Area under grain legumes cultivation and problems faced by smallholder farmers in legume production in the semi-arid Eastern Kenya

Abstract

A structured questionnare was used to collect information on areas under legume cultivation, grain legume yields, and problems faced by farmers in grain legume production at four selected sublocations in semi-arid Makueni district of eastern Kenya. Results obtained showed that areas under grain legume cultivation ranged from 48% to 92%, increasing with a decrease in cultivated farm sizes while grain legume yields ranged from 30 kg/ha to 416 kg/ha varrying with sub-location. Problems faced by farmers in grain legume production included low soil fertility, inadequate farm inputs, weeds, pests and diseases, and lack of grain legume seeds during planting in the short rains. On average, fertile soils covered less than 10 % of the cultivated area and 67% to 97 of the respondents interviewed said that manure, the main farm input in the study sites, was not adequate. Further, notorious weeds, pests and diseases occurred in all sub-locations and over 90% of households experienced famine and seeds of grain legume during short rain seasons that follows long dry spells. This study indicated that a very high proportion of cultivated land was under grain legume cultivation, soil fertility improvement was necessary in the study sites and grain legume seed deficit was common in the households during planting seasons after long dry spells. It is, therefore, necessary to look for strategies to enhance soil fertility and boost grain legume production in the semi-arid lands of Makueni district in eastern Kenya.