Effective extension methods for increased food production in Kakamega District

Abstract

Despite the importance of agriculture to Kenya's economy, the Kenya government's budgetary allocation to the sector has declined over the years. This resulted in the sector being resource constrained with a high farmer to staff ratio, hence the need for extension methods that can effectively reach more clients at the lowest cost. This paper reviews effective extension methods which have the least constraints and most cost effective that can be used by extension staff in Kakamega district. Kakamega district experiences low food production, despite the fact that it is one of Kenya's food baskets. One hundred extension staffs were systematically sampled from the department of livestock and the department of agriculture from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, cross tabulations, correlations and Chi-square. The research revealed that group demonstrations were the most cost effective extension methods with the least constraints. The study therefore recommended that group demonstrations and a combination of group demonstration and individual farmer follow-up be used to pass extension methods in Kakamega district. Key words: Extension methods, food production, Kenya, Kakamega district, extension service.