Linking Farmers’ Risk Attitudes, Livelihood Diversification and Adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture in the Nyando Basin of Western Kenya

Abstract

Climate smart agriculture (CSA) is an innovation meant to reduce the risks in agricultural production especially among smallholder farmers. Some of the factors that influence its adoption are farmers’ risk attitude and household livelihood diversification. This study sought to determine how risk attitude and livelihood diversification influence the adoption of CSA in the Nyando basin. The study utilized primary data gathered from 122 households in the region and employed multivariate probit (MVP), ordered probit (OP) and descriptive statistics in data analysis using Stata 14.0. The results indicated that farmers’ risk attitudes had a significant negative influence on the adoption of terraces, ridges and bunds and influenced the intensity of adoption of these CSA technologies. Household livelihood diversification significantly and negatively influenced adoption of stress tolerant livestock but not the intensity of adoption of given CSA technologies. . The government and potential donors should intensify education on CSA technologies that reduce risk in farming and how they mitigate against the effects of climate change so that more farmers can embrace them.