Abstract
A close relationship exists between the environment and agriculture. A change in either of them invariably affects the other. That is why environmentalists, the government and the non-governmental organisations have supported the development and adoption of Eco-friendly Farming Practices (EFFPs) by farming households. Earlier studies had indicated that adoption of EFFPs was low in some areas while other regions of Kenya and Embu County had successfully adopted these practices. However, even where there was a successful adoption of EFFPs, the type and number of EFFPs varied greatly. These inconsistencies in the type of EFFPs and the adoption of EFFPs necessitated this study. Therefore, this study carried out in Embu County sought to find out the influence of socioeconomic factors on the adoption of the EFFPs. Ex post facto research design was used in the study. Through multi-stage random sampling, 402 household heads were selected and all the 32 extension officers in the area were interviewed. Household head questionnaires, interview schedule and observation schedule were used for data collection. These research instruments were piloted, validated and their reliability established before data collection. Data was cleaned and entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 for analysis. Frequencies, Chi-square and regression model were used for analysis. Average income from agriculture, gender, farming experience, level of education, size of the farm and age were statistically significant (p<0.05) in influencing the adoption of EFFPs among households of Embu County. The study concluded that the socioeconomic factors were significant in influencing the adoption of EFFPs among households of Embu County. This implies that the household socioeconomic characteristics must be considered in designing effective environmental programmes in the County.
Highlights
The environment and its resources form the basis for the livelihood of human beings, sustenance of economies and agricultural development in the world (Mutuku et al, 2017)
The socioeconomic factors that were found to be statistically significant in influencing adoption of EFFPS were: gender of the respondents, age, farming experience, size of the farm, main farming purpose, respondents’ primary activity, the highest level of education attained and annual income from agriculture (Table 1)
The regression model shows that one unit of change in the adoption of Eco-friendly Farming Practices (EFFPs) can be explained by 0.059 of gender if the other factors were held constant
Summary
The environment and its resources form the basis for the livelihood of human beings, sustenance of economies and agricultural development in the world (Mutuku et al, 2017). Use of environmental resources for agriculture is central in the global economy accounting for over 24% of the global Gross Domestic Product (Smith et al, 2007). To meet the food requirements for the ever-growing human global population (expected to rise to 11 billion by 2100), modern agriculture or conventional agriculture has been practised for long. The intensified conventional agriculture stretches environmental resources to limits weakening their natural processes (United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP], 2008). These conventional agricultural practices have been associated with acute soil degradation (Ngetich, et al, 2012), environmental pollution, soil acidification, biodiversity loss and salinization (Hurni, 2000; Rasul & Thapa, 2004; Roling, 2005). Agriculture has been directly affected by climate variability and change, agriculture is responsible for about 30% of the total greenhouse emissions (Theodor et al, 2014)
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