https://journals.scholarpublishing.org/index.php/TNC <p>Discoveries in Agriculture and Food Sciences (DAFS) is an international peer-reviewed, open access, bi-monthly, on-line journal that provides a medium of the rapid publication of original research papers, review articles, book reviews and short communications covering the topics relevant to the domain of agriculture, attributes of crop production and food sciences.</p> Services for Science and Education, United Kingdom en-US Discoveries in Agriculture and Food Sciences 2054-7420 https://journals.scholarpublishing.org/index.php/TNC/article/view/18488 <p>Adoption of Technologies Innovations and Management Practices (TIMPs) by farmers is critical in improving farmers’ livelihoods. The Kenyan Government, through Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP), implemented the Contracted Extension Service Delivery Model (CESDM) across various agricultural value chains. In the cassava value chain, nine TIMPS were promoted which included the use of improved cassava planting materials, organic manure/ inorganic fertilizers, rotational crops, intercrops, pest and disease management, drying, milling, blending and collective marketing. Using a cross-sectional approach and a sample of 816 respondents, this study employed a multivariate and an ordered probit to determine the effects of CESDM on adoption of cassava TIMPS in Busia and Nakuru counties of Kenya. The results showed that the CESDM influenced certain practices positively. These included use of improved cassava varieties, crop rotation, fermentation and milling. The CESDM was negatively associated with fertilizer use, intercropping and disease control. Generally, factors that influenced adoption of cassava TIMPS included household size, land tenure, cassava yield, credit use, off-farm employment, ownership of cassava machineries, gender of household head, access to cassava information, higher cassava acreages, cassava experience and agricultural group membership. Factors that explained the extent of use of cassava included household size, gender of household head, land ownership, and age of household head. The study concluded that indeed government support and interventions are key in enhancing adoption of selected cassava TIMPs, and such initiatives are necessary in building a critical mass of trained farmers for increased welfare gains.</p> Purity Kinya Kaburu Isack Maina Kariuki Jackson Langat Copyright (c) 2025 Purity Kinya Kaburu, Isack Maina Kariuki, Jackson Langat http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-03-27 2025-03-27 13 02 14 37 10.14738/dafs.1302.18488 https://journals.scholarpublishing.org/index.php/TNC/article/view/18393 <p>The use of cassava flour in flour composites and as a gluten-free alternative to wheat is on the increase. The Government of Guyana seeks to tap into this emerging market by increasing cassava flour production and exports however the absence of a regional standard for cassava flour limits exportation goals. Characteristics of prepared flours depend on cultivar type, geographical location, age of the plant and environmental conditions. This research sought to characterize cassava flours made from bitter and sweet varieties of the same age and sourced from the same geographical location. Flours were prepared from the roots of three sweet varieties; ALBS, Smokie and Yardie; and three bitter varieties; LPL67, GAA98 and WS13. The chemical characteristics observed were moisture, protein, starch, far, crude fiber, ash, residual cyanide and pH. There were no significant differences (p&gt;0.05) in moisture, starch, crude fiber, ash and pH between bitter and sweet varieties. Differences were significant (p&lt;0.05) for protein (bitter: 1.79%, sweet: 2.92%), fats (bitter: 2.32%, sweet: 1.62%) and cyanide (bitter: 84.24ppm, sweet: 12.41ppm). An inverse relationship (R = -0.667) existed between moisture and protein content for the sweet varieties. All flours prepared from the bitter varieties had residual cyanide levels in excess of the 10 mg/kg recommended by WHO. This preliminary data favors sweet varieties for cassava flour production and provides initial data for a local repository of cassava flour characteristics for use in generation of a local/regional standard.&nbsp;</p> Samantha Joseph Medeba Uzzi Basil Dey Copyright (c) 2025 Samantha Joseph, Medeba Uzzi, Basil Dey http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-03-11 2025-03-11 13 02 01 13 10.14738/dafs.1302.18393