Yields of Green Grams and Pigeonpeas under Smallholder Conditions in Machakos County, Kenya

ABSTRACT Green grams and pigeonpeas have multiple benefits to the rural poor as food security, fodder for livestock and fuel for small-scale farmers, despite low smallholder yields in Kenya. However, little is known about the factors between different farmers that influence the yields of green grams and pigeonpeas. The objectives of this study therefore were to describe and compare how the groups of farmers in agro-ecological zones (AEZs) LM 4 and LM 5 differ by their yields of green grams and pigeonpeas and to estimate the parameters of the variables which explain the yields. Data collection was through a well-structured questionnaire, administered to 364 respondents, selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. Each AEZ had an equal sample size (182 respondents). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regression were used during data analysis. The ANOVA results showed that the mean of the green gram yields in AEZs LM 4 and LM 5 was 19.90 and 173.67 kg ha−1 while the mean of the pigeonpea yields was 109.26 and 34.01 kg ha−1, respectively. The multiple linear regression model results showed that the green gram yields were positively related to the use of improved seed (p = 0.001), cultivated farm sizes (p = 0.011), green gram crop intensity (p = 0.005), oxcart (p = 0.003) and agro-ecological zone (p = 0.000). The farmer differences in the use of improved seed were found to be significantly and positively related to the yields of pigeonpeas (p = 0.057), while the sizes of the cultivated farms (p = 0.057) and the agro-ecological zones (p = 0.000) showed inverse relationships (IRs). Based on the given research evidence, it was therefore concluded that the groups of farmers in AEZs LM 4 and LM 5 have different yields of green grams and pigeonpeas and there are factor gaps in productivity.