Cited by 29Agricultural Innovations and PracticesClimate change impacts on agricultureAgricultural Development and Management

Adoption of climate resilient agricultural practices among the Giriama community in south East Kenya: implications for conceptual frameworks

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Ziro, John Safari, Kichamu-Wachira, Edith, Ross, Helen, Palaniappan, Gomathy·2023·Frontiers in Climate

Abstract

While quantitative studies are robust at assessing the extent of climate change adaptation, and statistical relationships among variables involved, qualitative studies are also essential to understand the social rationales underlying relationships among variables, and to identify the roles of variables that have been overlooked or are hard to measure. This study investigates factors that influence the adoption of climate resilient agricultural practices by resource-poor Giriama farmers in southeast Kenya, with a view to understanding why some smallholders from this cultural group adopt climate resilient practices, while others do not. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with 30 farmers, 15 of whom had adopted climate resilient farming practices recommended by agricultural experts, and 15 of whom had not adopted any of those practices. The adopters were market-oriented, and tended to have individual land tenure, higher levels of experience in farming, slightly larger farm sizes, middle to high school education levels, and be younger. They had access to agricultural extension, access to farm inputs, and their off-farm activities tended to be related to agricultural supply chains. Non-adopters farmed entirely for subsistence, on communal or leased land, had less formal education, and adhered strongly to cultural beliefs and practices. Their off-farm income was unrelated to agriculture. More of the adopters were males, while many of the non-adopters were female. Particular cultural practices and taboos inhibited the adoption of several of the climate resilient practices, such as planting hybrid maize, keeping dairy goats, using improved goats such as the Kenyan Alpine for breeding purposes and the use of water conservation structures for crop production. Further, the qualitative information explains how and why factors such as land ownership, gender, culture, and access to information are interrelated, in ways that are not necessarily obvious in statistical analysis. The study thus highlights issues that need to be considered in conceptual frameworks underpinning both quantitative and qualitative studies, and particularly how they interact, in order to provide the knowledge essential to policy and programs intended to enhance smallholder farmers' adaptive capacity.

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Crossref · 10.3389/fclim.2023.1032780

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  • Social dimensions such as culture and food traditions and human and social values are deeply rooted and widely shared within communities, which explains their tighter clustering around the median and more uniform integration.

    “Social dimensions, such as culture and food traditions and human and social values, are deeply rooted and widely shared within communities (Ziro et al., 2023) which explains their tighter clustering around the median and more uniform integration.”

    From Agroecology for sustainable development: evidence on multidimensional performance from a cross-country TAPE assessment in Africa (2025) · cites this paper as Ziro et al., 2023

    The ‘Preferences among the recommended practices’ section describes cultural beliefs shaping Giriama food practices and says most households follow a particular maize-storage custom. The Discussion links culture to values and social norms. These passages support the importance of shared practices in the Giriama community, but not the broader claim that food traditions and human and social values are deeply rooted and widely shared across communities. The clustering explanation follows the citation and appears to be the citing authors’ inference, not a finding attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Morse, J. M. (2004). "Purposive sampling, " in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods, eds. L., Michael, B., Alan, and L., Tim (Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.).
  2. Osumba, J. L. (2011). Adaptation Strategies for Agriculture in a changing Climate: Review on International, National and Local Experience. Nairobi: ACCI Publishing.

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Authors
Ziro, J. S., Kichamu-Wachira, E., Ross, H., & Palaniappan, G.
Affiliations
The University of Queensland (AU)
Corresponding author
Ross, Helen
Venue
Frontiers in Climate
Published
2023-06-15
Volume
5
ISSN
2624-9553 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4380680605
Cited by
29
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 2
FWCI
12.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Climate (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Australia Awards (ST000ED81, ST000EE07)
  • University of Queensland
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agricultural Innovations and Practices
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Climate change impacts on agriculture
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agricultural Development and Management
Keywords
climate-resilient agriculture, technology adoption, Giriama, smallholder farmers, adaptive capacity, cultural taboos, land tenure, gender, agricultural extension, off-farm income, maize hybrids, water conservation, subsistence farming, conceptual framework

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