Tropentag, September 16 - 18, 2026, Göttingen "Towards multi-functional agro-ecosystems promoting climate-resilient futures"

Drivers of push-pull pest management adoption and continued use among smallholder maize farmers in East Africa: A two-step Heckman approach

¹University of Nairobi, Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Kenya
²Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization, Kenya
³International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Social Science and Impact Assessment, Kenya

Abstract

Recurrent incidences of field pests and predominance of soil fertility depletion continue to cause significant impacts to maize productivity in Kenya and Uganda. Push-pull technology (PPT) as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to pesticides for controlling fall armyworm (FAW), Stemborer and Striga weed constraints has prompted governments to initiate policies for upscaling programmes. However, empirical evidence on comparative analysis of farmer’s intentions to continue using PPT remain limited. This study evaluated and compared the factors influencing maize farmers’ decisions to continue using PPT and identified the determinants of continued use of PPT in Kenya and Uganda. The study employed survey data from 740 households, in Kenya (404) and Uganda (336) using a three-stage cluster sampling approach fitted in a two-stage Heckman approach. Approximately 0.29 acres of land was allocated to PPT with Uganda (0.40 acres) having slightly larger share of land allocated to PPT compared to Kenya (0.23 acres) respectively. Probit results of the first-step Heckman model demonstrated that farmers’ decisions to continue using PPT was influenced by perceived technology benefits, its effectiveness, training, group membership, gender and livestock ownership in both Uganda and Kenya. Furthermore, the OLS results of the second-step Heckman model revealed that perceived technology effectiveness, group membership, distance to input stockiest and family size were crucial determinants of continued allocation of land to PPT with notable difference observed between Kenya and Uganda. Stakeholders should prioritize scaling PPT by enhancing awareness creation through training farmers on the perceived technology attributes. Furthermore, efforts to strengthening extension support utilizing group platforms while targeting livestock owners disaggregated by male farmers differently from female farmers is highly recommended to the governments and development partners to accelerate adoption and scaling of PPT.

Keywords: Adoption, continued use of PPT, push-pull technology, technology attributes, two-stage Heckman model, probit, OLS, Kenya, Uganda

Contact Address: Joseph Mutungati Mugendi, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics, 29053, 00625 Kangemi, Kenya, e-mail: josephmugendi0148gmail.com