Effectiveness of farmer field schools in promoting adoption of best agricultural practices by smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya

Abstract

In Kenya, there are gaps on the availability of studies of the specific extension approaches and their effectiveness on the adoption of technologies. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in promoting adoption of best agricultural practices (BAP) by smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya. The target population was the smallholder coffee farmers in the CRI’s FFS pilot project numbering 4802. All the 117 farmers who trained and graduated in FFS were used owing to their small size. Proportionate random sampling technique was applied to the societies to obtain a sample of 100 farmers who did not learn through FFS, constituting a sample of 217. A descriptive survey research design was used. Data was collected using an interview schedule. The instrument was validated by experts from the Egerton University’s Department of Agricultural Education and Extension. The research instrument was pilot tested to determine its reliability. Using Cronbach's alpha, an index of 0.936 was obtained. Descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics were used to analyze data with the help of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 for windows. Chi-square and correlation analysis were used to determine whether FFS had statistically significant effect on enhancing uptake of BAP amongst smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya. Correlation analysis and independent samples t-test were employed respectively to determine the effectiveness of FFS in increasing coffee yields and in enhancing sharing of knowledge amongst smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya. To make reliable inferences from the data, all statistical tests were verified at α ≤ 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between extent of uptake of BAP and belonging to FFS classes. Belonging to FFS classes significantly increases the likelihood of getting higher coffee yields. Farmer Field Schools have a statistically significant effect on enhancing sharing of knowledge amongst smallholder coffee farmers. This study recommends that stakeholders including governments, farmers’ organizations, and development organizations need to encourage smallholder farmers to belong to FFS classes in order to enhance the uptake of BAP in coffee farming. Farmers should be encouraged to join and actively participate in existing FFS classes for them to be able to achieve higher coffee production. FFS classes should be strengthened and supported in order for them to continue yielding better results in facilitating the sharing of knowledge among smallholder farmers in Kenya.