Browsing by Author "Etyang, Martin"

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    Productivity and its determinants in smallholder tea production in Kenya: evidence from Bomet and Nyamira counties of Kenya
    (Premier Publishers, 2018-05) Ateka, Josiah M.; Onono, Perez; Etyang, Martin
    The smallholder tea sub-sector makes an important contribution in the Kenyan economy. Although subsector has enjoyed relative growth in terms of acreage, output and number of growers, productivity has remained low. Industry trends show that there are wide differentials between actual and potential yields, indicating underlying production inefficiencies and considerable potential to improve the farmers’ income and livelihoods. This study used a semi–log productivity regression model to investigate the determinants of productivity in smallholder tea production in Kenya. The study used survey data of a random sample of 525 tea farming households collected from two leading production regions in Kenya. The results show that location specific heterogeneities, farm size, the intensity of family labor applied in tea farming, access to extension through the farmer field schools, credit utilization and the tea marketing arrangements have significant influence on tea productivity. In order to exploit the existing potential, we recommend policies that focus on correcting imperfections in the agricultural labour markets, consolidation of small tea farms, and expansion of credit and extension programs. Additionally, the policy formulation and implementation process should take into account the existent regional heterogeneities in the different tea growing areas of Kenya.
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    Public Expenditure Effect on Household Welfare in Kenya
    (IOSR Journal of Economics and Finance (IOSR-JEF), 2025-10-25) Mala, Hanningtone Okendo; Omolo, Jacob; Etyang, Martin
    Background: One tool that governments utilize to enhance household wellbeing is public expenditure. The United Nations emphasized in 2005 that governments would need to increase public spending in the areas of agriculture, health, infrastructure, and education if the Millennium Development Goal targets were to be realized. This was stressed even more in 2015 under the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Between 2006 and 2022, public spending on health, infrastructure, agriculture, and education grew by almost 25 per cent of total national spending in Kenya. Compared to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating poverty, the projected number of impoverished individuals in 2021 was 38.6 per cent, in the field of education, the enrollment rates for primary and secondary schools were 47.8 per cent and 88.4 per cent, respectively, in 2015, falling short of the Sustainable Development Goal objective of 100 per cent target. In the health sector despite the Sustainable Development Goals' aim of fewer than 25 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030, the maternal mortality rate remained high in 2022, with 41 deaths per 1,000 live births. Kenya will not be able to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, which include poverty eradication, healthy within the nation, if these trends continue. An increase in public expenditure on health and education without corresponding effects on household welfare has raised concerns among policymakers. Thus, the goal of the study was to ascertain how public spending affects household welfare in Kenya. Methodology: The study used data from the Basic Report on Well-Being, which is an extract from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey for the 2015–16 year. Public expenditure data at the county levels covering all the 47 counties for the period 2014 to 2016 were used in the analysis, taking the county as the unit of study. The study used Ordinary Least Squares method to address the objective. Results: The study found that there was empirical support that a 1 per cent increase in government spending on agriculture would enhance household welfare by 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively, with regard to food and non-food household consumption. In addition, the study found that household welfare would improve by 0.18 per cent in terms of aggregate household consumption when the government increases public expenditure on agriculture by one percent. However, the study established that public spending on education had a positive impact on household welfare in terms of food and total household spending, whereas public spending on health per capita only had a positive impact on household spending on nonfood items. Conclusion: The study concluded that both national and county governments should allocate more funds to infrastructure, education, and agriculture, so that to improve household welfare status among Kenyan citizens
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    Technical efficiency and its determinants in smallholder tea production: Evidence from Nyamira and Bomet Counties in Kenya
    (Global Journals, 2018) Ateka, Josiah M.; Onono, Perez A.; Etyang, Martin
    The smallholder tea sub-sector in Kenya has enjoyed relative growth in acreage, output, and number of growers since its inception in the early 1960s, but productivity has remained low. There are huge differentials between actual and potential yields suggesting underlying production inefficiencies. This study estimated the level of technical efficiency and analyzed its determinants among tea farmers from two selected counties in Kenya. Using data from a sample of 525 farm households, the non-parametric data envelopment analysis was applied to estimate technical efficiency scores. The scores were then regressed on a set of explanatory variables to establish their influence on efficiency. The average efficiency score of 0.46 indicates that overall productivity in Kenya’s smallholder tea sub-sector is low but has a potential to increase if most of the farmers can adopt practices of the frontier farms. The intensity of family labor use, farm size, age of the tea farm, education level of the household head, access to extension services through the farmer field schools, and the sale of green leaf through alternative marketing channels have a significant influence on levels of efficiency.