Assessing impact of soil management technologies on smallholder farmers' livelihoods in North Western Kenya

Abstract

Soil nutrient depletion is a major constraint to agricultural production on smallholder farms in Kenya. Intervention in the depletion through soil management project (SMP) was initiated in 1994 through 2004. Phase one involved development of low cost technologies while phase two was designed to upscale the technologies. An impact assessment of the SMP project on the livelihoods of target beneficiaries was carried out in 2006 to determine the effects of the project of target community. A semi structured questionnaire jointly developed by stakeholders after identifying progress indicators was administered to 192 respondents who were randomly selected using simple random sampling technique. The farmers were stratified into participating and control or counterfactuals. The results showed that there was significant impact on target communities and other stakeholders who were involved in the project. The crop yields food supply and household earnings increased. A number of farmers, extension agents and researchers were trained on integrated soil fertility management technologies and extension methodologies. Long term impact indicated that there were increased crop and livestock yields, enhanced food availability and improved access to agricultural information. However, there is demand to sustain the interaction between change agents and farmers.