Analysis of household savings and adoption of climate smart agricultural technologies. Evidence from smallholder farmers in Nyando Basin, Kenya.

Investments in climate smart agriculture (CSA) are often hampered by inadequate finance. The risks of climate change further scare away private investors from this technology. However, household savings have been established as a key contributor to farm investment in rural households. This study sought to analyze the influence of household savings on adoption of CSA technologies. It utilized descriptive statistics, chi square, Poisson and ordered probit models on a sample of 122 households in its analysis. The findings showed that saving households adopted more CSA technologies compared to non-saving households with the chi square results indicating a statistically significant difference at 1%. In addition, household savings and interest earned on savings increased the likelihood of a household to adopt more than one CSA technology. Thus, increasing household savings is an important strategy for scaling CSA, and community groups through which households channel their savings need strengthening through regular trainings on group management and financial literacy.

Linking farmers' risk attitudes, livelihood diversification and adoption of climate smart agriculture technologies in the Nyando basin, South-Western Kenya.

Climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies are innovations meant to reduce the risks in agricultural production among smallholder farmers. Among the factors that influence farmer adoption of agricultural technologies are farmers' risk attitudes and household livelihood diversification. This study, focused on determining how farmers' risk attitudes and household livelihood diversification influenced the adoption of CSA technologies in the Nyando basin. The study utilized primary data from 122 households from two administrative regions of Kisumu and Kericho counties in Kenya. The study employed the multivariate probit (MVP) and ordered probit (OP) models and descriptive statistics in data analysis using Stata 14.0. Results from the study indicated that farmers' risk attitudes had a significant negative influence in the adoption of terraces, ridges and bunds as well as the intensity of adoption of given CSA technologies. Household livelihood diversification had a significant negative influence in the adoption of stress tolerant livestock but did not have a significant effect on the intensity of adoption of given CSA technologies. The study recommends that relevant stakeholders should introduce an appropriate agricultural index insurance product to Nyando basin farmers to encourage the broader adoption of CSA technologies.