Factors Affecting Adoption of Productivity Enhancing Technologies in Farming

Abstract

The uptake of agricultural technologies that facilitate dairy farming has not been fully achieved in Kenya despite the major contribution of milk industry to economic growth globally. This study sought to examine factors affecting adoption of productivity enhancing technologies among small scale dairy farmers in UasinGishu County Kenya. The specific objectives werefinding out the influence of cost of technology on the uptake of productivity enhancing technologies; determining the extent to which extension methodology affect the uptake of productivity and establishing the relationship between technology compatibility and the uptake of productivity enhancing technologies. The study was carried out among dairy farmers inSiwa WardUasin-Gishu County, Kenya. Descriptive research design was used but a cross-sectional research survey method was applied. The target population was 548 farmers and a sample of 85 respondents arrived at using Nassiuma’s formulaand selected using systematic random sampling method. The response rate was 96.5% meaning 82 were able to respond. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the sampled respondents. Prior to the main study, the research instrument was pilot tested in order to determine reliability and validity. The reliability of the instrument was tested using the Cronbach alpha (α) where α was ≥ 0.77; study obtainedα of 0.79. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences software was used to process and analyze the data collected. Study findings were presented in form of summary frequency and percentage tables. The study revealed that farmers in UasinGishu County think that production enhancement technologies are not affordable and that the costs of loans are a significant impediment to adoption of productivity enhancement technology in the study area. The study further revealed that while farmer to farmer training is not effective in enabling farmers take up productivity enhancing technologies, farm visits have a significant impact on the up take of productivity enhancement technology for dairy farmers in UasinGishu County. In addition, visits from extension officers can be effective means of affecting uptake of productivity enhancement technology. In addition, past experiences have a significant influence on the likelihood of adoption of productivity enhancement technology. The study recommends that lending institutions should provide credit products that support farmers to overcome the cost of investing in productivity enhancement technology, and in terms that are farmer friendly. The County and National Government should also consider offering grants to farmers in support of their agricultural productivity technology uptake while the number of well-trained extension officers should be increased and well facilitated to increase uptake of productivity enhancement technology. The findings of this study have provided knowledge on the various factors and challenges influencing dairy farmer’s adoption of dairy farming technologies in Kenya. This could help the small scale farmers and policy makers understand and gain insight on what they can do to overcome these challenges and ensure full adoption of dairy farming technologies