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ADOPTION DYNAMICS OF TITHONIA DIVERSIFOLIA FOR SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT IN PILOT VILLAGES OF WESTERN KENYA†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

EVELYNE KIPTOT
EVELYNE KIPTOT*
Affiliation:
Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Muguga Regional Research Centre, P.0 Box 20412-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
*
Corresponding author: ekiptot@yahoo.com
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Summary

This paper presents the results of a study that was undertaken to assess adoption dynamics of Tithonia diversifolia in Siaya and Vihiga districts of western Kenya from 1997 to 2004. The study was undertaken among a random sample of 120 farmers from eight pilot villages exposed to the technology. Descriptive statistics and a logit regression model were used to analyse data. The findings show that more farmers in pilot villages of Siaya are taking up the use of Tithonia than in Vihiga. As of 2004, 52% of farmers in Siaya were adopters compared to only 8% in Vihiga. Results of the logit regression model show that the use of Tithonia biomass for soil fertility management (SFM) is more likely to be adopted in a context where there is a scarcity of animal manure, farmers are willing to plant it on farms and hire casual labour. The use of Tithonia by smallholder farmers for SFM is therefore a promising low-cost option that can be scaled up to areas where farmers face similar constraints.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , October 2008 , pp. 473 - 484
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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Footnotes

†

This research is part of a PhD programme on Participatory Approaches and Up-scaling, co-ordinated by Technology and Agrarian Development of Wageningen University and Research Centre, Netherlands.

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