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Browsing by Author "Norton, James B."

Now showing 1 - 15 of 15
  • Adoption and impacts of conservation agriculture: Quasi experimental evidence from E. Africa
    Bashaasha, Bernard; Laker-Ojok, Rita; Norton, James B.; Owori, M.; Peck, D. (2013)
    Conservation Agriculture is a recent and evolving concept to land management that seeks to optimise crop yields and farm profits in a manner that balances economic and environmental benefits. The underlying principles include avoiding soil tillage, maintaining soil cover and retaining crop residues, practicing crop rotations and improved fallows, precision placement of appropriate fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides (targeting of inputs), reliance upon integrated pest management (IPM) principles and avoidance of soil compaction, among others.
  • Agricultural Actors, Networks and Mind-sets: Discovering the predisposition for CAPS in the Mt Elgon region of Uganda and Kenya
    Moore, Keith M.; Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Laker-Ojok, Rita; Nyachwo, Julian; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Ashilenje, Dennis S.; Mukhwana, Eusebius J.; Bashaasha, Bernard; Norton, James B. (Blacksburg, VA: SANREM CRSP, Virginia Tech OIRED, 2012)
    Scaling up conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) for smallholders requires
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    Agricultural mindsets across social networks in four African countries
    Moore, Keith M.; Fornito, M.; Gunter, J.; Lamb, Jennifer; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Shibonji, D.; Bashaasha, Bernard; Marake, Makoala V.; Keita, Moussa; Lambert, Dayton M.; Norton, James B. (2014)
    This PowerPoint presents research examining agricultural mindsets and social networks in Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho, and Mali. It identifies three agricultural mindsets exist which characterize farmer goals, values, and identities. These are: conventional agriculture (market-oriented production involving mechanical implements, agrochemical use and mono-cropping), risk-averse agriculture (livelihood diversification, distribution of risk, avoidance of market dependence), and conservation agriculture (minimal tillage, maintaining a soil cover and crop rotations). Mindsets of farmers and non-farm agents are explored through survey data. Relationships between actors, and mindsets of key actors are displayed in maps of social networks in Kenya and Uganda. The presentation concludes by emphasizing that agro-ecological, socio-cultural, and historical context matters, and calls for the development of an innovation system that is catalyzed by innovation brokers.
  • Conservation agriculture for smallholder farms in Eastern Uganda and Western Kenya
    Norton, James B.; Omondi, Emmanuel C.; Norton, Urszula; Ngosia, D. S.; Odhiambo, J. A.; Okeyo, Jeremiah M.; Okalebo, J. R.; Oluko, P. S. (2012)
    Soil quality and crop yield parameters resulting from conservation agriculture practices were evaluated in on-station and on-farm studies established in two highland sites and two lowland sites in the Mount Elgon region of western Kenya and eastern Uganda. Each of the four study areas consists of an on-station and four on-farm sites, each with of three tillage practices (conventional moldboard, no-till, and minimum till); two levels of nitrogen fertilizer (60 Kg N Ha-1 and none); and three cropping systems (traditional maize-beans intercropping, maize intercropped with a bean-Mucuna [Mucuna pruriens] relay, and strip intercropping with maize, beans, and Mucuna in rotation planted in four-row strips) in a factorial design with nine treatments. First and second year results of soil organic matter analyses and crop yields indicate that reduced tillage combined with adding the cover crop to the rotation has begun to improve soil quality and has not negatively impacted yields. Some cooperating farmers have noted improved maize yields following Mucuna and are eager to scale up reduced-tillage and cover crop treatments.
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    Development and transfer of conservation agricultural production systems (CAPS) for smallholder farms in eastern Uganda and western Kenya
    Norton, James B. (Blacksburg, VA: SANREM CRSP, OIRED, Virginia Tech, 2010)
    This presentation provides an overview of a research proposal for the conservation agriculture production systems in Kenya and Uganda (LTRA-10). The researchers will be covering four sites in western Kenya and eastern Uganda, focusing on smallholder farms in the formerly colonial Mt. Elgon region in Kenya and Uganda and among more diverse farmers further to the south. Several key constraints to CA identified by the researchers are the emphasis on tilling the soil with a moldboard plow and the limited availability of raw materials to construct alternative implements as well as the heavy reliance on maize in the agricultural production systems across the sites. The project will seek to identify alternative cropping rotations as well as how to integrate livestock into the conservation agriculture production system.
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    Development and transfer of conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) for small-holder farms in eastern Uganda and western Kenya
    Norton, James B.; Arnould, Eric; Norton, Urszula; Peck, Dannele; Press, Melea; Okalebo, Robert; Omondi, Emmanuel C.; Mukhwana, Eusebius J.; Bashaasha, Bernard; Laker-Ojok, Rita; Okeyo, Jeremiah; Odhiambo, Judith A.; Owori, Moses; Oluko, Patrick; Ogonga, Phanice; Chepkurui, Isaac; Sikuku, Dominic (2011)
    This poster provides an overview of the Long Term Research Activity 10 of Phase IV of the SANREM CRSP in two upland and two lowland areas in Mt. Elgon region of Kenya-Uganda border: Kapchorwa and Tororo Uganda; Trans Nzoia and Bungoma, Kenya. The project aims to assist farmers and other stakeholders in determining whether soil-building practices result in healthier soils and economically higher yields. They will have identified, developed and tested tools for reducing soil disturbance over this 5 year project. The research will also result in defined policy and regulatory constraints to agronomic and market innovation.
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    Early indicators of change during transition to conservation practices by smallholder farmers in western Kenya
    Norton, Urszula; Norton, James B.; Odhiambo, J. A.; Omondi, Emmanuel C. (2014)
    This paper presents research to identify and assess soil and plant parameters during transition to selected conservation agriculture practices identified by smallholder farmers in western Kenya.
  • Innovation networks and social contagion in East Africa
    Gunter, J.; Rivers, Caitlin; Eubank, Stephen; Moore, Keith M.; Kuhlman, C.; Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Norton, James B.; Omondi, Emmanuel C.; Ojok, R. L.; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Ashilenje, Dennis S.; Odera, J. (2012)
    This study seeks to understand the pathway by which new technology and the associated knowledge passes through community networks in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. Previous research in the region emphasizes the importance of community support to promote widespread adoption of Conservation Agriculture practices. We will simulate complex contagions of information in these networks using the simulation platform EpiSimdemics. This work complements and expands on the growing body of research that uses network analysis to study the effects of network structure and social contagion on complex health and social systems.
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    LTRA 10: Kenya and Uganda
    Norton, James B. (2014)
    This PowerPoint summarizes the research and training activities of SANREM’s regional project in Kenya and Uganda. It provides background information on the project’s sites in Kapchorwa, Uganda and Bungoma, Kenya. It summarizes research findings related to presence of weeds, soil organic matter, crop residue utilization, penetration resistance, trace gases, and household characteristics by district.
  • Maize-bean farming and seasonal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in sub-Saharan Africa
    Odhiambo, J. A.; Norton, Urszula; Ngosia, D. S.; Omondi, Emmanuel C.; Norton, James B. (WY: University of Wyoming Extension, 2013)
    Low nitrogen use efficiency and fertilizer recovery by crops in sub-Saharan Africa suggests high rates of nitrogen and carbon leaching, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this study was to inventory seasonal GHG emissions from continuous maize/bean intercropping grown under unimodal (one growing season) and bi-modal (two growing seasons) conditions. Soils from the bimodal area of Bungoma had very high N2O emissions during crop growth and greater though still very low CH4 assimilation compared to Trans-Nzoia.
  • Multiple knowledges for agricultural production: Implications for the development of conservation agriculture in Kenya and Uganda
    Moore, Keith M.; Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Ashilenje, Dennis S.; Laker-Ojok, Rita; Norton, James B. (2014)
    This article explores the interactions of different agricultural knowledges in order to examine mindset changes related to the adoption of conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS). Farmers in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya and Uganda were presented with 20 statements representing three different agricultural frames: conventional modern agriculture, conservation agriculture, and risk-averse agriculture. Responses were recorded on a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis was also used for the three separate principles of CAPS. The findings legitimate the diversity in local agricultural knowledge systems, identify a difference in perspectives of farmers and of agriculture service providers and community agents, and demonstrates the role of local networks in influencing farmers’ technological frames. The article demonstrates that the mindset change necessary for farmers to adopt CAPS requires adaptation to the local agro-ecology and social network.
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    Social network analysis for strengthening conservation agriculture participatory research: A closer look at collaboration in the Mount Elgon Region of Kenya and Uganda
    Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Moore, Keith M.; Norton, James B.; Omondi, Emmanuel C.; Ojok, R. L.; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Ashilenje, Dennis S.; Odera, J. (2012)
    The poster presents social network analysis as a method to support collaboration in the participatory research process to design strategies to scale up conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS). Objectives of this research project were to identify knowledge and attitudes concerning agricultural production practices held by actors in the network, to describe the structure of information and physical resource flows between these actors, and to determine critical pathways and opinion leaders that facilitate technological change among farmers and their service sector providers. Research presented was carried out in Eastern Uganda and Western Kenya. The poster highlights the feedback provided by farmers during workshops held in four communities. Both scientific and local knowledge were found in the research communities. Findings identified misconceptions about agent misconceptions about the knowledge of others. Findings also identified challenges to conservation agriculture adoption and how local networks can be mobilized to resolve them. Social Network Analysis contributions to overall project management were also presented. The research verified and expanded the network of service sector/community agents involved in the project, encouraged reflexivity in the research process, and empowered project participants to address network conditions which they can control.
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    Social networks and agricultural production knowledge: Findings from the Mt. Elgon Region (Kenya and Uganda)
    Moore, Keith M.; Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Laker-Ojok, Rita; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Ashilenje, Dennis S.; Norton, James B. (2012)
    Technological change leading to sustained smallholder innovation in conservation agriculture (CA) involves more than just the introduction of new practices by a transforming agent (extension or NGO). Many observers note that conservation agriculture requires a change of mind-set for adoption to occur (Hobbs, 2007; Wall, 2007). Successful cases of CA development have also demonstrated active engagement of a network of producers and their partners throughout the agricultural sector (Coughenour, 2003; Swenson and Moore, 2009). Social networks and their associated local and scientific knowledge systems have been shown to have potential for collective management of natural resources, albeit with variable results depending on the structure of the social network (Crona and Bodin, 2006; Schumann, 2011). Based on farm household and modified snowball surveys of agricultural sector and community agents, this paper examines social networks and technological beliefs in four agricultural communities surrounding Mt. Elgon in western Kenya and eastern Uganda.
  • Social networks and smallholder conservation agriculture in East Africa
    Moore, Keith M.; Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Norton, James B.; Laker-Ojok, Rita; Nyachowo, J.; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Ashilenje, Dennis S.; Bashaasha, Bernard; Mukhwana, Eusebius J. (2012)
    Scaling up conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) for smallholders requires facilitating a change in mindset within a supporting network of agricultural production partners. Entering into the dialogue necessary to achieve these changes depends on the capacity of CAPS promoters to interact and communicate effectively with the existing network of farmers, agricultural service sector providers, and community agents. Effectively negotiating these interactions to create innovative ways to integrate the three conservation agriculture principles (reduced tillage, maintaining a permanent crop cover, and crop rotations) into local production practices will require: (1) an understanding of the current (local and scientific) knowledge and perspectives concerning best agricultural norms and practices; and (2) identifying the relevant actors and their resource and communication channels in the local agricultural production network. As a contribution to building this communicative competence, this paper presents findings from the study of four local networks involved in CAPS research in Kenya and Uganda.
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    Using a Social Network Approach to Improve Participatory Research for Conservation Agriculture: Initial Findings from the Mt. Elgon Region Initial Findings from the Mt. Elgon Region
    Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Moore, Keith M.; Laker-Ojok, Rita; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Ashilenje, Dennis S.; Norton, James B. (2012)
    The presentation reviewed initial findings for a study on social network approaches to improve participatory research for conservation agriculture in the Mt. Elgon region of Kenya and Uganda. Changes in technology transfer and international agricultural research were presented along with the notion of using social networks to study the co-innovation process. The key contributions of the study to project management were the building of trust and improvement of participatory research and the key contributors to CAPS technology development were the revelation of differences between perceived and reported network contacts, ill-informed perspectives about the beliefs of others, and the problems regarding actual agricultural technologies. The study helped to identify challenges to Conservation Agriculture (CA) such as herbicide use in Tororo and CA as a hand technology.