Despite the importance of Global-GAP standards in promoting production and marketing of quality French beans in Kenya, compliance is still low. Using data from randomly selected 492 French beans, farmers, the study sought to determine the link between risk preferences, Global-GAP certification, observed poverty, and vulnerability to future poverty. The study used social experiment and 5-point Likert scale to solicit risk attitudes parameters, binary Logit model to determine the effect of risk...
Agricultural transformation is key to poverty reduction and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In Rwanda, transformation efforts have been focused on increasing smallholder farmers’ participation in agricultural markets, with a purpose to shift them from subsistence to market-oriented production. In spite of this, subsistence farming is still dominant, involving more women than men and little is known on the progress of these farmers towards market orientation. This study contribute...
Abstract Smallholder farmers often bundle different sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) practices to boost crop yield and address soil fertility challenges. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies that investigate farmers’ adoption of SAI bundles and their subsequent impacts. Using data from a three-wave panel survey of smallholder maize-legume producers in Kenya, we examine the adoption and payoffs from 10 SAI practices clustered into five dominant groups. We use a rand...
Abstract Climate change manifestations and population pressure are some of the most critical challenges that affect agricultural productivity. Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies are among the agricultural innovations that have been developed to address declining crop productivity. These technologies have been promoted across diverse areas including marginal agro- ecological zones. Despite the nobility and versatility of ISFM technologies, their adoption is still low par...
Abstract The factors affecting farm-level output of mangoes among small-scale farmers in Mwala Sub-County, Kenya were examined. The first stage of regression analysis resulted that family and hired labour, amount of pesticides and manure had positively significant affected on mango farm-level output. The results on the second stage of the factor affecting mango output was household size, farming income, area allocated to mango farming (farm size), amount of credit, and extension contacts whi...
Abstract The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study sampled 400 farmers from a target population of 288,802 from the Meru region. The Tobit model was used to analyse the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation. The results revealed that sources of marketing information (Coef. -0.06) had a negative influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The result...
Abstract The study examined how multiple factors influence participation of farmers in Weather Index Insurance WII in Embu County, Kenya. Data wer e collected from a sample of 401 smallholders following multi stage sampling technique The study employed the Cragg ’s Double Hurdle model in determining factors that influence participation and extent of participation in WII. Results revealed th at short rain season, household size, land size, perception of the household head on WII , owners h ...
Abstract The study investigated the factors influencing adoption of improved cultivars of macadamia (Macadamia spp.) among small-scale farmers in Embu County, Kenya. Data was collected from a sample of 384 small-scale farmers obtained through multistage sampling procedure in ten sub-locations. Binary Logit model was used to determine the effect of selected institutional and socio-economic factors on adoption of improved cultivars of macadamia. The results revealed that education level (wald=...
Abstract This study ascertained the socioeconomic determinants of farmers’ knowledge on soil and water conservation technologies in Dry zones of Central Highlands of Kenya involving 400 farming households. Results showed that the majority of the farmers had inadequate knowledge on the use and benefits of soil and water conservation technologies. The socio-economic factors that influence knowledge levels of the knowledge-intensive technologies were education level, gender, perceptions on so...
Abstract Collective marketing has been proposed as a solution to the problem of poor access to markets in developing nations. However, smallholders’ market participation is still limited. This study assessed farmers’ perception of the benefits and challenges in collective marketing, and identified the determinants of smallholder farmers’ participation in collective marketing of maize from 126 households in the central highlands of Kenya. Logistic regression model was used to analyze fa...
Abstract The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study sampled 400 farmers from a target population of 288,802 from the Meru region. The Tobit model was used to analyse the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation. The results revealed that sources of marketing information (Coef. -0.06) had a negative influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The result...
Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of on-farm testing on the adoption of banana production technologies among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design, sampling 370 and 30 farmers proportionately from 269,499 to 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties of Kenya, respectively. Findings – The study revealed that ...
Abstract Sorghum as a drought tolerant crop provides an alternative opportunity towards increasing food production in the face of global climate change, mostly affecting Sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya is in the fore front in increasing the production of sorghum since its landmass is 80 percent arid and semi-arid. Few studies have evaluated farm and farmer related characteristics affecting adoption of sorghum production. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine how selected factors ...
Abstract Extension training is intended to increase the efficiency and performance of the human resource that acts responsibly in a society based on a communication interaction with knowledge sources. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of training farmers on banana value addition among smallholder farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design and sampled 370 and 30 farmers proportionately obtained...
Abstract The study was conducted to assess tomato productivity and determine characteristics that influence technical efficiency among smallholder farmers in Kirinyaga County using the production function approach. Data were collected by administering structured questionnaires to a sample of 384 respondents randomly selected from six wards using multistage stratified and probability proportionate to size sampling procedures. The study adopted cross-sectional survey design and primary data on...