Introduction
Materials and Methods
Description of the Study Site
Farm Household Survey
Statistical Analysis
Results
Knowledge of Invasion and Management Strategies Applied
Data type | Mean | SD | |
---|---|---|---|
Dependent variables (parthenium control strategies) | |||
Manual weed removal in field crops | Binary | 0.38 | 0.49 |
Spray application of herbicides | Binary | 0.15 | 0.36 |
Intensive soil tillage | Binary | 0.03 | 0.17 |
Explanatory variables | |||
Age of household head (years) | Continuous | 45.15 | 15.62 |
Gender (male = 1, female = 0) | Binary | 0.74 | 0.43 |
Education level (years of schooling) | Continuous | 7.90 | 4.90 |
Cultivated area (ha) | Continuous | 0.53 | 0.73 |
Household size (number of members) | Continuous | 5.9 | 2.8 |
Level of parthenium invasion (%) | Categorical | 0.65 | 0.99 |
Farming experience (years) | Continuous | 13.4 | 13.0 |
Membership in producer organisation (Yes = 1, No = 0) | Binary | 0.33 | 0.47 |
Access to credit (Yes = 1, No = 0) | Binary | 0.43 | 0.50 |
Off-farm activities (Yes = 1, No = 0) | Binary | 0.27 | 0.45 |
Extension contacts (Yes = 1, No = 0) | Binary | 0.26 | 0.44 |
Use of M-pesa (Yes = 1, No = 0) | Binary | 0.83 | 0.38 |
Livestock ownership (TLUa) | Continuous | 3.2 | 5.1 |
Awareness of parthenium (Yes = 1, No = 0) | Binary | 0.67 | 0.47 |
Infestation by parthenium (Yes = 1, No = 0) | Binary | 0.40 | 0.49 |
Socio-economic and Demographic Characteristics of Farmers
Differential of Household Attributes based on Weed Management Strategies
Variables | Weeding | Herbicide application | Intensive cultivation | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes (1) | No (0) | Yes (1) | No (0) | Yes (1) | No (0) | |
Age of household head (years) | 40.740*** (0.954) | 47.824 (0.892) | 41.987** (1.389) | 45.721 (0.758) | 47.687 (3.431) | 45.071 (0.691) |
Household head is male (1 = Yes) | 0.780 (0.029) | 0.718 (0.024) | 0.827** (0.042) | 0.726 (0.021) | 0.875 (0.085) | 0.737 (0.019) |
Educational level of household head | 8.400* (0.327) | 7.593 (0.274) | 8.098 (0.541) | 7.861 (0.229) | 9.062 (1.062) | 7.861 (0.215) |
Area of cultivation (ha) | 0.694*** (0.060) | 0.422 (0.033) | 0.886*** (0.135) | 0.459 (0.027) | 0.896* (0.216) | 0.514 (0.031) |
Household size (number) | 6.515*** (0.188) | 5.587 (0.150) | 6.703*** (0.297) | 5.799 (0.133) | 5.812 (0.541) | 5.941 (0.125) |
Damage level (%) | 1.655*** (0.065) | 0.048 (0.015) | 1.666*** (0.096) | 0.472 (0.042) | 1.312*** (0.150) | 0.634 (0.043) |
Experience in crop production (years) | 11.335*** (0.712) | 14.651 (0.792) | 13.395 (1.132) | 13.400 (0.636) | 16.750 (3.939) | 13.295 (0.570) |
Farmer group (1 = Yes) | 0.370 (0.034) | 0.303 (0.025) | 0.456*** (0.055) | 0.305 (0.021) | 0.500 (0.129) | 0.322 (0.020) |
Access to credit (1 = Yes) | 0.565*** (0.035) | 0.348 (0.026) | 0.567*** (0.055) | 0.405 (0.023) | 0.322*** (0.020) | 0.420 (0.021) |
Off-farm participation (1 = Yes) | 0.295 (0.032) | 0.257 (0.024) | 0.234 (0.047) | 0.278 (0.021) | 0.312 (0.119) | 0.270 (0.019) |
Access to extension services (1 = Yes) | 11.335*** (0.712) | 14.651 (0.792) | 13.395 (1.132) | 13.400 (0.636) | 16.750 (3.939) | 13.295 (0.570) |
Use of M-pesa (1 = Yes) | 0.920*** (0.019) | 0.769 (0.023) | 0.901** (0.033) | 0.812 (0.018) | 0.875 (0.085) | 0.824 (0.016) |
Livestock ownership (TLU) | 3.895*** (0.368) | 2.747 (0.271) | 5.235*** (0.746) | 2.810 (0.218) | 4.429 (1.562) | 3.142 (0.221) |
Number of observations | 200 | 330 | 81 | 449 | 16 | 514 |
Covariate Relationship to Management Options
Weeding | Synthetic herbicides | Intensive cultivation | |
---|---|---|---|
Age of household head (years) | −0.016** (0.009) | −0.009 (0.006) | 0.012 (0.016) |
Household head is male (1 = Yes) | 0.092 (0.186) | 0.244 (0.214) | 0.225 (0.294) |
Educational level of household head (years) | −0.006 (0.029) | −0.034** (0.016) | 0.023 (0.028) |
Area of cultivation (hectares) | −0.006 (0.075) | 0.076*** (0.028) | 0.031 (0.035) |
Household size (number) | 0.046** (0.023) | 0.018 (0.020) | −0.039 (0.037) |
Damage level (%) | 2.750*** (0.461) | 0.577*** (0.088) | 0.254*** (0.078) |
Experience in crop production (years) | −0.004 (0.006) | 0.006 (0.007) | 0.005 (0.013) |
Farmer group (1 = Yes) | 0.099 (0.125) | 0.396*** (0.137) | 0.163 (0.201) |
Access to credit (1 = Yes) | 0.195 (0.178) | −0.011 (0.190) | 0.479* (0.274) |
Off-farm participation (1 = Yes) | −0.022 (0.140) | −0.088 (0.158) | 0.077 (0.240) |
Access to extension services (%) | −0.014 (0.218) | 0.426** (0.189) | 0.068 (0.199) |
Use of M-pesa (1 = Yes) | 0.076 (0.197) | −0.133 (0.278) | −0.136 (0.357) |
Livestock ownership (TLU) | −0.023 (0.034) | 0.024** (0.012) | −0.004 (0.015) |
Constant | −1.508** (0.742) | −1.635*** (0.384) | −3.210*** (1.202) |
Ward dummies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Number of observations | 530 | 530 | 530 |
Complementarities and Substitutability in the Management Options
Strategies | Correlation coefficient |
---|---|
Synthetic herbicides versus weeding | −0.299** (0.130) |
Intensive cultivation versus weeding | −0.115 (0.096) |
Intensive cultivation versus synthetic herbicides | 0.047 (0.139) |