Fodder legumes technology and farmer to farmer extension: a case of Desmodium and Calliandra in central Kenya

Adoption studies on fodders legume technologies have shown that spread of the
technology is significantly enhanced by informal methods of dissemination especially
farmer-to-farmer extension. It is not known which type of farmers are involved in this
dissemination. The objective of this study was to identify farm and farmer characteristics
that influence farmer-to farmer extension hence identify the type of farmers that can
disseminate fodder legume technologies. A random sample of 130 farmers who had
been given calliandra in central Kenya responded to a structured questionnaire.
Information collected included farm and farmer characteristics and the number of
farmers the original farmer had given Calliandra outside the original group. A tobit model
was used to analyze the data to get the magnitude of the effects of factors affecting the
probability and the intensity of giving out the fodder. Results showed that farmers with
positions in farmer groups** , community responsibility**, larger amounts of desmodium
on the their farms** , more years of the fodder on their farms***; low access to markets*
and off farm income* , were positively involved in spread of the fodder legume. It was
recommended that this type of farmers be targeted with support to increase spread of
the technology.