Family Livelihood Research Articles

Usos e importancia biocultural de la miel en comunidades Yoreme-Mayo del norte de Sinaloa

Beekeeping has been present in the Yoreme-Mayo communities for a long time, however, the role that this activity and its products play in these native groups of the region is little known, so the aim of this research is to identify the uses and biocultural value of honey in Yoreme-Mayo communities in northern Sinaloa. Methods and techniques: It is a descriptive, qualitative and cross-sectional study, whereby the survey application technique was applied using a questionnaire intended to 43 postgraduate students from the Autonomous Indigenous University of Mexico belonging to this indigenous group. The sampling was carried out with the snowball technique. With the data collected, an Excel database was generated, systematized into four sections: a) honey consumption, b) beekeeping and its economic importance in the Yoreme-Mayo community, c) uses of honey and d) biocultural value of honey. Results: most of the consumption in their diet due to its medicinal properties (47.72%), and it is generally consumed once a month (30.23%). The most important characteristics for the consumer were the season of the year in which the honey was produced and the colour (both with 20.93%), where amber was preferred (31.81%). 52.27% of the participants think that its natural origin is also important. Although for some consumers the place of origin of the honey is not very important as long as it is from local hives or combs (27.77%), a certain tendency for those whose origin is the scrubland (16.66%) was mentioned. Traditional beekeeping represents an economic livelihood for Yoreme-Mayo families, since the majority stated that many of them depend on the production of honey for their monthly expenditure (42.50%). The most common use of honey in the communities is for consumption due to its medicinal properties (51.56%). When we asked about the cultural and/ or spiritual value that honey can have for the Yoremes, they highlighted its use for traditional medicinal preparations (34.21%). Conclusions: the cultural and spiritual value of honey in its community is based on its relationship with the huyya annia, in the pascola dance and in the preservation of identity through traditional practices such as beekeeping.

2000 Yıllardan Günümüze Türkiye Arıcılığının Değerlendirilmesi

Beekeeping; It is a branch of agriculture that provides cheap and easy employment opportunities, is not dependent on land, is a sole source of livelihood for families with landless or little land and has no harmful effects on the environment and nature. Our current geographical location is among the countries suitable for beekeeping in our country with the coexistence of four seasons. Beekeeping has become widespread in our country with the increasing interest in natural life and natural products, with developing technologies day by day. When the data from the 2000s to the present are examined, it is noteworthy that the number of hives has increased every year. In the last twenty (2000-2020) years, there has been an increase of 11.29% in the number of old hives, and an increase of 95.62% in the number of new hives. At the same time, it was determined that there was an increase of 70.36% in honey production and a decrease of 16.83% in bee wax production. In this review article, the current situation of beekeeping, which is the branch of animal husbandry in Turkey, together with 20 years of data has been examined.

CropsIT- A Portable Soil Analysis and Crop Suggestion System

Abstract: Many farmers, especially ones from underdeveloped and developing countries, rely on agriculture for their family's livelihood. Agriculture is the most useful and noble employment of man. Yet on the contrary agriculture industry holds a record for the highest death rate by profession. Thisfatality is a result of many reasons. One such reason is when the farmer does not get the proper yield due to a lack of knowledge regarding the soil quality and fertilizers to be used. The solution to this is an easily operable device that senses the soil nutrient components and analyses the values obtained to provide a detailed report, along with crop suggestions suitable for the soil, instantaneously through a message or web service. The device will collect information regarding the NPK percentages present in the soil on a regular basis. The Technologies involved in the device are Colorimetry, Python, Deep Learning, Flask, and Heroku. The analysis made by the device will suggest the farmer with a variety of crops that are suitable for their land. The farmer can then get the required seeds and fertilizers to get a greater yield. Keywords: fatality, colorimetry, reagents

PERSEPSI PETANI MUDA TERHADAP WIRAUSAHA DI SEKTOR PERTANIAN (Kasus pada Petani Muda di Desa Tenjonagara, Kecamatan Cigalontang, Kabupaten Tasikmalaya)

Young generation is a productive workforce who plays an important role in developing agriculture in order to develop Indonesia. This study aims to describe young farmers based on their characteristics and perceptions of entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, young farmers based on their business background or family livelihood, and analyze the relationship between the characteristics of young farmers and their perceptions of entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, and the influence of livelihood backgrounds. their families on young farmers' perceptions of entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector. The research method used a survey method with the number of respondents as many as 20 young farmers. The research was conducted in Tenjonagara Village, Cigalontang District, Tasikmalaya Regency. The data used consists of primary data and secondary data. Data were analyzed using Rank Spearman Correlation and Mann Whitney U Test. The results showed that the characteristics of young farmers were in the medium category. Young farmers' perceptions of entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector are included in the sufficient category. The results also show that there is no relationship between characteristics and perceptions of entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector and there is no influence between family livelihood background and perceptions of entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector.

PENGETAHUAN LOKAL MASYARAKAT ADAT BADUY DALAM PRANATA SOSIAL UNTUK MENUNJANG KETAHANAN PANGAN

The Baduy Indigenous Community's livelihood system, like society in general, of course interacts, socializes and produces a value system that applies in life based on a distinctive cultural system. The Baduy Indigenous Community implements local knowledge in social, economic, cultural and agricultural systems and logistics systems, in an effort to meet food needs. The method in this research is a descriptive method with a qualitative approach, which is carried out in the Baduy Indigenous Community. The Baduy community religiously believe in God, the belief of the Indigenous Baduy community is referred to as Sunda Wiwitan who believes in ancestral spirits (animism), in its development it is also influenced by Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Local knowledge in the social institutions of the Indigenous Baduy Community can cover several aspects including: social aspects related to trust and leadership as well as community institutional systems, and economic aspects related to family livelihoods as an effort to fulfill food needs. Sociologically and anthropologically, the Baduy Indigenous people's paddy fields do not change the contours of the land, so as not to damage the surrounding environment used in agricultural activities, intercropping between vegetables and tubers, to maximize agricultural yields. The Baduy Indigenous People have a logistics system that is integrated with the rules of customs and traditions, to ensure the availability and authenticity of local commodities as staple food, with decent, equitable and affordable quality and sustainable to be used by the Baduy Indigenous Peoples, in supporting the fulfillment of food needs. In fulfilling other food security, it is obtained from the use of forest resources, plantations, livestock and selling accessories typical of Baduy, as well as woven fabrics to visitors, or traveling to sell, and being a tour guide for tourists visiting Baduy. Social institutions based on local knowledge, make the Baduy Indigenous People able to meet their basic needs for natural resources and existing human resources, and are carried out independently without depending on other parties, in fulfillment of food needs.

The Unequal Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Labour Market and Income Inequality in China: A Multisectoral CGE Model Analysis Coupled with a Micro-Simulation Approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic had an unequal impact on the employment and earnings of different labourers, consequently affecting households’ per capita income and income inequality. Combining a multisector computable general equilibrium model of China with a micro-simulation approach, this study aims to analyse the unequal effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on China’s labour market and income inequality. The results confirm the unequal impact of the pandemic on the employment and earnings of different labourer types. Labourers who are female, live in urban areas, and have relatively low education levels would suffer greater losses in employment and earnings. The pandemic would reduce household per capita income by 8.75% for rural residents and 6.13% for urban residents. While the pandemic would have a larger negative impact on the employment and earnings of urban labourers, it would have a greater negative impact on the household per capita income of rural residents. Moreover, the per capita income of low-income households is more vulnerable to the pandemic, and the number of residents living below the poverty line would increase significantly. Thus, the pandemic would aggravate income inequality in China and threaten the livelihoods of poor families. This study could inform researchers exploring the distributional effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries.

Accumulation by agricultural extension: Freedom and financial extractivism among Brazil's Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST)

AbstractSince 1995, family farming in Brazil has been heavily financialized through the federal PRONAF program, which has simultaneously created new opportunities for third parties to capture and control financial resources for themselves. Drawing on long‐term ethnographic research with land rights movements on the southern coast of Bahia, Brazil, this contribution analyses a case of accumulation by agricultural extension, as a predatory form of financial extractivism based on asymmetrical bureaucratic and communicative power, which was carried out by a local agricultural extension firm and export company. Associated with the Odebrecht Foundation, this extension firm promoted a development project to diversify the livelihoods of rural families living in land reform communities affiliated with Brazil's famous Landless Rural Workers' Movement, or the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST). The firm owner actively recruited families to cultivate palmito, or heart of palm, effectively converting them into a captive productive force responsible for almost all factors of production—land, labour, and capital—but in the service of the extension firm's business interests. The firm was thus able to decouple itself from all hazards involved in production, while the MST community members bore almost all of the risks. In the process, the project gave rise to an exploitative form of production that is barely even recognizable as capitalism.

Prevention and Control of African Swine Fever in the Smallholder Pig Value Chain in Northern Uganda: Thematic Analysis of Stakeholders' Perceptions.

African swine fever (ASF) is endemic in Uganda and considered a major constraint to pig production. In the absence of a vaccine, biosecurity is key for ASF prevention and control. To improve prevention and control on farm and community level there is need for more knowledge on current application of biosecurity practises, and better understanding of how pig value chain actors perceive prevention and control. To achieve this, a qualitative interview study involving focus group discussions (FGD) was conducted with actors from the smallholder pig value chain in northern Uganda. Six villages were purposively selected based on previous outbreaks of ASF, preliminary perceived willingness to control ASF, and the representation of several different value chain actors in the village. Results indicated that biosecurity practises such as basic hygiene routines including safe carcass handling, minimising direct and indirect contacts between pigs or between pigs and people, trade restrictions and sharing of disease information were implemented in some of the villages. Thematic analysis based on grounded theory revealed six categories of data relating to ASF prevention and control. Together these categories form a logical framework including both enablers and hindrances for ASF prevention and control. In summary participants mostly had positive perceptions of ASF biosecurity, describing measures as effective. Participants further possessed knowledge of ASF and its transmission, some of which was in line with known scientific knowledge and some not. Nevertheless, participants were hindered from preventing and controlling ASF due to biosecurity costs and a need to prioritise family livelihood over disease transmission risks, incompatibility of current biosecurity practises with local culture, traditions and social contexts and finally lack of access to veterinarians or, occasionally, low-quality veterinary services. The constraints could be addressed by applying participatory processes in designing biosecurity measures to ensure better adaptation to local cultural and social contexts.

Revolving Door Paradox of Textile Industry in Ethiopia: Quantitative analyses of High Labor Turnover

The study aims to assess the determinants of employees’ turnover in the Ethiopian textile industry. To assess the determinants of the problem, a sample of four companies were included in the study from four different Regional States (Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR). The principal sources of the data were employees, key informants, and employers in the textile manufacturing enterprise. A structured questionnaire with CSpro software was used to gather the information. A Probit Econometric Regression analysis was applied to analyze the data and draw a conclusion. The findings of the study revealed that workers’ dissatisfaction with their job, work environment, and salary dissatisfaction have a significant and positive relationship to their intention to leave the companies. However, as expected, supervisors’ good relationship with the workers has a significant effect to reduce the probability of the worker’s intention to leave the company. Compared to males, female workers are more likely to intend to leave. This could be associated with inconvenient work schedule and works stress. The result of the analysis also shows that the larger the family sizes, the less likely are the workers intend to leave their company which could be associated to fear of risk against the family livelihood.

Profitable partnerships: smallholders, industry, eucalypts and acacias in Asia

ABSTRACT Smallholder tree-growers make substantial contributions to commercial wood flows in many countries in Asia. Many of these growers choose eucalypt and/or acacia species, which offer profitable and sustainable land-use options. Smallholder acacia and eucalypt plantings in India, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka, China, Thailand and Viet Nam are discussed, and data are presented to show the magnitude of these resources. In each country, smallholder plantings form critical raw-material inputs for numerous processors, with the collective scale of their wood production exceeding 86 million m3 annually and worth over USD 2.4 billion annually directly to these growers. Such harvests are major contributors to the livelihoods of smallholder families and to the economic viability of numerous local wood-using industries that rely on the raw materials they generate. This paper describes the profitable partnerships in Asia between smallholder tree-growers and their eucalypts and acacias, discusses their species of choice and the consequences of such decisions, and explores how and why these partnerships have developed and endured.

Role of small-scale dairy production systems in central Mexico in reducing rural poverty

AbstractThe aim of the study was to analyze the role of small-scale dairy farms in central Mexico in combating rural poverty from a gender perspective. Specifically, it was determined whether these production systems generated sufficient income for alleviating poverty and purchasing the basic food basket. Two hundred and twelve farmers were selected through snowball sampling. To maintain a gender perspective, female-headed farms were considered as an independent group, and male-headed farms were grouped according to multivariate statistics. Two official indicators of poverty were considered in the economic analysis: income and the extreme poverty line. Factor analysis identified four factors that explained 66.10% of accumulated variance. The cluster analysis identified five groups of farms headed by males. Then, a comparative analysis was carried out for the six groups, including the female-headed group (FG). The economic analysis revealed that, if 52% of income are production costs, groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 generated sufficient gross income to purchase the basic food basket to the household of the area. However, the FG and group 5 did not generate sufficient gross income to purchase the food basket. In contrast, if 70% of income are productions costs, only groups 1 and 4 generated sufficient gross income. It can be concluded that small-scale dairy farms generate sufficient daily income under certain conditions for the purchase of the basic food basket and, therefore, help to fight poverty in rural families, especially in groups 1 and 4. In the case of the FG and groups 2, 3, and 5, dairy production along with the diversification of productive activities and backyard activities supports the livelihoods of rural families. It is recommended that existing gender norms be further explored because these could directly influence the motivation of farmers, particularly female producers, to adopt or reject agricultural and livestock technologies.

Specialization and diversification as adaptive strategies for smallholder dairy farming systems providing a formal milk chain in Indonesia

Smallholder dairy farms encounter challenges in minimal production factors that result in a lack of family income. They react differently to these limits by combining on-farm and off-farm activities (diversifying activity), concentrating exclusively on milk production (specializing activity), or leaving the dairy production to secure family livelihood. As far as adaptive strategies are concerned, they may affect milk production growth at the farm and national levels. We performed an observational case study in the West Java Province (Indonesia) to resolve those problems. We gathered information in two phases: a systematic survey (May to September 2015) to 355 farms and an in-depth interview (January to April 2017) with 20 farms. Our result distinguishes four categories of farms, along with a very small specialized dairy farm (T1), a combination of the dairy farm off-farm activity with very limited land (T2), a small specialized dairy farm (T3), and a mixed crop-dairy farm (T4). The technical-economic value varies depending on the farm type. The six trajectories prevail. The main change was the addition of off-farm activities for poor farmers. Farms in the development trajectory, two strategies coexist between the dairy production system's specialization and the mixed crops-dairy system. In conclusion, this study underscored each farm trajectory's different attributes and drivers. The study also underlined the importance of the initial capital of smallholders to illustrate their future farm trajectory.

Entrepreneurial Marketing Dimensions: Evidence from Women-Owned SMEs in Sri Lanka

Women-owned SMEs have an enormous contribution to the economic development of Sri Lanka, which experienced 30 years of conflict, created numerous micro and small enterprises as the livelihoods of women-headed families. Since the entrepreneurial marketing (EM) approaches are new practices followed by numerous SMEs worldwide, this study intended to explore how these women-owned SMEs in Sri Lanka practice entrepreneurial dimensions for their marketing benefits. This study meant to discrete entrepreneurial marketing thoughts in women-owned SMEs and distinguished how current approaches seem steady through the entrepreneurial marketing benefits. The considerable inspiration in this study derived from how new evaluation of entrepreneurial marketing from the perspective of women-owned SMEs has gotten insufficient consideration in the critical literature. This study has been feasible with qualitative research with 49 women-owned SMEs in five districts of Sri Lanka. This study has collected primary data through an in-depth interview method. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze and interpret the seven fundamental dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing. Results show that even though the women-owned SMEs in Sri Lanka do not have professional marketing knowledge, they apply entrepreneurial marketing practices as similar approaches mentioned in the literature to succeed in their businesses. The findings of this study conveyed that entrepreneurial marketing practices have incredible significance for women-owned SMEs in Sri Lanka. Future research can empirically prove the seven dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing through a considerable sample size from other districts with cultural differences.

Smallholder cocoa agroforestry systems; is increased yield worth the labour and capital inputs?

CONTEXTSmallholder cocoa agroforestry systems provide most of the cocoa produced world-wide and can improve the livelihoods of rural families in the tropics. However, many smallholder cocoa producers experience low cocoa yields due to generally poor management practices, pests, disease, and low soil fertility. In Papua New Guinea, pest and disease management systems have been developed to provide improved yields and revenues, but there has been limited uptake. OBJECTIVEWe hypothesized that the low uptake of these systems may be due to the improved yields not being sufficient to justify the required increase in labour and capital inputs. Our objective was to assess if the integrated pest and disease management systems were financially viable. METHODSOur methods involved developing discounted cash flow models that incorporated Monte Carlo risk analysis software. We populated the models with labour inputs, costs, and revenue data collected in country, and from scientific literature. In addition to net present value, we evaluated the production systems with additional criteria we deemed appropriate for assessing the required labour inputs and capital outlays; return on labour; mean labour hours/day; mean annual capital outlays, mean hourly income, and mean annual income. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSOur results show that under the current cocoa prices being received, all the production systems had a negative net present value, and a mean hourly income that was below the Papua New Guinea minimum wage and less than 1 USD/h. Furthermore, the progressive addition of labour inputs and capital outlays of the pest and disease management systems resulted in mean hourly incomes that are less than currently being received. These decreased hourly earnings may explain the low adoption of these technologies. SIGNIFICANCEFinancial analyses of new smallholder agroforestry technologies should be used to evaluate the viability and likelihood of smallholder technology adoption. Previous research on cocoa pest and disease management systems failed to account for costs related to labour and capital inputs. Even if farm family labour does not incur a direct cash outflow, it does represent an opportunity cost to farmers. Including additional criteria that measure financial returns to farmers relative to labour and capital requirements should be a part these assessments. These additional criteria can aid in evaluating all the economic thresholds that may impact if and how smallholders will incorporate new agroforestry technologies, which can help improve the success for agriculture-based development projects throughout the global tropics.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TRIBAL REMITTANCE AND NTFP GATHERERS FAMILY OF SCHEDULED AREA DISTRICTS OF ODISHA

The deadly virus COVID-19 pandemic created emergency situation throughout the world by bringing worst misery to the health, economy, livelihood, occupation and social life of the people. The virus infected more than 24.9 crores of population and 50.0 lakhs precious human life were lost with a huge damage of economy and livelihood. Millions of people become unemployed and thousands of migrants returned their home for joblessness. To reduce the rate of infection the worldwide lock-down and shut-down situation arrested the production, economic activity and market, which affected highly to the small and middle income households. Like other remittance and wage labour households the tribal migrant families were also the worst sufferer by the pandemic situation and most of them returned to home for joblessness. After returning home, majority of the tribes once again adopted their traditional source of livelihood i.e., agriculture, forest, livestock, etc. to repair the economy. To assess the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 and role of NTFP on tribal livelihood a study was conducted in seven forest dependent villages of Kandhamal district and found that NTFP has largely supported the livelihood of both low income and migrant tribal families. The changing Government policy on listing of more NTFP commodities and price revisions under MSP scheme worked like an economic panacea for the forest dependent poor tribal families. However, the inuence of middlemen and absence of TDCC reduce prot margin of NTFP gatherer families, which needs to be addressed through proper monitoring, intervention and policy resolution.

Flood hazard zonation of upper kolodyne using GIS and multi criteria decision analysis in Mizoram, India

Kolodyne is the largest river in Mizoram. The river originates in Myanmar where it flows in a southerly direction and enters Mizoram where it is called Chhimtuipui river and it becomes the international border between India and Myanmar. The Kolodyne river meets several rivers in Mizoram before it enters Chin State in Myanmar again. The upper Kolodyne river has caused destructive floods recently, however, attempts to delineate the flood hazard zones have not been carried out. This river is a source of livelihood for many families in the region and it had wrecked havoc in the past monsoon seasons with the loss of lives and property. The potential flood hazard zonation of the upper Kolodyne watershed using geographic information systems and multi-criteria decision analysis has revealed that about 40% of the total watershed fall in the high and very high potential zones and flood control measures are needed to be updated.

What is holding farmers back? Endowments and mobility choice of rural citizens in China

For the roughly 300 million rural migrant workers in China, migrating to urban destinations offers the primary opportunities for poverty alleviation and upward social mobility. However, studies on migration in China, mostly through the lens of the push-pull theory, have left immobile rural residents unexamined. This paper explores how the mobility choices of rural citizens are determined by individual and familial endowments at the sending end, including their physical wellbeing, basic education, family livelihoods and landholdings. Drawing on the China Household Finance Survey data, our analyses suggest that good health, adequate educational attainment and non-local family livelihoods increase the propensities of out-migration while a lack of these endowments likely bars rural citizens from migration. The possession of rural land and other local resources, in contrast, tends to deter migration to urban destinations. The requisition of rural land, however, encourages migration to a local town while deterring longer-distance migration. These findings add to the literature of migration in China by unraveling the sorting mechanism of endowments that shapes the (im)mobility and divergent life outcomes of China's rural population.

A review on entomophagy: Natural food insects for ethnic and tribal communities of North-East India

Entomophagy insects are local food/ feed in most parts of the North Malay Archipelago. These insects are a standard natural resource that provides food and economical safety to most ethnic groups of Eastern Himalayas. Entomophagy not only supports the nutritional food security, but also provides the family livelihood to the tribal populations during difficult times of the year. Since, edible insects are great source of supplemental food item that would meet the people’s present and future need, they’re preferred by tribal communities as eggs, nymphs, larvae, pupa and adults insects, and eaten as fried, cooked, roasted or are even consumed as raw repeatedly. In India, a complete of 245 species, 50 families and 10 orders of edible insects have been recorded so far as food and it’s mostly practiced in eight North Eastern States of India. Among the edible species of insects, biggest consumption is of coleopteran species with 24.69%, followed by Hemiptera (22.63%), Orthoptera (17.28%), Hymanoptera (13.17%), Odonata (10.70%), Lepidoptera (5.35%), Isoptera (2.88%), Dictyoptera (2.06%) and therefore the least were Diptera (0.41%) and Ephimeroptera (0.82%). Study of edible insect in India evolved the uncharted natural resources of north-east region and medicinal, traditional beliefs of tribal people. This review paper discuss about the common edible insects consumed by different ethnic and tribal communities in North-east India.

Factors Influencing Grazing Behavior by Using the Consciousness-Context-Behavior Theory—A Case Study from Yanchi County, China

Grazing behavior is a key factor that affects the sustainable development of the grassland social-ecological system. Grazing behavior is not only restricted by policies but also affected by the awareness of the herder of the grassland environment. To explore the influencing factors and mechanism behind grazing behavior, Yanchi County of Ningxia, a typical area of the “returning grazing land to grassland” project in Northwest China, was selected as a study area. Based on the consciousness-context-behavior theory, a questionnaire was designed, and 305 households were surveyed. Analysis of structural equation model results show: (1) the environmental sensitivity of herders and their satisfaction with the compensation mechanism regulated grazing behavior. When herders were more dependent on grassland, they were more willing to graze. (2) The grassland dependence, environmental sensitivity of herders, and herders’ satisfaction with the compensation mechanism had a significant interaction effect on grazing behavior. (3) Family livelihood diversification and the number of young and middle-aged laborers had a significant moderating effect on grassland dependence and grazing behavior. These findings are of vital importance for the government to formulate policies to promote the sustainable development of grasslands.

Evaluation of Bean Common Mosaic Disease and Associated Aphid Vector, Aphis fabae L., on Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Production in Lower Eastern Kenya

Production of common bean in Kenya is constrained by pests and diseases and to improve bean yields amongst majority small-scale farmers, appropriate management strategies should be adopted. Bean common mosaic disease (BCMD) caused by bean common mosaic virus and vectored by bean aphids and infected seeds, substantially inhibit common bean production in Kenya. An extensive and diagnostic field survey was conducted in six agro ecological zones (AEZs) of lower eastern Kenya during the long and short rains of 2018 to determine BCMD incidence (BCMD-I), severity (BCMD-S), bean aphid abundance (BAA), bean aphid incidence (BAI) and the management strategies applied by farmers. Significant (P≤0.001) variations observed for these traits between bean varieties, rainy seasons and AEZs implied that farmers could select and grow a tolerant bean variety or grow a variety either in a season or an AEZ with low BCMD and bean aphid pressure. Such included AEZ-UMSA with least mean BCMD-I (42%), BCMD-S (1.9) and BAI (11%) compared to two AEZs (LHSH & LM4) that showed BCMD-I of >70%, BCMD-S >3.0 and BAI >50%. The AEZs differences could be attributed to variations in altitudes, temperature and humidity that influences vector (aphid) movement. Of the nine bean varieties identified during the survey, Selian 14 was the most preferred by farmers (at ~35%) with relatively lower BCMD-I (~49%) and BAI (~35%) compared to the least (<5%) farmer-preferred variety Wairimu that showed higher BCMD-I (56%) and BAI (~68%). Therefore variety Selian 14 was considered tolerant to BCMD and bean aphid. Significant (P≤0.001) and positive correlations (r = 0.67) between BAI and BCMD-I implied an effective control of bean aphids could reduce the impact of BCMD on bean production. On visual diagnostics, >75% of farmers could generally identify diseased or pest-infested bean crops and stage of growth of the crop most affected. None (0%) could however identify BCMD symptoms although ~40% identified the vector bean aphids with ~26% implementing some form of aphid or pest management strategy. On management, season-driven early planting and bean intercropping were the most applied strategies (>80%), crop rotation and weed control accounted for ~71%, certified seeds at 1% and non-chemical or pesticide applications (0%). Both low adoption of certified seeds and no chemical aphid control were attributed to high costs, despite the possibility the two factors could have contributed to higher incidences and severity of BCMD in the study area as the disease is both seed and vector-borne. In summary, lack of knowledge and training among farmers on diagnosis and management of aphid-pests and BCMD, were cited as the main constraints for low bean cultivation. This study therefore recommends provision of adequate extension services and farmer training in lower eastern Kenya for improved bean yield and subsequent better family livelihoods and income.