The role of extension in agroforestry development: evidence from western Kenya

The extension strategy used by the CARE International in Kenya Agroforestry Extension Project (AEP) is described. This strategy is evaluated in terms of documented changes in farmer's agroforestry practices and the importance of AEP relative to other changes in economic incentives, institutional support, and land use and tenure rules for agroforestry. The project served mainly to increase awareness of the multipurpose potential of agroforestry, expand available technical options, and strengthen local institutions. Its community-based extension approach was more suitable for local conditions than commodity-based, training-and-visit, farming systems, or media-based extension. Projects are encouraged to tailor extension design to local circumstances, use community participation to guide extension priorities, and use extensionists as catalysts and information brokers.Research undertaken while the author was a Principal Scientist at the International Council for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.     

肯尼亚和中国农业资源投入与农业单产水平变化

当前,肯尼亚和中国在生产足够粮食以保障粮食安全方面都面临着严峻的挑战。尤其是对于肯尼亚而言,因为其2100年预测的人口将达到2018年的1.4倍,且其粮食生产在过去并没有大幅度的改善。而中国近些年粮食生产能力显著提高。本文系统分析了肯尼亚和中国农业资源投入、种植业和畜牧业单产水平的历史变化,以及农业资源投入与产量之间的关系,为肯尼亚粮食危机和消灭贫困提供更多的理论支撑。研究结果表明,在20世纪60年代,肯尼亚耕地、草地和降水等自然资源人均占有量比中国高2~3倍,且人均食物能量和蛋白质供应显著高于中国。当前,肯尼亚人均资源拥有量仍高出中国约30%,但是其人均食品供应和粮食自给率却远低于中国平均水平。这是由于与肯尼亚相比,中国在种植业和畜牧业长期持续的投入,大幅度地增加了种植业和畜牧业能量或蛋白质单产水平。1961-2017年,中国和肯尼亚作物蛋白的平均单产分别增加282%和44%。中国的数据表明,种植业和畜牧业单产水平与肥料、精饲料、机械和农药的投入具有显著正相关性;农牧业生产结构对单产水平的变化影响也很大,如种植业中蔬菜和水果播种面积占比,畜牧业中单胃动物饲养占比等。总的来说,农业资源投入和农业结构对生产力的提高都有很大的影响,这可能是肯尼亚提高农业生产力的潜在选择。     

Managing Striga infestation on maize using organic and inorganic nutrient sources in western Kenya

The influence of weather and cropping practices on the population dynamics of the leafhopper Psammotettix alienus, a vector of wheat dwarf virus, is examined. The occurrence of the two annual generations was monitored by water traps in winter wheat fields in Central Sweden from autumn 1997 to autumn 2000. Surveys were also carried out in unploughed fallows, leys and permanent pastures. The results indicate that cold weather in early summer affected nymphal development negatively, and that the negative effect on population size may persist into the following year. On the other hand, warm weather in the autumn may result in a large overwintering population. Very few P. alienus were caught during weeks with average maximum temperatures <10°C, and in warmer weather catches increased with temperature. Consequently, late sowing of winter wheat decreases oviposition opportunities and the risk of virus spread because leafhopper activity ceases as temperatures decrease in the autumn. Adults of the spring generation were most abundant in fallows. However, phenological data indicated that the progeny were unlikely to reach the adult stage because fallows were usually terminated before nymphal development was complete.     

Ustilago kamerunensis on Napier grass in Kenya

Napier or elephant grass, Pennisetum purpureum Schum., is the major source of fodder for stall-fed dairy cattle in Kenya. In the early 1990s, a new disease, caused by Utilago kamerunensis P. & H. Sydow was reported on the grass. Since there was a lack of information on the general pest and disease status of Napier grass in Kenya, a survey was carried out. The survey confirmed that U. kamerunensis was the major pest and disease threat to Napier grass production in the country, having spread to four districts and occurring in 27% of farm plots sampled. The existence of disease hotspots suggests that the main means of spread is through transport of infected planting material, and that the severity of the disease in Kenya compared with other countries results from an increase in the cultivation of Napier grass over the past decade.     

The Establishment of the Environment Agency and the Present State of the Agricultural Chemical Control Regulations in Japan

Abstract

Sweet potato vein clearing disease agents have been eliminated from 20 elite clones of sweet potato through meristem tip culture. Meristem tips of 0.25 to 0.4 mm length were cultured in a modified Murashige and Skoog medium. Plantlets were obtained after two months and transferred to soil. Indexing was accomplished by approach grafting to Ipomoea setosa. About 80% of the plants obtained by meristem tip culture indexed negatively. Rapid multiplication was accomplished using single node cutting in vitro. A multiplication rate of 4.2 /month was obtained. The material can be stored in tissue culture for one year without transfer to fresh medium. Virus-free material of IITA elite clones of sweet potato is available for distribution.     

Nutrients,Trace Elements and Net N Mineralization in Acidic Kenyan Soils

The nutrients status and properties in Kenyan soils (Kiambu, Mbeere Districts) are reported with the aim to elucidate the factors of productivity decline. According to the FAO (1988) system the studied soils were classified as humic Nitisols, haplic Acrisols or luvic Arenosols. The soils were found acidic, as a result of leaching of exchangeable cations and they are poor in organic carbon. Cation exchange capacity was extremely low in the sandy soils of Mbeere. Available phosphorus and exchangeable K⁺ were low inducing a crucial problem of soil fertility. Among the micronutrients, manganese extracted by DTPA was most abundant element, while micronutrients extracted by 4 M HNO₃ ranked as follows: Fe>Mn>Zn>Cu. Copper (DTPA) was low and manganese was extremely high in Kiambu. Iron content varied greatly, while decreased zinc was observed in Mbeere. Nitrogen mineralization over an incubation period of 30 weeks ranged from 54.64 to 145.50 mg kg^?1 and represents 4.53–21.09% of the total soil nitrogen. Soil nitrogen was associated to soil organic carbon and was strongly correlated to total soil N. Water harvesting, liming, and improved management of composting and manure are amongst the measures to restore soil fertility.     

Ridge-furrow mulching system in semiarid Kenya: A promising solution to improve soil water availability and maize productivity

In semiarid Kenya, field productivity of maize has been at a low integrity level due to insufficient use of rainwater use. From 2012 to 2013, an innovative ridge-furrow mulching system (RFMs) was tested using local maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid, KCB in KARI-Katumani Farm, Kenya in long and short rainy seasons. Field experiments were conducted in a randomized complete block design with four treatments: 1) RFMs with transparent polyethylene film (RFT), 2) RFMs with black polyethylene film (RFB), 3) RFMs with grass straw mulching (RFS), and 4) RFMs without mulching (CK). Soil moisture & temperature, grain yield, water use and economic benefit were determined and analyzed. The results indicated that both RFT and RFB treatments significantly increased soil water storage amount in the depth of 0–60 cm. Grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) in both treatments were increased by 66.5–349.9% and 72.9–382% respectively, compared with those of CK over two growing seasons. In addition, grain yield and WUE in RFS treatment were only increased by from 4.2–127.1% compared with those of CK. Particularly, two types of plastic films displayed different effects on modifying topsoil temperature. Transparent film mulching significantly increased topsoil temperature by 1.3 °C (p < 0.05) higher than CK, to facilitate growth and grain formation in long (but cool) growing season. In contrast, black film mulching lowered soil temperature by 0.3 °C lower than CK in short (but warm) growing season, which led to better soil thermal balance. Overall, RFMs with film mulching could serve as an effective solution to increase maize productivity, and hence a promising strategy to cope with food security under climate change in semiarid Kenya.     

IMPACTS OF LAND COVER CHANGE SCENARIOS ON STORM RUNOFF GENERATION: A BASIS FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE NYANDO BASIN,KENYA

The effects of conceptual land cover change scenarios on the generation of storm runoffs were evaluated in the Nyando Basin. The spatial scenarios represented alternatives that vary between full deforestation and reforestation. Synthetic storm events of depths 40, 60 and 80 mm were formulated according to the rainfall patterns and assumed to have durations corresponding to the runoff times of concentration. The Natural Resource Conservation Service–Curve Number model was used to generate runoff volumes within the sub‐catchments, which were subsequently routed downstream to obtain effects in the whole basin. The simulated land cover change impacts were evaluated relative to values obtained from the actual land cover state of the basin in the year 2000. From the results, an agricultural land cover scenario constituting of about 86 per cent of agriculture indicated increased runoff volumes in the entire basin by about 12 per cent. An agricultural‐forested land cover scenario with 40 and 51 per cent of forest and agriculture respectively revealed reduced runoff volumes by about 12 per cent. Alternatively, a scenario depicting a largely forested land cover state with about 78 per cent of forests reduced the runoff volumes by about 25 per cent according to the model estimates. Runoff volumes in the basin were also likely to reduce by about 15 per cent if the appropriate land cover scenario for the respective sub‐catchments were to be assumed for runoff management purposes. Considering the prevalent data uncertainty, the study effectively highlights the potential hydrological vulnerability of the basin. The results obtained can form a basis for appropriate catchment management of the area. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of Intensive Agriculture-Nutrition Education and Extension Program Adoption and Diffusion of Biofortified Crops

Biofortification of staple crops to combat micronutrient deficiencies is gaining global recognition. Projects promoting biofortified food crops use intensive agriculture-nutrition education and extension activities to increase adoption of such crops. This study examines the effect of such programs on the adoption and diffusion of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). It finds that intensive agriculture-nutrition education and extension programs adopted by some of the biofortification projects increases the adoption and diffusion of OFSP. Specifically, participation in mother-to-mother nutrition support clubs and nutrition-focused health talks affect its adoption and diffusion, but with varying degrees of importance. The paper discusses the implications of these findings.     

Effect of Participation in Commercial Production of Medicinal Plants through Community-Based Conservation Groups on Farm Income at Kakamega Forest,Kenya

ABSTRACT

Forest conservation by peripheral communities is one of the most advocated strategies for ensuring sustainable supply of forest goods and services. In Kenya, although conservation activities generate considerable environmental improvements, studies evaluating the economic benefits are very limited. This study aimed at assessing the impact of participating in the commercialization training program by forest adjacent communities on farm income. Utilizing matching techniques, the analysis is based on the data collected from a randomly selected sample of farm households around Kakamega forest in Kenya. The results show that age, forest distance, forest benefit, market distance, and farming experience are the main factors that influence the participation in the commercialization program. Also, participating in commercial production of medicinal plants has a positive and significant effect on farmers’ income. The average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), based on three estimation algorithms, ranges from KSH. 80,047 to KSH. 176,788 per hectare, per year, implying that policy efforts that focus on the participation in the commercialization program of medicinal plants can enhance incomes among farm-dependent households. The findings from this study suggest that upscaling the participation in the commercialization program to other areas.