The Role of Farmers’ Social Networks in Adopting Climate Smart Agriculture: Case of Horticultural Farmers in Nyeri County, Kenya

Joram Ngugi Kamau

Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Egerton University, Kenya

Ibrahim Nyariki Kiprop

Department of Agribusiness Management and Agricultural Education, Chuka University, Kenya

Geoffrey Kosgei Kipruto

Department of Agribusiness Management and Agricultural Education, Chuka University, Kenya

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v1i1.241

Copyright © 2020 Joram Ngugi Kamau, Ibrahim Nyariki Kiprop, Geoffrey Kosgei Kipruto. Published by Nan Yang Academy of Sciences Pte. Ltd.

Creative Commons LicenseThis is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.


Abstract

This paper aimed at depicting how farmers use their informal networks to share information on climate smart agriculture especially on conservation agriculture. The study used social network analysis (SNA) in UCINET to depict the pattern of information sharing on conservation agriculture among individual farmers and farmers groups. The study identified the structural importance of various actors in the farmers’ social networks.Power and centrality measures of various farmers were identified. Values for ego betweenness, coordinator and gatekeeper brokerage roles were normalized so that differences in network sizes were accounted for. The study identified several farmers who were identified to be critical in information sharing among horticultural farmers in Nyeri County. Farmers’social networks were found to play a pivotal role in the dissemination of information with key farmers identified as central actors in the network.Social network theory examines social structure from the perspective that relationships between two parties or more are partly influenced by the external ties possessed by each other with the degree of influence varying among the actors. This research demonstrates the need for agricultural research institutions to identify and liaise with actors with high degree of centrality in the jurisdiction of information and resource dissemination to guarantee maximum adoption of new technologies by the target groups.

Keywords: Farmers’ social networks, Conservation agriculture, Centrality measures


References

[1] Davis, C. L., Vincent, K. Climate risk and vulnerability: A handbook for Southern Africa, 2017.

[2] Conceição, P., Levine, S., Lipton, M., Warren-Rodríguez, A. Toward a food secure future: Ensuring food security for sustainable human development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Food Policy, 2016, 60: 1-9.

[3] Kanyua, M. J., Waluse, G. K. I. S. K., Wairimu, W. R. Factors influencing profitability of diversified cash crop farming among smallholder tea farmers in Gatanga District, Kenya. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 2015.ISSN: 2222-1700

[4] Jost, C., Kyazze, F., Naab, J., Neelormi, S., Kinyangi, J., Zougmore, R., Nelson, S. Understanding gender dimensions of agriculture and climate change in smallholder farming communities. Climate and Development, 2016, 8(2): 133-144.

[5] Lipper, L., Thornton, P., Campbell, B. M., Baedeker, T., Braimoh, A., Bwalya, M., Hottle, R. Climate-smart agriculture for food security. Nature climate change, 2014, 4(12): 1068-1072.

[6] Kabubo-Mariara J., Kabara, M. Climate change and food security in Kenya.In Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change in Africa, Routledge, 2018: 55-80.

[7] Republic of Kenya. MOALF: Economic Review of Agriculture [ERA] 2018. Central Planning and Project Monitoring Unit, MOALF, Nairobi, Kenya, 2018.

[8] Recha, J. W., Mati, B. M., Nyasimi, M., Kimeli, P. K., Kinyangi, J. M., Radeny, M. Changing rainfall patterns and farmers’ adaptation through soil water management practices in semi-arid eastern Kenya. Arid Land Research and Management, 2016, 30(3): 229-238.

Online ISSN: 2737-4785, Print ISSN: 2737-4777, Published by Nan Yang Academy of Sciences Pte. Ltd.