IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

Research articleerd

Small Scale Farmers’ Perception of Soil and Water
Conservation Practices -The Case of Budalangi Area, Kenya
BENARD ONYANGO ODHIAMBO
Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Email: benaxodhis@yahoo.com

MACHITO MIHARA*
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
E-mail:m-mihara@nodai.ac.jp
Received 15 December 2016

Accepted 29 October 2017(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Soil and water conservation; a process of minimizing the effects of land degradation,is necessary for sustainability of food production aimed at feeding the rapidly increasing
global population. Soil erosion and subsequent transfer of the eroded particles have been seen
as a major cause of land degradation. Budalangi area in Kenya is mainly flat with poor
drainage and alluvial or black cotton soil with minimal tree cover. Flooding in the study area
is believed to be as a result of sediments accumulating in the bed of River Nzoia over theyears, making the river course channel to be above the general level of flood plain, resulting
to overbank flow across the dykes. The study is to discuss the understanding of small scale
farmers and their motivation on soil and water conservation practices. Qualitative andquantitative methods were used. Data collection was mainly through questionnaire survey,
both formal and informal interviews together with field visits. The sample was selected bysimple random sampling technique from the entire study area. From the general outcome,majority of farmers could attribute the condition of their farm fertility to deposition of top
soil from upstream. Respondents also related low productivity to floods and unreliable
rainfall pattern in the area. The results showed that about 74.3% of the farmers in the study
area are familiar with soil and water conservation with 42.6% of them putting to practice atleast one measure to conserve soil and water. About 68.5% of the farmers are not practicing
any soil and water conservation measures. Hence, there is need to strengthen small scale
farmers` knowledge and adoption of soil and water conservation such as rainwater harvesting
to augment overreliance on direct rain for production and sustainable agriculture.
Keywords soil erosion, deposition, soil fertility, farmer perception, and soil and water
conservation

INTRODUCTION
In many developing countries, programs to mitigate land degradation have been initiated but withminimal success due to poor user adoption and lack of adequate technology transfer, (Aklilu and Jan,2007). According to McDonald and Brown, (2000), technical interventions brought to farmers byexternal agencies are always not sustainable unless attention is paid to both socio-economic andcultural aspects of the community in question. Therefore, in order to enhance sustainability of
projects meant to intervene in a particular problem in a community, full community participation isnecessary. This way, technology transfer will be meaningful and sustainable.
Decision by farmers to practice or adopt soil and water conservation (SWC) strategies is heavily
influenced by personal, socio-economics and technological factors among others. Personal factors ofage and level of education determines a farmer`s ability to relate problems associated with erosion
to their consequences on productivity, (Woldeamlak, 2007). Inherent land properties such as slope
and soil type determine vulnerability of soil to agents of erosion. Land tenure system, family size aswell as level of income can be categorized as socioeconomic factors influencing adoption andpractice of SWC measures.
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2Kessler, (2006) reported that in order to understand what motivates human beings to behave ina given way in relation to adoption process, there is need to put into consideration the logics behindthe motivating factor which can either be self-driven through personal interests or externally driven
by an expected reward or outcome. For SWC activities, self-motivation is important due to their longterm nature of payback.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to discuss the understanding of small scale farmers and their motivation
on soil and water conservation practices in Budalangi area, Busia County, Kenya.
METHODOLOGY
Study Area
The study area lies between longitudes N 0° 7′ 0″ to N 0° 9′ 0″ and latitudes E 34° 1′ 30″ to E 34° 3′30″. The research was conducted within Budalangi area, Busia County, which forms part of the lower
catchment of river Nzoia watershed. Budalangi area is mainly flat with poor drainage, alluvial or
black cotton soils with minimal tree cover and thus vulnerable to floods, (Alfred, 2013). The area
receives mean annual rainfall amount of about 600 mm. Despite this manageable rainfall amount,
the area is prone to floods during rainy seasons and suffers severe water scarcity during other seasons.
To address these extreme challenges of excess water and water scarcity, there was need to study theunderstanding of small scale farmers and their motivation on soil and water conservation practices.

Fig. 1 Map showing location and slope of study area
Methods Applied
A total of 35 household representative farmers were randomly selected as the key informants forinterviewing with the assistance of area extension officer. Randomization was to get a good
representation of socio-economic characteristics of the target group. The data was collected in August
2016, which corresponded to land preparation period in the study area. Data collection was mainly
through questionnaire survey, both formal and informal interviews together with field visits. TheⒸ ISERD

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

questionnaire was designed consisting of both closed and open ended questions in order not to limit
or restrict the response in a given way; this was meant to allow full expression among the respondents
and the researchers to understand the respondents` perceptions relating to the mentioned issues.
Land tenure systems, past and present practices on the farms, yield per season, theirunderstanding of soil fertility, erosion and conservation strategies were some of the issues includedin the questionnaire. Questions relating to soil fertility changes, soil erosion perception and soil andwater conservation strategies were open ended in structure to enable respondents to identify various
visual indicators and give possible reasons for their observations.
Descriptive statistics especially tabulation and simple graphics were used to summarize the data.
To determine the factors that influenced decline in agricultural production and influencing SWC
practices, average ranking for each of the ranked causes was used to determine the most influential
factors using the formula;
Average rank 𝑃𝑎 =𝑋1 𝑃1 +𝑋2 𝑃2 +𝑋3 𝑃3 +⋯+𝑋𝑛 𝑃𝑛(1)𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡

Where Xi is the response count for each choice and Pi is the ranked position.
Table 1 Contents of the questionnaire sheet
Category
Basic information ofrespondent
Topography
Security of tenure

Related question
General information

Cultivated crops andproduction levels
Land degradation

Type of crop , yield

Farm position in relation to hillside
Land tenure system

Soil erosion severity, soil and water
conservation measure

DetailsName, age, gender, level ofeducation, occupation
Location, slopeType of land ownership, previous
land use
Maize, beans, potatoes, groundnuts,
cassava and millet
Level of damage and perceived
causes, knowledge of SWC
measures, adoption level of SWCmeasures.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Land Tenure System and Preparation
Security of tenure is an important factor in determining whether a farmer is willing to practice soiland water conservation measures on their farmland, (Asrat et al., 2004). If the land belongs to thefarmer and he/she is sure of using it for a long period of time, say, lifetime, the farmer hasexpectations of deriving benefits from the farm for a longer time and hence, he/she is most likely toinvest in soil and water conservation measures on the farmland.
Unlike, when the farmer is not certain about the security of tenure, i.e. when the farm is leasedor hired for a short period of time, the farmer may not be willing to invest in soil and water
conservation measures.
Table 2 Farmers’ responses on land ownershipLand tenure system

Number of respondents in percentage (%)

Individually owned (inherited/given/bought)

80.0

Communally owned

11.4Others (leased or hired)

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

From the results on Table 2, majority of respondents either owned their farms through buying
or inherited from the family lineage. Minority leased or hired their farms for a short period of time.
This could mean there is relatively a higher security in terms of land ownership among the farmers
in the study area and hence, a positive willingness to adopt and practice soil and water conservation
strategies. This finding is also in agreement with Desalew and Aklilu, 2017, who observed thatamong other factors, plot ownership type had a significant influence on farmer’s perception on soiland water conservation.
Farm Fertility Status
Proper soil and water conservation measures are important in maintaining and improving soil fertility.
Deposition especially during heavy rains and flash floods from upstream was identified by therespondents as a possible cause of soil fertility in the area. Most farmers do not use either organic or
inorganic fertilizer on their farms; probably due to deposition of top soil and other organic materials
on some farms and high cost of farm inputs making it impossible for most small scale farmers toafford. As shown in Fig. 2, 40% of the farmers perceived deposition from upstream as a cause of
their farm fertility status.
Farmers’ Perception of Soil Erosion and its Severity
The concept of soil erosion is not a new term among the farmers in the study area. Majority of therespondents were able to identify the effects of soil erosion with its magnitude.
Not sure17%

40Percentage of farmers (%)

Constantploughing
20%

Fallowinglengths
3%302010

Drought
11%
Naturalsoilcondition
9%

Deposition
40%

0None

Slightly Moderate Severe
Degree of soil erosion

Fig. 2 Perceived cause of soil fertility status
magnitude

VerysevereFig. 3 Perceived soil erosion

Results on Fig. 3 shows 34.3% of the respondents considered soil erosion magnitude as being
moderate with 17.1% and 8.6% mentioning severe and very severe respectively.
On the effect of erosion on soil fertility status, 48.6% confirmed it affected it negatively with28.6% observing no relationship between erosion and soil fertility. This perception is in agreementwith finding by Lal, 2003 that erosion has negative impacts on the environment as it reduces soil
fertility of arable lands. The 22.8% observed positive effects of erosion; probably as a result ofdeposition from upstream.
Farmers Understanding of Causes of Decline in Production
From the results, all respondents were able to identify a decline in level of production and recognized
possible causes in order of rank from 1 to 6. Where; 1 represented the most likely cause of declineand 6 the least likely contributor to the decline.
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

As in Table 3; flooding, income levels and water scarcity were identified as the major causes ofdecline in agricultural production in the area as most of the respondents were ranking them from firstto second as shown in their average rank. Thus, the perception of causes leading to decline inproduction is important in determining the possible levels of adoption of any conservation strategy
to be recommended in addressing challenges facing crop production and sustainable agriculture
wholesomely. According to Enyew et al., 2013, soil and water conservation leads to improved cropproductivity. Their study focused mainly on terraced fields for teff, barley and maize production.
Each field showed a significant increase in yield per hectare.
Table 3 Crop production decline and prioritized causes
Cause
1st31.4
54.2
68.6
25.7
60.0
28.6

Soil erosion
Water scarcity
Flooding
Size of farmland
Income levels
Wild animals

2nd28.6
25.7
25.7
2.9
22.9
17.1

Rank by respondent (%)
3rd4th5th
5.7
34.2
8.6
5.7
5.7
5.7
5.7
22.9
34.2
17.1
5.7
20.1
17.1

Average rank
6th
8.6
11.4

2.8
1.8
1.4
3.6
1.6
3.1

Soil and Water Conservation Strategies
SWC measures are normally put in place to control surface runoff and harvest rainwater. From thesurvey, it showed that about 74.3% of the respondents were familiar with SWC measures with about
42.6% doing something towards SWC in their farms. As in Fig. 4, out of 42.6% respondents who
were able to identify some problems of surface runoff and water ponding, 51.4% and 31.4% used
trenches and waterways as conservation measures, respectively in an attempt to control water
movement within their farms. Figure 5 shows some of the soil and water conservation practices
within the study area.
Some farmers were unable to respond to whether they practice SWC measures on their farms
or not. According to Kessler, (2006), farmers may decide not to adopt any SWC measure even after
perceiving a given problem and have an idea on how to solve it. This is due to various constraints toadoption, ranging from personal factors to technological aspects. From the survey, flooding
especially during heavy downpour and water scarcity during dry seasons was identified as top
constraints to production.
Therefore, there is need to bridge these extremes through rainwater harvesting and storage during
heavy rains for use in dry seasons. To attain this, a deeper understanding of factors influencing
farmers’ perception and willingness to adopt any sustainable SWC measures is important (Derajew
et al., 2013).
Proportion of farmers
adopting (%)

6050403020100
Trenches Waterways Soil bunds

Treeplanting

Grassstrips

Stonebunds

Fig. 4 Adoption levels of each SWC measureⒸ ISERD23

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-2

Trash line

Water harvesting pond

Trench/ditch

Fig. 5 Soil and water conservation practices in the study area
CONCLUSION
This study aimed at discussing the understanding of small scale farmers on soil and water
conservation practices in Budalangi area of Busia County, Kenya. From the results of the survey, it
is demonstrated that majority of small scale farmers in the study area are aware of soil and water
conservation measures and practices. About 74.3% are familiar with soil and water conservation with42.6% of them putting to practice at least one measure to conserve soil and water. It is clear therefore
that 68.5% of farmers, despite having the information, they are not putting to practice any soil andwater conservation measure in their farmlands. Hence, there is need to strengthen small scale
farmers` knowledge and adoption of soil and water conservation through training and extension
services in order to realize a more sustainable land and water management practices and subsequently,
sustainable agriculture.
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Derajew, F., Bekabil, F. and Wagayehu, B. 2013. Determinants of the use of soil conservation technologies bysmallholder farmers, The case of Hulet Eju Enesie District, East Gojjam zone, Ethiopia. Asian Journal ofAgriculture and Food Sciences, 1, 119-138.
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