Effectiveness of Agricultural Extension Wildlife Mitigation Strategies on Human-Wildlife Conflict Among Small-Scale Maize Farmers in Laikipia County, Kenya

Agriculture is critical in the achievement of food security, employment of creation opportunities, steering economic growth, and also a source of raw materials for agricultural industries in many Sub-Saharan countries. However, farmers face various challenges which negatively affect farm productivity and production. Human-wildlife conflict is one of the most pressing challenges that smallholder maize farmers experience in some parts of Kenya. It arises from either people’s encroachment on wildlife habitats or the movement of wildlife from their natural habitat into neighboring farmland. Small-scale farmers use various agricultural extension strategies to mitigate the conflict. However, the effectiveness of the agricultural extension mitigation strategies adopted by smallholder maize farmers in Laikipia County had not been investigated and information on the same was inadequate and poorly documented. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of the agricultural extension wildlife conflict mitigation strategies adopted by smallholder maize farmers in Laikipia County. Whereas a document review guide was used to collect secondary data, semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from maize farmers and extension agents. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze primary data. It was established that crop damage was very severe, even up to 70% per cropping season although farmers used mitigation strategies such growing of unpalatable plants, live fences, hairy crops, and digging trenches. This study concluded that the Agricultural Extension Mitigation Strategies used were not effective. It was recommended concerted efforts between stakeholders in the conflict to realize the benefits of synergies so as to stem crop damage and give small-scale farmers a chance to be food secure

Effectiveness of Agricultural Training Centers’ Curriculum in Promoting Adoption of Agricultural Technologies: Evidence from Small-scale Potato Farmers in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Agricultural Training Centres (ATCs) promote crop and livestock development by providing extension information to farmers and serving as models of improved crop and livestock husbandry practices. Although potato farmers in Nyandarua County were trained on potato production technologies, their average yield was ≤ 16 tonnes per hectare compared to the national potential of 30 tonnes. This study therefore sought to determine the effectiveness of ATCs’ curriculum in promoting farmers’ adoption of selected potato production technologies in Nyandarua County in Kenya. A survey design was used. Primary data was collected from 136 farmers trained at ATCs on potato production using interview schedules. The respondents were sampled through a five-stage technique. The data was analysed using T-test and ANOVA, then summarized into percentages. Study results showed that adoption of recommended potato production technologies produced high yields compared to traditional technologies. It was therefore concluded that ATCs’ curriculum was effective in promoting farmers’ adoption of potato seed selection, planting, crop protection and harvesting technologies. It is recommended that ATCs’ curriculum prioritise demonstrations that show the influence of clean seed, fertilizer application, timely harvesting and spacing on potato yields. Further, campaigns should be held to educate farmers on the importance of potato dehaulming to promote its adoption. In addition, farmer-based seed production programs should be started in the County aimed at ensuring ready availability of seed

Effectiveness of Agricultural Training Centers’ Curriculum in Promoting Adoption of Agricultural Technologies: Evidence from Small-scale Potato Farmers in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Agricultural Training Centres (ATCs) promote crop and livestock development by providing extension information to farmers and serving as models of improved crop and livestock husbandry practices. Although potato farmers in Nyandarua County were trained on potato production technologies, their average yield was ≤ 16 tonnes per hectare compared to the national potential of 30 tonnes. This study therefore sought to determine the effectiveness of ATCs’ curriculum in promoting farmers’ adoption of selected potato production technologies in Nyandarua County in Kenya. A survey design was used. Primary data was collected from 136 farmers trained at ATCs on potato production using interview schedules. The respondents were sampled through a five-stage technique. The data was analysed using T-test and ANOVA, then summarized into percentages. Study results showed that adoption of recommended potato production technologies produced high yields compared to traditional technologies. It was therefore concluded that ATCs’ curriculum was effective in promoting farmers’ adoption of potato seed selection, planting, crop protection and harvesting technologies. It is recommended that ATCs’ curriculum prioritise demonstrations that show the influence of clean seed, fertilizer application, timely harvesting and spacing on potato yields. Further, campaigns should be held to educate farmers on the importance of potato dehaulming to promote its adoption. In addition, farmer-based seed production programs should be started in the County aimed at ensuring ready availability of seed

Effectiveness of Agricultural Training Centers' Curriculum in Promoting Adoption of Agricultural Technologies: Evidence from Small-scale Potato Farmers in Nyandarua County, Kenya International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development (IJAMAD)

A gricultural Training Centres (ATCs) promote crop and livestock development by providing extension information to farmers and serving as models of improved crop and livestock husbandry practices. Although potato farmers in Nyandarua County were trained on potato production technologies, their average yield was ≤ 16 tonnes per hectare compared to the national potential of 30 tonnes. This study therefore sought to determine the effectiveness of ATCs' curriculum in promoting farmers' adoption of selected potato production technologies in Nyandarua County in Kenya. A survey design was used. Primary data was collected from 136 farmers trained at ATCs on potato production using interview schedules. The respondents were sampled through a five-stage technique. The data was analysed using T-test and ANOVA, then summarized into percentages. Study results showed that adoption of recommended potato production technologies produced high yields compared to traditional technologies. It was therefore concluded that ATCs' curriculum was effective in promoting farmers' adoption of potato seed selection, planting, crop protection and harvesting technologies. It is recommended that ATCs' curriculum prioritise demonstrations that show the influence of clean seed, fertilizer application, timely harvesting and spacing on potato yields. Further, campaigns should be held to educate farmers on the importance of potato dehaulming to promote its adoption. In addition, farmer-based seed production programs should be started in the County aimed at ensuring ready availability of seed

Experiential learning for agricultural students in institutions of higher learning: The case of Egerton University

Traditionally, many universities have majored in training and research but are increasingly under pressure to proactively engage communities through their academic programmes. The need to produce graduates with practical experience in their areas of specialization is real and urgent. Universities must therefore seek innovative approaches to provide students with experiential learning through internship programmes, among other approaches. This paper documents Egerton University’s farm attachment programme that provides agricultural students an opportunity to work with rural communities as part of their training. The paper outlines the approach used, characteristics of farms and farmers that participated in the programme, typology of students participating, lessons learnt and the impacts of the programme. Students were attached on farms for a minimum of eight weeks where they spent 3-4 days in the farm and 1-2 days at the Sub- County Agricultural offices. Since January 2014 when the programme was initiated, over 200 students and about 100 farmers have participated in the programme. Impacts and benefits of the programme include increased productivity at the farm level, increased awareness and utilization of agricultural technologies by farmers and students, lessons and experiences pointing to the need for curriculum review, as well as need for prompt, reliable and unbiased agricultural information, and ethnic integration. Integration of the farm attachment programme experiences into university-wide learning and teaching curricula and/ or approaches will go a long way in safeguarding benefits realized and thus, increasing the relevance and contribution by Egerton University to development agenda . A model for scaling up the programme for greater impact is discussed

Sexually transmitted infection knowledge among men who have sex with men in Nairobi, Kenya.

BackgroundHigh rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among men who have sex with men (MSM) have been reported, but there is little research on their STI knowledge. Our study sought to determine participants' characteristics that contribute to either high or low STI knowledge among MSM in Nairobi, Kenya.MethodsWe mobilized MSM aged ≥18 years from Nairobi into a cross-sectional study. To determine their understanding of STIs, a pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered. Knowledge score was generated by summing up the number of responses answered correctly by a participant. We dichotomized scores as "low" and "high", by splitting the group at ResultsA total of 404 participants were interviewed between March and August 2020. The mean age was 25.2 (SD = 6.4) years. Majority were single (80.4%) and Christians (84.2%). All participants had some formal education ranging from primary to tertiary; the majority (92.3%) had secondary education or more. Most (64.0%) were employed and their monthly income ranged from 150 USD. Almost all (98.5%) were Kenyans. Of the 404 (90.6%) self-identified as male and (47.5%) reported to be exclusively top partners. Many (39.9%) reported being versatile, while those reporting to be bottom partners were, (12.6%). The last 12 months, (55.4%) of the participants reported having sex with men only and (88.6%) reported to have had multiple sexual partners. Participants scored an average of 12.2, SD 4.5. Multivariable backward elimination logistic regression revealed that participants who had tertiary education (aOR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.32-0.77), a higher income (aOR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.22-0.75) and were engaging in vaginal sex (aOR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.25-2.78) predicted significantly higher odds of high knowledge in the final multivariable model.ConclusionParticipant's knowledge level regarding STIs was low. We recommend health care workers to continue educating patients about STIs