Abstract:Spider plant (Cleome gynandra) exists as cultivated or semi-cultivated crop with ecological, social and cultural values. It plays a significant role in the nutrition and food security of people in Kenya. This study sought to better establish the production, utilization and indigenous knowledge of spider plant among smallholder farmers in Nyaribari Chache sub county, Kisii County. A household survey was carried out for collection of primary data. Ten administrative sub-locations were randomly sampled for the study. Twenty households were randomly sampled from each sub-location to make a sample size of 200 households. Questionnaires and interviews were administered to collect primary data. Both descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential analysis (t-test) were utilized to analyze data gathered. Spider plant utilization among smallholder farmers was due to factors such being tasty and nutritious, rich in iron, its medicinal has fast growth rate and suitable for recovering patients among others. There was a statistical significance (p<005) among variables on production, utilization and indigenous knowledge of spider plant. These findings will be of significance to stakeholders especially ministry of agriculture and relevant NGOs to formulate policies to govern production of spider plant among small scale farmers in the study area and beyond.
Keywords: Cleome, Production, Utilization, Indigenous, Smallholder, Kisii