The Contribution of New Rice for Africa (NERICA) Farming to Livelihood Security of Smallholder Households in Migori, Kenya

Eunice Boruru Ongoro, Edward Gizemba Ontita and Orieko Preston Chitere

Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology, 2022, vol. 40, issue 10, 13

Abstract: Improved people's livelihoods have a great potential to solve food insecurity issues. The uptake and use of enhanced agricultural technologies have been identified as one of the best ways to improve yields of smallholder rural farmers leading to improved livelihoods and stable socio-economic growth. This adoption has been attributed to higher incomes, better nutritional conditions, access to food stability and prices, more employment opportunities, and improved payments for the rural poor. NERICA rice was one such agricultural technology introduced in many countries across Africa to enable smallholder farmers to achieve food security. Previous studies on NERICA adoption in Africa show mixed findings on its effect on rural livelihoods. The main objective of this study was to examine the influence of NERICA rice agricultural technology on the livelihoods of smallholder households in Migori. The study on agricultural technology adoption and livelihood is of great concern to many stakeholders in Kenya because previous studies report low adoption of agricultural technologies in rural households of smallholders whose livelihoods depend on farming and are food insecure. The study was carried out in Migori County. Multistage sampling was used by combining purposive and simple random sampling. Data was collected from 262 NERICA rice farmers selected using a simple random sample, 22 key informants were purposively selected and interviewed, and eight focus group discussions were conducted from purposively selected NERICA rice-farming villages. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS computer software. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and the integrated data was triangulated and used to write this report. The findings revealed that the adoption of NERICA contributed to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers by increasing their incomes, creating food security and enhancing their social capital.

Keywords: Food; Security; and; Poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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