Effect of climate smart agriculture technologies on crop yields: Evidence from potato production in Kenya

Abstract

Climate change is one of the current global issues of concern given that it is affecting agricultural production. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which frequently experiences severe weather and natural disasters, is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Even though numerous measures are being promoted to mitigate climate change in SSA, little evidence exists regarding the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies in potato farming and its effect on yield. CSA is widely acknowledged as a crucial technique for farmers to adapt to climate change and raise agricultural productivity. This study investigated the effects of CSA technology adoption among potato farmers in Kenya. A descriptive survey was adopted. A multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select 350 potato farming households in Nyandarua County. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interview techniques. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to evaluate the effects of CSA technologies on potato yields. The results indicated that on average potato farmers adopted 8 out of the 18 CSA technologies. The PSM results indicated that the adoption of CSA technologies improved potato yields. Adoption of seed management technologies enhanced potato yield by 61 % followed by soil nutrient management, crop improvement practices, seed management, and crop protection techniques by 50 %, 41 %, 40 %, and 39 %, respectively. This implies that smallholder farmers' adoption of climate-smart technologies is critical for increasing and maintaining potato yield. However, adopting water management technologies like water harvesting and irrigation negatively affected potato yield. The study discusses the implications of these findings.