Extent of Adoption of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices among Smallholder Farmers in Baringo County, Kenya

Climate-smart agricultural practices play an increasingly important role in enhancing agricultural productivity, strengthening food security, and improving resilience to climate change in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). However, even with ongoing extension efforts to promote their uptake, smallholder farmers in ASALs continue to adopt these techniques at a low and varied rate despite their potential benefits. The study aimed to determine the extent to which Kenyan smallholder farmers in Baringo County had adopted climate-smart farming practices. The study adopted a mixed-methods research design involving 384 smallholder farmers selected through multistage stratified random sampling and nine extension officers selected through census. Primary data were collected using semi- structured questionnaires and semi-structured interview guides. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics in R software, while qualitative data were analysed thematically using NVivo software. The findings revealed a moderate level of adoption of CSA practices among smallholder farmers with an adoption index mean of 0.43 (SD = 0.21), indicating considerable variation in adoption levels. The distribution of adoption levels was approximately normal (skewness = 0.51; kurtosis = -0.32). Drought-tolerant varieties emerged as the most widely adopted CSA practice, as reported by 84% of smallholder farmers and 78% of extension agents, whereas conservation agriculture was identified as the least adopted practice by 26% of smallholder farmers and 67% of extension agents. Furthermore, 5 extension officers estimated the overall level of CSA adoption at 50%, while 2 estimated adoption levels at 60% and another 2 at 70%, suggesting moderate uptake of CSA practices in the study area. These findings suggest the need for increased efforts to promote the uptake of less adopted CSA practices in order to enhance sustainable agricultural production, food security and farmers' capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change in Baringo County and other ASAL regions of Kenya.