Women empowerment and its contribution to sustainable land use management practices among farmers in Njoro Sub-County, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Land degradation and decreased agricultural production is a big problem among rural farming communities, this is despite the fact that women in these areas have been empowered to increase production and manage the land resources. The study therefore assessed the level of women empowerment and determined its contribution to sustainable land use management among farmers in Njoro sub-county, Nakuru County, Kenya. Specifically, the following objectives were addressed by the study: (i) to assess the level of women empowerment using the women empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI) among farmers, (ii) to determine the level of sustainable land use management practiced by women farmers, (iii) to determine the contribution of women empowerment to sustainable land use management by farmers, (iv) to compare the levels of land use management practices in three locations in Njoro sub-county. The target population consisted of 659 women managing small scale farms in the rural areas of Njoro sub-county. The ex-post facto research design was adopted for this study. The multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select three locations and a sample of 243 women households. A researcher administered structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the women farmers. The data was analysed using descriptive (means, median, mode and frequency distribution) and inferential (regression analysis, chi-square test, and ANOVA) statistics at 95 % level of confidence in a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS version 26). The level of women empowerment (WEAI) in Njoro sub-county was found to be low (M=.439, SD=.196) on a scale of 0 to 1. Sustainable Land Use Management Practices (SLUMP) was found to be (M=11.16, SD=5.98) on a scale of 0 to 20. The SLUMP levels were found to vary significantly (p<.001) within the three locations (Njoro, Kihingo and Nessuit) sampled. Women empowerment contributed positively (β=.144, t=2.25, p<.001) to sustainable land use management practices. The research provided a quantitative method of assessing women empowerment in the agricultural areas and research. The findings will assist the stakeholders in national and county governments to formulate policies applicable to the management of the land resources. There is need to improve on the level of empowerment to the women by acting on the five domains of women empowerment. The domains act as a guide in directing interventions during the implementation of the empowerment programmes