on smallholders’ income and food security. Irrigated rice is the largest consumer of water, and its sustainability is threatened by water shortage. This has necessitated the development of alternative irrigation water technologies, such as the system of rice intensification (SRI), which are efficient in water use with improved yields. This study analyzed the determinants of adoption of SRI in the Mwea Irrigation Scheme where stratified sampling was used to obtain 364 smallholder rice farmers. A semistructured questionnaire was used to collect primary data, which was then analyzed using a binary logistic regression model. The results showed that age (−0.3%) was significant but with a negative effect on adoption of SRI. Farm size (2.499%), household size (1.895%), distance from the canal (1.354%), off-farm work (3.953%), access to credit services (8.714%), access to extension services (7.809%), and years in rice farming (0.409%) were found positively and significantly influencing factors to the adoption of SRI. Therefore, this study concludes that smallholders attempt to improve rice productivity through adoption of SRI should give a special priority to all significant factors

Extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation among smallholder farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study sampled 400 farmers from a target population of 288,802 from the Meru region. The Tobit model was used to analyse the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation. The results revealed that sources of marketing information (Coef. -0.06) had a negative influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The result showed that the reliability of local extension service providers in enabling farmer’s access to market information (Coef. 0.04) had a positive influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in the commercialisation banana business (Coef. 0.63) had a positive influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The study concludes that there was an association between extension marketing linkages and banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in Meru region, Kenya. Government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialise bananas. This will help farmers increase their income

Extension-Market Linkages on Banana Commercialisation Among Smallholder Farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design, sampling 370 and 30 farmers proportionately from 269,499 and 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties of Kenya, respectively. The Tobit model was used to analyze the effect of extension-Market linkages on banana commercialization. The results revealed that sources of the Marketing information (Coef. -.0676939) had a negative influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The result showed that the Reliability of local extension service provider in enabling farmers access to market information (Coef. 0.037) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in commercializing banana business (Coef. 0.636157) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. It is recommended that the government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialize banana. This will help farmers increase their income