Towards sustainable multiple agricultural technology source and transfer in some selected parts of Kenya

Technology transfer for sustainable agricultural development remains a major concern in third world countries. In the past, dissemination of agricultural technologies remained the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MOARD). However, with rapidly changing environment coupled with diverse socio-economic circumstances and with the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) that has rapidly reduced the role of the government in service delivery and regulation of domestic markets, other participants are getting more and more involved. The reduced role of government has however, not been followed by clear guidelines for involvement of private sector or quasi government institutions in technology dissemination/transfer. The continued reliance on government has led to fewer farmers benefiting from the normal services offered by MOARD. There are many technologies that have been developed using farmer participatory methodologies and approaches but adoption of these technologies is generally low. This is partly due to the fact that these technologies were mainly channelled through the official extension systems whose geographical coverage may not be adequate and lack of proper involvement of other stakeholders involved in agricultural technology development and transfer. The low adoption of technologies has been further reflected in inadequate household food security at farm level and poor management of natural resources such as land, soil, water and forests leading to rising levels of poverty. This has necessitated the need to review the current technology ~ansfer models in order to improve accessibility to knowledge and information in the new millennium. This study revealed that there are multiple sources of information for farmers and that extension services within the MOARD still playa key role in technology transfer. In addition, the study revealed that farmers seek different types of information to improve their enterprise productivity. As productivity increases through use of appropriate and sustainable technology transfer methodologies, there will be increased food self sufficiency and farm families incomes.