Gender Differentiated Adoption of Soil and Water Conservation Practices by Farmers in Kenyan Agricultural Highland Catchments

Abstract

Soil and water conservation practices or measures are critical in sustaining land productivity for food production while maintaining the integrity of the land. Cardinal measures in this context are broadly categorised as structural, agronomic, and vegetative. Their ultimate goal is to prevent soil erosion, keep the soil fertile, and conserve soil moisture for guaranteed land productivity. This study assessed the relationship between soil biophysical characteristics and farmer socio-ecocomic characteristics on the one hand, and adoption of soil and water conservation practices that have been promoted in the highland catchments of Kinale-Kikuyu, Cherangani, and Wundanyi. A total of 253 households from Kinale-Kikuyu, 96 from Cherangani, and 40 from Wundanyi catchments were selected to form the survey sample. Our results show that among male farmers, the most preferred practices were structural (35.9%), while vegetative practices (29%) were most popular among female land users. At P = 0.3141, our findings indicate that there is no significant relationship between gender and method of soil and water conservation adopted. In Kinale-Kikuyu 31.3% of the farmers adopted vegetative methods, 42.7% of Cherangani farmers used structural methods, and 60.1% of Wundanyi farmers preferred structural methods. These results demonstrated a significant relationship between the catchment location and the method adopted (P = 0.0002). This study confirms the successes and benefits of soil and water conservation practices in all three catchments. Significant differences among catchments in the soil and water conservation practices suggest a stronger correlation between adoption and location compared to adoption and gender.