Contribution Of Ngusishi Water Resource User Association Towards Farm Forestry Adoption In Ewaso Ng’iro North Catchment Area, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Traditional perspective approach has always considered environmental resources such as water as free goods without physical boundaries and the complexity of water uses and users makes it difficult to manage water resources in an efficient and equitable way. In addition, the current low tree planting trends and over harvesting imbalances are suspect and feared to threaten the continuity of the very tree-crop growing practice that has supported farming households over the years. The Ngusishi River Water Resource User‘s Association was founded to help unburden both the haves and have not on account of accessing the scarce water resource that saw conflicts arising among farmers due to unequal access to water by stakeholders. The study‘s objectives were to assess the extent to which Ngusishi WRUA promotes the adoption of farm-forestry among small scale farmers, to investigate the determinants enhancing farm forestry adoption in Ngusishi and to investigate water accessibilities by small scale farmers associated with Ngusishi WRUA. The study was undertaken between August 2010 and January 2011. The study employed an ex-post-facto survey design, involving data collection on what already exist and not designed by the researcher. The study was contacted in Ewaso Ng‘iro North Catchment area. A sample of 105 small scale farmers was selected using non-random sampling. Data analysis was done using SPSS and to achieve the study objectives, descriptive, correlation and regression analysis were used. The study found out that years of farming, farm size, land tenure at (x2 =0.001), and age of farmer‘s influences adoption of farm forestry in the study area but education level, gender (sex)at (x2 =0.095) and number of household members were not. It was also found out that most small scale farmers were motivated to adopt farm forestry after they gained access to tapped water, received seedlings for planting in their farms from Ngusishi WRUA, accepting to attain training on how to keep the water catchment green and also having tree nurseries started in the various project groups they belonged to. Though farmers‘ interaction with the extension staff was low, the adoption rate was significant. This study recommends intensified extension services to encourage more small scale farmers adopt farm forestry.