| dc.description.abstract | One of the major agricultural activities of the country is sugarcane production, although
the productivity of sugarcane is low relative to the potential. Despite the fact that
sustainable practices encourage production, smallholder farmers do not implement it due
to a number of reasons. The research project was intended to explore the socio-economic
issues that affect the adoption of the sustainable sugarcane farming culture among
smallholders in Kakamega North sub-county. The objectives were specific and were as
follows to evaluate the current rate of adoption of sustainable sugarcane farming practices,
establish the relationship that exists between socioeconomic factors and the adoption of
sustainable sugarcane farming practices among sugarcane smallholder farmers, and
explore the role of farmer groups in adoption of sustainable sugarcane farming practices
among sugarcane smallholder farmers. The study involved all the seven wards in
Kakamega North sub-county in which the population of sugarcane smallholder farmers
was 65,323 and a sample size of 394. The study employed the cross-sectional survey design.
Sampling proportion was done to provide sufficient ward representation. A questionnaire
that is structured was used to gather data by the questionnaire to the sampled farmers. The
study results thereof included the following; 84 percent of them practiced mulching, 93
percent did not do soil testing, and 100 percent did not practice integrated harvesting
methods. Gender, the level of farming experience, and income were found to have
significant (p ≤ 0.05) association with adoption of mulching practices. On the same note,
integration of the practices of weeding was significantly related ( p ≤ 0.05 ) to gender and
education level, level of income, membership to farmer groups and access to extension
services. Moreover, extension services, soils testing practice, and income level were highly
associated with the adoption of the practice of soil testing. To sum up, the research paper
underscores that gender, farm experience, education level, income level, farm groups and
extension services are important factors in determining the sustainable farming practices
adoption of sugarcane smallholder farmers. As a means of increasing the uptake of such
practices, a need is presently that policymakers, agricultural extension officers and farmer
organizations should focus on certain interventions that are to be packaged and lobbied
effectively to enable them to take care of these critical issues and hence, create a more
sustainable sugarcane production practice. Further studies are needed in future to examine
long-term effects of such socio-economic factors on sustainability and address novel
strategies in an effort to eliminate obstacles to the introduction of sustainable practices. | en_US |
