To Determine the Influence of Farmer’s Educational Level on Adoption of Agricultural Water Management Practices in Rongai Sub-county, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Water is a critical input for agricultural production and therefore, plays an important role in food security. There are different practices that can aid in managing water used for agriculture. Some of these agricultural water management practices are; rain water harvesting, irrigation, organic farming, mulching and use of drought resistant crops among others. Farmer’s decision to either adopt or reject these practices can be affected by several factors, some of which are socio-economic. Some of the socio-economic factors that may influence adoption of these practices include farmer’s educational level, income level and farm size, among others. This research delve into the influence of farmer’s educational level on adoption of agricultural water management practices. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, while proportionate and simple random sampling technique was used to obtain the respondents. The accessible population was 6,230 smallholder farmers from the target population of 26,804 smallholder farmers in Rongai sub county Kenya. The study was done in August 2023 to November 2023.The study included 120 smallholder farmers in Rongai sub-county. The study used questionnaire to collect data while binary logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The P value calculated for the 120 smallholder farmers was P=.56 which is >than .05 concluding that in this study education level did not have an influence on adoption of agricultural water management practices. The findings of the study are useful and can encourage farmers to adopt agricultural technologies regardless of their formal education level. The findings may also guide agricultural extension officers to focus on training the farmers on the specific technologies without necessarily focusing on their level of education. Further, the government, through agricultural extension officers, and other policy makers in the agricultural sector, may use the findings of this study while promoting adoption of agricultural technologies, as well as in coming up with appropriate policies that can help improve adoption of agricultural technologies.