Adopters,testers or pseudo-adopters? Dynamics of the use of improved tree fallows by farmers in western Kenya

Although there has been increasing research on the adoption of agroforestry technologies over the last decade, few such studies have assessed uptake over a long period and many are based on a single snapshot in time. Furthermore, most of these studies have mainly looked at non-adopters and adopters: only recently have social scientists considered testers. A further category of users neglected in adoption studies has been re-adopters of technologies. Studying this group provides an interesting and more nuanced understanding of adoption and re-adoption. Methodologically, most adoption studies use quantitative methods and fail to link their findings to wider socio-economic, political and institutional settings. This paper presents a study of the dynamics of improved tree fallow use by farmers in Siaya and Vihiga districts of western Kenya over a period of eight years. It uses both qualitative and quantitative data to critically discuss the motivations of adopters, testers/rejecters and re-adopters. The results show that the process of adoption is highly dynamic and variable with farmers planting improved fallows and discontinuing or re-adopting them due to a whole range of factors, of which soil fertility improvement is just one. These factors included incentives from projects, the tying of adoption to credit programmes, prestige, participation in seminars/tours and the availability of a seed market from projects promoting improved fallows. Farmers planting improved fallows for such reasons may be termed ‘pseudo-adopters’. There were significant differences in adoption between the two districts, with more farmers in Siaya planting improved fallows than in Vihiga. A majority of farmers in Vihiga (53%) who were given seed never planted improved fallows, even though they had been exposed to the technology. Some 40% of farmers in Siaya and 38% in Vihiga planted improved fallows but later rejected them. This has some important implications for research and development. For improved fallow technologies to be attractive to farmers, they must provide other tangible economic benefits besides soil fertility improvement. This presents a challenge to researchers who must better attune themselves to the needs and demands of farmers if they wish to see their research findings widely adopted.     

Farmers' attitudes towards techniques for improving oestrus detection in dairy herds in South West England

Unidentified heats contribute to declining fertility rates in English dairy herds. Several techniques have been advocated to improve heat detection rates. Despite demonstrable technical efficacy and cost-effectiveness, uptake is low. A study in South West England used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) to explore dairy farmers' attitudes and beliefs towards heat detection techniques. Few farmers were convinced that following prescribed observation times, milk progesterone testing and using pedometers would fit their system or improve on their current heat detection practices. Perceived difficulty of using a technique was not a constraint on adoption. Without promotion that addresses identified barriers and drivers to adoption, little change in current practice can be expected.     

黄金间碧玉竹引种试验

通过对黄金间碧玉竹的繁殖和适应性试验，认为黄金间碧玉竹繁殖容易，适应性强．在亚热带轻霜地区种植，生长良好，可作观赏和材用。影响其生长发育的主要限制因子是霜冻，若定檀当年和次年采取防护措施，待其根系、地下茎和茎杆抗性增强后，便可抵御一定程度的寒窖。     

Improving adoptability of farm forestry in the Philippine uplands: a linear programming model

In the Philippines, smallholder farmers have become major timber producers. But the systems of timber production practiced have several limitations. In intercropping systems, the practice of severe branch and/or root pruning reduces tree-crop competition and increases annual crop yields, but is detrimental to tree growth and incompatible with commercial timber production. In even-aged woodlots, lack of regular income and poor tree growth, resulting from farmers’ reluctance to thin their plantations, are major constraints to adoption and profitable tree farming. In the municipality of Claveria, Misamis Oriental, the recent practice of planting trees on widely spaced (6–8 m) contour grass strips established for soil conservation suggests ways to improve the adoptability (i.e., profitability, feasibility and acceptability) of timber-based agroforestry systems. Assuming that financial benefits are the main objective of timber tree farmers, we develop a simple linear programming (LP) model for the optimal allocation of land to monocropping and tree intercropping that maximizes the net present value of an infinite number of rotations and satisfies farmers’ resource constraints and regular income requirements. The application of the LP model to an average farmer in Claveria showed that cumulative additions of widely spaced tree hedgerows provides higher returns to land, and reduce the risk of agroforestry adoption by spreading over the years labour and capital investment costs and the economic benefits accruing to farmers from trees. Therefore, incremental planting of widely spaced tree hedgerows can make farm forestry more adoptable and thus benefit a larger number of resource-constrained farmers in their evolution towards more diverse and productive agroforestry systems.     

Live fences in Ségou, Mali : an evaluation by their early users

Market-oriented production of gardening crops and cassava (Manihot utilissima) in the dry season is an increasingly frequent practice in Ségou, Mali. Traditionally, these crops are protected from roaming livestock with the help of dead fences. In order to provide a sustainable alternative to dead fences, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) began promoting the use of live fences, living trees planted closely together around a field plot. This study was conducted with the first farmers to use these live fences. These farmers expressed satisfaction with the protection offered by the trees and their ability to provide a variety of medicinal, economic, and food products. The form of land tenure, the social status of farmers within their families, and the availability of labour seem to be important factors in the decision to test the live fence. This raises questions about the accessibility of this technique and its possible contribution to the social and economic differentiation of its users. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Determinants of Agricultural Intensity Index “Scores” in a Frontier Region: An Analysis of Data from Northern Guatemala

Data on farming systems in Petén, Guatemala, were used to develop an agricultural intensity index. The index can be used to assign an intensity “score” to a given farming system based on the array of practices used by the farmer, each practice’s contribution to production intensity, and the scale at which these practices are used. The scores assigned to 118 farmers in three study areas in Petén were analyzed through analysis of variance (ANOVA) to identify the factors that account for the variation in intensity levels, as measured through the index. The analyses reveal that the factors influencing agricultural intensity in Petén vary greatly from one study area to the next. This is due to differences in livelihood opportunities and strategies that, in turn, affect how agriculture fits into the local economy and how and why intensification is pursued. Variation in intensity levels can best be understood by considering the factors at the household and sub-regional scales that influence (a) whether farmers feel a need to intensify, (b) whether they see some benefit in doing so, and (c) whether they have the resources required to intensify production through particular strategies. Close attention must be paid to these factors by conservation and development organizations seeking to influence land use patterns and conserve forest in Petén. Avrum J. Shriar is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University where he specializes in Environmental Geography, Rural Development and Land Use, Farming Systems, and Latin America and the Caribbean. He holds a BA in Geography from Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec, a Master of Environmental Studies (MES) from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and a PhD in Geography from the University of Florida in Gainesville. Some of his recent articles have appeared in Food Policy, Geoforum, Human Ecology, Agroforestry Systems, and the Delaware Review of Latin American Studies.     

An extension approach for the national grazing strategy based on farmer characteristics in the eastern cape 1

Abstract

The development of a sound communication programme for the National Grazing strategy should be based on an understanding of the characteristics of the farmer population of the area concerned. The social, socio‐demographic, socio‐economie, socio‐psychological, communication and agricultural production characteristics of the population must be identified, and then be used to formulate a communication programme. Information obtained from 153 farmers in six farming communities was used to develop an extension approach for the National Grazing Strategy.     

Factors determining the adoption of laser land leveling in the irrigated rice–wheat system in Haryana,India

Laser land leveling has been increasingly adopted in the irrigated rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system in the state of Haryana (India), located in the north-western Indo-Gangetic Plains. Still, many farmers have applied it to only a fraction of their land. In this study, we used data collected from 621 farm households in Haryana and applied a double-hurdle model for assessing the factors that determine the adoption and intensity of laser-leveling technology. The results show that large land holders are more likely to laser level their farm land; however, we found a negative association between land holdings and the proportion of laser-leveled land. Information about technology through farmer-to-farmer communication and through private traders, participation in agricultural training and membership in local agricultural institutions increased both the likelihood and the intensity of adoption. Our findings call for a closer collaboration among the various stakeholders, specifically to promote farmer-to-farmer communication through increased participation in local institutions and increase the rate of adoption of laser leveling technology.     

Understanding farmers’ potato production practices and use of improved varieties in Chencha,Ethiopia

This study was carried out to better understand non-adoption of improved varieties of potato (Solanum tuberosum) and associated technologies by smallholder farmers in Chencha, Ethiopia. Data were collected through a survey (n = 47) and in-depth interviews (n = 20). It shows how wealth status was a factor of major importance. Most wealthy and some medium-wealthy farmers adopted improved potato varieties and many of the improved production practices; they had access to seed, associated knowledge and support, and sufficient resources that were necessary to apply the improved practices. Non-adoption was common among many medium-wealthy and most poor farmers: they lacked—next to access to the technologies and knowledge—cash, land, and labor. Results indicated the need to rethink research and intervention efforts. Next to paying attention to differences in the access to technology and the related knowledge, there is a need to consider the variation in technology needs, supporting microcredit services, and room to experiment. As a result, different combinations of improved production practices may be adopted.     

Adoption and Impact of Modern Rice Varieties on Poverty in Eastern India

The factors affecting the adoption of modern varieties(MVs) of rice and impact on poverty in Odisha, India were discussed. A total of 363 households from Cuttack and Sambalpur districts of Odisha via multistage sampling technique participated in the survey. The Cragg's Double hurdle model was used to model the determinants of adoption and intensity of adoption of MVs of rice, and the propensity score matching was used to analyze the impact of adoption on poverty. The results showed that age, education, risk aversion, land size, yield, perception of MVs as high yielding, resistant to diseases and availability of MVs positively influenced the decision to adopt. However, variables such as household size, experience of a farmer, off-farm job participation, amount of credit received, cost of seeds, insecticides and fertilizers negatively influenced the adoption of MVs. Intensity of adoption of MVs was negatively influenced by experience of a farmer, cost of fertilizer and marketability of MVs, and positively affected by household size, risk aversion, land size, cost of insecticides, perception of MVs as high yielding and availability of MV seeds. Poverty incidence, gap and severity were high among non-adopters to adopters of MVs. After matching adopters and non-adopters of MV groups using four different algorithms of nearest neighbour matching, stratification matching, radius matching and kernel matching, the impact of MV adoption resulted in higher per capita monthly household expenditure by about US$ 52.82 to US$ 63.17.