The Effect of adoption of agricultural sustainable intensification practices on the Mwea rice farmers’ yields and income in Mwea Irrigation Scheme

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of adopting agricultural sustainable intensification practices with relation to rice farmers’ yields and income with the aim of increasing rice yields and profitability and ultimately reducing rice imports in Kenya. The study was quantitative and analysed using descriptive statistical methods, the data collected was mainly quantitative since it was mostly numerical and discrete. The study was a cross-sectional one and survey research strategy was used. The study used stratified sampling method (i.e. adopters’ vs non-adopters) and examined a sample of 400 small scale rice farmers out of the 3,200 active farmers derived from the irrigation scheme. The study used both primary and secondary data and the primary data was collected using questionnaires to guide the interviews on the respondents. Simultaneously the secondary data was mainly from journals, periodicals, textbooks and reports by relevant institutions. The data was analysed statistically by use of OLS model with the STATA software and results were presented descriptively as mean, mode, median, percentages and frequencies presented in graphs, tables, charts, percentages and cross tabs.