Input availability

The information collected on available inputs such as fertilizer, water, man power and knowledge are presented here. Fertilizer generation in the homegarden was derive by counting the number of fertilizer sources in the homegarden. Number of water sources in the homegarden was taken to say the water availability. Households were asked regarding how they contribute to the homegarden. Accordingly, the allocated hours per week by each member of the family were summed to obtain their allocated time per week. Total number of days spent annually by the households for the homegarden activities were summed to obtain the family labor usage per year. Similarly, total number of days that hired labors are employed for the homegarden activities were summed to obtain the hired labor usage per year. Application of soil & water conservation methods were measured by counting the number of measures households have applied.

Households’ technical knowledge in farming was measured by considering the commitments of households on changing technology, changing planting dates, introducing high yielding and pest and disease resistant varieties, changing agronomic practices, integration of several practices, managing fertilizer and utilizing materials. Scores were given to these criteria and aggregated those to derive the households’ technical knowledge in farming.