The role of varietal attributes on adoption of improved seed varieties: the case of sorghum in Kenya

Timu, Anne G.; Mulwa, Richard; Okello, Julius Juma; Kamau, Mercy

doi:10.1186/2048-7010-3-9

Cited by 45 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…A Wald test of joint significance of all the attribute variables yielded a Chi square statistic of 7.52 and p-value of 0.057 indicating that there is strong statistical evidence that varietal attributes jointly influence the decision to conserve quality planting materials for future planting. This finding is in line with past studies (Otieno et al, 2010;Timu, et al, 2012) that have showed that varietal attributes affect adoption of agricultural technologies or practices.…”

Section: Future Plantingsupporting

confidence: 94%

Effect of Technology Awareness and Access on the Conservation of Clean Planting Materials of Vegetatively Produced Crops: The Case of Sweetpotato

Okello

Sindi

Shikuku

et al. 2015

Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems

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Efforts to combat Vitamin A deficiency in children and pregnant mothers have focused on promotion of nutritionally enhanced food security crops. Such efforts have recently targeted the production and consumption of these crops. The orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) is one of the most known nutritionally-enhanced crops. However, access to quality planting materials of OFSP and most vegetatively propagated crops by farmers remains a major constraint. This study used discrete and count data regression models and data collected from 732 farm households in Tanzania to test the effect of participation on a project designed to break this quality "seed" bottleneck (via technology awareness and targeted access to clean planting materials) on: i) the decision to conserve planting materials during dry periods for future planting and ii) the number of conservation strategies used by farmers. The study found that participation in such a project increases both the likelihood of conserving quality planting materials and also the number of conservation strategies employed by the farmers. It also found that varietal attributes and the agro-ecology of the area affect conservation of OFSP planting materials. It concludes that Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 12:33 24 August 2015A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 2 awareness and access to clean sweetpotato planting materials of nutritionally-enhanced crops promote farmers' conservation of own planting materials. The study discusses the policy implications of the findings.

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Section: Future Plantingsupporting

confidence: 94%

Effect of Technology Awareness and Access on the Conservation of Clean Planting Materials of Vegetatively Produced Crops: The Case of Sweetpotato

Okello

Sindi

Shikuku

et al. 2015

Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems

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“…Adoption literature typically argues that farmers' decision to adopt a new or improved technology is motivated by the incentives and capacity to do so (Otieno et al 2012;Timu et al 2014). The former usually focuses on the benefits of adopting improved technology, with benefits defined in terms of financial gain.…”

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confidence: 99%

Motivations and Mental Models Associated with Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technology: Evidence from Use of Quality Seed Potato in Kenya

et al. 2018

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Potato is a major food staple that makes a significant contribution to food security, having potential to smooth the volatility in food prices resulting from recent episodes of global food price increases. Despite its importance, most potato growers continue to use poor-quality seed, normally obtained from local/community sources. This study uses means-end chain theory to examine the drivers of use of quality seed potato, and the mental models associated with quality seed potato use. It finds that the decision to purchase and use quality seed is driven by deep-seated life goals that farmers pursue, and that profit-making is merely a means to these end/ life goals. It further finds that the structure of mental models differs by the gender of the adopter and between adopters and nonadopters. The study concludes that the structure and content of farmers' mental models differ by farmer type. The implications of the study findings for policy are discussed.

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“…Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is one of the important staple crops for the world's poorest and food insecure people in the semi-arid regions of the world (Timu et al, 2012;Rohrbach et al, 2002;Doggett, 1988). In Kenya, sorghum is an important food crop and dietary staple in the country's arid and semi-arid lands which account for over 80% of the total land area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variability of sorghum landraces from lower Eastern Kenya based on simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers

Muui¹,

Muasya²,

Kirubi³

et al. 2016

Afr. J. Biotechnol.

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The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic variability of sorghum landraces grown in lower eastern Kenya based on simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers. A total of 44 landraces obtained from the farmers and four improved varieties were analyzed using 20 SSR markers. All markers were polymorphic with polymorphism information content (PIC) value ranging from 0.04 to 0.81 with a mean of 0.49. Heterozygosity ranged from 0.00 to 0.04 suggesting that each detected a single genetic locus and that each of the sorghum accession used was stable. The alleles ranged between 2 and 10 and an average of 5.05 alleles per primer pair. The gene diversity ranged from 0.04 to 0.83 with a mean value of 0.53. All possible allele combinations ranged from 2 to 10, while major allele frequency ranged from 0.32 to 0.98. Genetic distances varied from 0.15 to 0.90 with two genotypes Karuge 1 and Karuge 2 obtained from Kiritiri in Mbeere having the minimum (0.15) and indication of very close relatedness. The diversity of the landraces was structured more on geographical locations and on seed colorations than agroecological conditions. Such intraregional genetic proximity in sorghum landraces would arise through seed exchanges among farmers. Analysis of molecular variation indicated higher variation within populations than among the groups. The genetic diversity can be exploited in hybridization programs to improve sorghum varieties grown by farmers in semi arid areas.

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The role of varietal attributes on adoption of improved seed varieties: the case of sorghum in Kenya

Cited by 45 publications

References 6 publications

Effect of Technology Awareness and Access on the Conservation of Clean Planting Materials of Vegetatively Produced Crops: The Case of Sweetpotato

Effect of Technology Awareness and Access on the Conservation of Clean Planting Materials of Vegetatively Produced Crops: The Case of Sweetpotato

Motivations and Mental Models Associated with Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption of Improved Agricultural Technology: Evidence from Use of Quality Seed Potato in Kenya

Genetic variability of sorghum landraces from lower Eastern Kenya based on simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers

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