Factors Impacting Agricultural Production and the Role of Agricultural Extension Services in Kenya

Abstract

Productivity in agricultural is also important for spurring economic growth in other sectors. Farmers live in remote rural areas and make up 75% of the world’s poor. In Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), productivity in agriculture lags behind globally, and is below the required standards of achieving food security, poverty goals and food sufficiency. As an important sector in the Kenyan economy, agriculture continues to dominate other sectors despite its declining contribution to real GDP. The development in agriculture is that one which revolutionizes the industry by bringing forth profitable agriculture and environment friendly solutions. Kenya government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, have in the past tried to pass information to the farmers via agricultural extension officers. However, the quality of the information disseminated to the farmers has not been up to date, information delivery has not been good, the mode of communication also questionable owing to literacy levels of our farmers and indeed that of the extension officers, information technology has not been embraced fully making it difficult for our farmers to progress with their counterparts in other parts of the world. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the factors impacting agricultural production and the role of agricultural extension services in Kenya. This study is anchored on Diffusion of Innovations Theory. The study employed a mixed design involving a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approach. And the target population was made up of farmers, officers from the ministry of agriculture and officers from agricultural extension service providers. Data was gathered using both structured questionnaire and interview guides. The collected data was analysed with the aid of SPSS software using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed a coefficient of determination (R squared) of 0.319 implying that agricultural extension services explains 31.9 % of the variation in agricultural production in Kenya. The study also showed a positive and statistically significant relationship between agricultural extension services and agricultural production in Kenya (β=1.561, p=.003<.05). The study concludes that agricultural extension services play a significant role in improving agricultural production in Kenya because agricultural extension services offers technical advice on agriculture to farmers. It is thus recommended that agricultural extension service delivery should be boosted through timely recruitment, periodic training of agents and provision of adequate logistics to the farmers. Keywords: Agricultural extension services, agricultural factors, agricultural production, farmers in Kenya