Effect of Farmer Field School’s (FFS) Farmer Field Day on the Adoption of Vegetable Production Technologies in Homa-Bay Town Sub-County, Homa-Bay County, Kenya
Abstract
The Farmer Field School (FFS) is a participatory extension approach widely implemented in developing countries and recognised as an effective method for disseminating and adopting agricultural technologies. However, few studies have evaluated the specific contribution of the FFS Farmer Field Day (FFD) component to vegetable production technologies adoption in Homa Bay Town Sub-County, Kenya. This study assessed the effect of the FFS Farmer Field Day on farmers’ adoption of vegetable production technologies. An ex-post-facto research design was used to analyse the influence of FFS Farmer Field Day participation on technology adoption. Primary data were collected from 120 vegetable farmers belonging to 10 FFS groups, while 10 extension officers served as the key informants. Stratified random sampling was applied, and data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) were used to determine the relationship between FFS Farmer Field Day participation and the adoption of selected vegetable production technologies. The findings revealed that FFS Farmer Field Day participation significantly enhanced the adoption of nursery establishment (97.5%), transplanting (86.8%), compost manure (85.1%), mulching (75.2%), and farmyard manure application (70.2%). The study concludes that the FFS Farmer Field Day is a crucial platform for promoting technology adoption among smallholder vegetable farmers. It recommends that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and development partners integrate regular FFS Farmer Field Days into agricultural extension programs to improve knowledge transfer and uptake of sustainable production technologies
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Copyright (c) 2025 Charles Odoyo Nyayiera, Joash K. Kibett, PhD, Naomi Rioba, PhD
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