Effects of Regenerative Agriculture Technologies on the Productivity of Cowpea in the Drylands of Embu County, Kenya

Abstract

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is an important indigenous multi-purpose crop grown in arid and semiarid areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The cowpea has nutritional and economic value, especially for smallholder farmers in dry lands. However, poor farming practices have declined cowpea productivity over the years. Low soil nutrient replenishment exacerbates the situation, leading to low soil fertility. Uptake of regenerative agriculture (RA) technologies is critical to building more resilient ecosystems that improve soil fertility and agricultural productivity while mitigating climate change effects. This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of the uptake of RA technologies on the productivity of cowpea in the dry lands of Embu County, Kenya. A survey involving 400 farming households was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and a stochastic log-linearized Cobb-Douglas production function were used for the data analysis. The study results showed that RA technologies commonly used by farming households were: cereal-legume intercrop, mulching, minimum tillage, crop rotations, pasture cropping, organic agriculture, and compost manure. The findings also revealed that inputs, farm size, labour cost, and used manure amount positively influenced cowpea productivity. The results also showed that cereal-legume intercrop, crop rotations, pasture cropping, and organic agriculture significantly influenced cowpea productivity, while minimum tillage showed a negative relationship. Therefore, the current study's results recommend that the uptake of RA technologies should be scaled to scale up cowpea productivity in dry lands. The study contributes to determining appropriate technologies for cowpea production in arid and semiarid areas. These results will help the government, policymakers, and other inventors to make the right decisions while disseminating or introducing innovations in dry areas.