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Publications

Poster

Heterogeneous efficiency effects of agro-ecological fruit fly management transition and intensification among smallholder mango farmers: a latent class stochastic metafrontier approach

Authors: Owili, Sulman Olieko; Otieno, David Jakinda; Chimoita, Evans Ligare, and Baijukya, Frederick Philbert

Year: 2024  |  Conference: CGIAR’s Initiative on Agroecology National Dissemination Workshop,on 10th December 2024, at ICRAF, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri.

Abstract

Since its detection in 2003 in Kenya, the invasive fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis has become a significant threat to mango production and marketing. To combat its impact, many mango producers in Kenya and other Sub-Saharan African countries have relied on synthetic insecticides. However, these insecticides are costly for smallholder farmers and pose environmental impacts and health risks to orchard managers, workers, and consumers. This has prompted the need for more sustainable pest management practices, aligning with global efforts like the United Nations’ ”Decade on Ecosystem Restoration” (2021–2030), which emphasises ecological balance and sustainable agricultural practices. This study investigates the efficiency effects of adopting and intensifying 18 [1] agro-ecological pest management (APM) practices among smallholder mango farmers in Kenya...

Technical report

Performance assessment of agroecology in Makueni and Kiambu counties, Kenya

Authors: Nyawira, S.S.; Korir, H.; Bolo, P..; Omondi, K..; Owili, S.O.; Letty, B.; Wamaitha, C..; Njogu, M..; Anyango, E.; Baijukya, F.

Year: 2024  |  Publisher: CGSpace - Alliance of Bioversity  &  CIAT

Abstract

Food security remains a significant challenge in Kenya, with many smallholder farmers grappling with low crop yields due to environmental and agricultural constraints. Declining soil fertility and insufficient soil moisture contribute to persistent yield gaps that undermine food production. Production stresses are further exacerbated by biodiversity loss, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. While synthetic fertilizers and pesticides initially boost productivity, they often lead to long-term soil degradation, nutrient depletion, and biodiversity loss. Addressing these challenges requires sustainable farming practices and innovative approaches to enhance productivity while safeguarding the environment.

Journal article

Factors influencing adoption of agro-ecological pest management options for mango fruit fly under information constraints: a two-part fractional regression approach

Authors: Owili, Sulman Olieko; Otieno, David Jakinda; Chimoita, Evans Ligare, and Baijukya, Frederick Philbert

Year: 2024  |  Journal: International Journal of Pest Management

Abstract

The catalytic effect of climate change on the emergence and prevalence of invasive alien pests along with weak pesticide regulatory frameworks in developing countries calls for a transition towards sustainable pest management. Agro-ecological pest management (APM) offers a nature-based, cost-effective alternative for addressing systemic pest challenges, such as mango fruit fly invasion. We applied a two-part fractional regression to sequentially model APM adoption and intensity decisions among 423 smallholder mango orchard managers from Makueni County, Kenya. Despite APM’s potential, we observed moderate adoption rates (56.7%), with the average adopter implementing only 25% of the APM practices concurrently. Farmers’ socio-psychological attributes significantly influenced both adoption and intensity decisions. While perceptions of technology attributes and institutional and social factors primarily influenced both the adoption and intensity decisions, information constraints, resource endowment, gender and inter-generational factors significantly influenced only the intensity decision. To support the transition from synthetic insecticides to APM measures, policymakers should create more opportunities for awareness creation, training and knowledge co-creation and co-production, particularly through social networks and gender-disaggregated participatory group approaches.

Journal article

Scaling Models for Regreening Africa: Enhancing Agroecological Integration Through Smallholders’ Assets and Agency in Kenya

Authors: Fuchs, Lisa Elena; Orero, Levi; Lang'at, Kipkorir; Apondi, Victoria, and Owili, Sulman Olieko

Year: 2024  |  Journal: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Abstract

Urgent action is needed to address climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity loss. The Regreening Africa project (2017–2023), recently recognized as a UN World Restoration Flagship, aimed to reverse land degradation over large areas of land for the triple benefit of people, biodiversity, and climate in eight African countries. Based on projections and early lessons learned, the project sought to identify sustainable scaling models to achieve its ambitious targets. The so-called “Asset-Based Community-driven Development (ABCD) in Regreening” project aimed to demonstrate the positive contribution of deliberate community engagement and co-design. The project introduced ABCD sessions to 30 purposively selected community groups in the Regreening intensification sites in western Kenya. ABCD combines a unique set of framings, methods, and processes that focus on people’s assets and agency, and emphasizes the importance of their attitudes toward self and others for sustainable behavior change. To evidence that ABCD intrinsically contributes to sustainable adoption and scaling of Regreening practices, the project developed the F-ACT+ tool to assess the alignment between ABCD and agroecological practices, and collected baseline and endline data from 300 project and 300 non-project participants. Results showed accelerated agroecological integration among ABCD project participants. ABCD participants showed significant improvements in nine agroecological principles and eight system components, particularly in the economic diversification, social values and diets, and knowledge co-creation principles, as well as in the pest and disease, household, and value chain system components. Summary ATT between ABCD and non-ABCD respondents was positive and significant in 10 principles and eight system components. The results support the synergistic contribution of ABCD to projects targeting sustainable behavior change at the individual and collective levels. Due to its focus on outcomes, this study provided limited insight into the specific mechanisms of ABCD, which are the subject of a separate publication on parallel theory-based contribution analysis work.

Poster

Sustainable Scaling Models for Regreening Africa: Focusing on Smallholder's Assets and Agency to Increase Agroecological Integration in Western Kenya

Authors: Fuchs, Lisa Elena; Orero, Levi; Lang'at, Kipkorir; Apondi, Victoria, and Owili, Sulman Olieko

Year: 2024  |  Conference: Agroecology TPP Annual Members' Forum 2024

Abstract

The Regreening Africa project, recognised as UN World Restoration Flagship in February 2024, was implemented in eight African countries from 2017 to 2023 with the financial support of the European Union. Its main objective was “to restore large areas of land for the triple benefit of people, biodiversity, and climate” (Bourne, 2024). In view of both projections and early experiences, Regreening Africa actively sought to identify sustainable scaling models that could support achieving the project targets in Kenya, and could potentially be replicated in the other project sites. In response to this challenge, the Regreening Africa and asset-based community-driven development (ABCD) teams at CIFOR-ICRAF collaborated on the so-called ‘ABCD in Regreening’ project. The project was implemented from 2021 to 2023 in Homa Bay County, one of the Regreening Africa intensification sites. ABCD builds on people’s agency and capacity. It was initially theorised and popularised by Kretzmann & McKnight (1993, 2005) at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA, and was adapted to an international development context by the Coady Institute in the early 2000s. It has been appropriated by many institutions and actors around the world. ABCD draws on and aligns with numerous theoretical and conceptual sources. Its innovation lies in providing a conceptual and operational framework for appreciating that communities have been driving their own development since time immemorial – and in providing a structured co-creation process that fosters responsive external action.

Technical report

Kenya Context Assessment Report: A desk-top review of the context of agroecological principles of Kiambu and Makueni counties

Authors: Nyawira, Sylvia; Bolo, Peter; Ntinyari, Winnie; Orero, Levi; Onyango, Kevin; Manjella, Aurillia; Sakha, Michael; Owili, Sulman Olieko; Gumo, Pius; Mbelwa, Machio; Korir, Hezekiah, and Fuchs, Lisa Elena

Year: 2024  |  Publisher: CGSpace - Alliance of Bioversity  &  CIAT

Abstract

The CGIAR Agroecology Initiative (AE-I) is built around the concept and approach of Living Landscapes that promote an integrated approach to engaging with the social system and ecosystems in given spaces in support of agroecological transitions. The Kenyan Agroecological Living Landscapes (ALLs) are established in two different counties: Makueni and Kiambu. This context document provides a literature review assessment of the status of agroecology in the two counties. It summarizes the environmental, economic, social, and political context of Makueni and Kiambu counties, along with the status, opportunities, and areas of interventions along the 13 FAO principles on agroecology. The Kenyan ALLs will be hosted in CSHEP and DNRC, which are part of the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) association. This document provides an assessment of the status of the two centers in adopting agroecological innovations and a summary of the key ongoing activities along the 13 principles. Some of the key highlights are the current ongoing work on organic farming in the centers, which mainly focuses on composting, application of organic pesticides, water recycling and harvesting, seed saving, and agroforestry, among others. The document also provides a detailed summary of the key relevant stakeholders that are involved in promoting agroecology in Kenya.

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