MST-Department of Agribusiness Management and Trade (AMT)

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Adoption Intensity, Perception and Profitability of Organic Based Soil Fertility Management Technologies in Murang’a and Tharaka-Nithi Counties, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2021) Mwaura, George Gacheru; Erick K. Bett; Jayne N. Mugwe; Felix K. Ngetich
There have been major efforts to introduce and promote organic based technologies among the smallholder farmers to address low and declining soil fertility. Despite these efforts, adoption of these organic based technologies has been dismal. This study aimed to; (1) determine the socio-economic factors that influence adoption intensity of organic based technologies for soil fertility management, (2) determine perceived benefits by farmers of using organic based technologies, and (3) determine the profitability of using organic based technologies for managing soil fertility. The study was carried out in two subcounties; Meru-South and Gatanga where these organic based technologies have been introduced and promoted previously. The study adopted a survey research design. A sample of 150 households selected randomly from each study area were interviewed. Tobit regression model was used to analyse the adoption intensity of organic based technologies. Nine organic based technologies were adopted. Socio-economic factors that influenced the adoption intensity in Murang’a were gender of the household (+), age (-), level of education (+), household size (+), access to external labour (+), training (+), total livestock unit (+), total land under cultivation (+), title deed ownership (+), agricultural group membership (+), household access to credit (+). In Tharaka-Nithi, the following were determinants of adoption intensity gender of the household (+), education level (+), size of the household (+), access to external labour (+), years of experience (+), training (+), total livestock unit (+), land under cultivation (+), title deed ownership (+), agricultural group membership (+), access to credit (+). The study further examined farmer perception. The perceptions were based on four variables; potential to improve soil fertility, potential to improve yields, profitability and labour requirements of organic based inputs. To analyse farmers’ perceptions, an ordered logit regression model was fitted into the data. Farmers’ perception results showed that majority of the respondents in Murang’a (115, 76.7%) and Tharaka-Nithi (104, 69.3%) strongly agreed that organic based technologies can improve yields. Factors that influenced perception were gender (-), household size (+), external labour (+), total livestock unit (+), group membership (+), training (+), land under cultivation (-), and credit access (+). Financial analysis of the maize enterprise was carried out using the gross margin analysis. Manure and manure+fertilizer was considered, while sole inorganic fertilizer was included in the analysis for comparison purposes. Gross margins showed that in Murang’a manure+fertilizer yielded 1962 Kgha-1, manure yielded 1820Kgha-1, and inorganic fertilizer recorded 1483 Kgha-1. In Tharaka-Nithi, manure +fertilizer yielded 1940 Kgha-1, manure yielded 1723 Kgha-1, inorganic fertilizer 1689 Kgha-1. Manure reported higher gross margins (44074) in Murang’a while manure+fertilizer showed higher gross margins (45625) in Tharaka-Nithi. This study recommends using organic-based inputs because they have been perceived to have the potential to increase crop yields and improve soil fertility. Also, the gross margins of sole manure and manure+fertilizer were higher than the gross margins of sole fertilizer.
Analysis of Consumer Preference for Product Attributes:A Case Of Indigenous Chicken in Makueni And Nairobi Counties, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2019-03) Ndenga, Charles
Indigenous chickens (Gallus domesticus) are important source of livelihoods and food to majority of rural and urban households in Kenya. Consumers prefer indigenous chicken due to its nutritional and health benefits. Despite these benefits, productivity levels of Indigenous chicken are low resulting to shortages in supply. In the recent past, research has focused on increasing productivity levels of indigenous chicken resulting to improved indigenous chickens. However, acceptability and utilization of indigenous chickens is still higher compared to that of improved indigenous chickens. This can be attributed toa dearth in information on consumer preference attributes in indigenous chicken which are not available in improved indigenous and exotic chickens.This study aimed to fill this gap in knowledgeby analyzing preference attributes in indigenous chicken meat and eggs which influences their choice in Makueni and Nairobi counties. This was achieved through three specific objectives that aimed to; evaluate social economic factors influencing consumption frequency of indigenous chicken, assess indigenous chicken meat and eggs attributes that influences choice and analyze the influence of indigenous chicken meat and eggs attributes on price. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 200 respondents inNairobi and Makueni counties. Primary data was collected in a cross sectional survey design using semi structured questionnaires that were administered through interview schedules. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis with the aid of Microsoft Excel and STATA 11 version software. For the first objective, binary logistic regression model was employed, in the second objective principal component analysis was used while hedonic pricing model analyzedthe third objective. Results of the logit model indicated that age, education, gender, price and household size influenced consumption frequency. Principal component analysis results revealed that; Skin colour, size, tenderness, sex, freshness, skin texture and price influenced choiceof indigenous chicken in both counties. Consumers in Nairobi paid a premium price of 6% for cocks while in Makueni, chickens aged 8-20 weeks attracted price premium of 10% over those aged above 28 weeks. Chickens with black and white plumage colour received price discounts of 23% and 18% respectively. In indigenous chicken eggs, consumers in Makueni paid price premium of 10% for white shell coloureggs while those in Nairobi paid price premium of 9% for brown colour over white coloured eggs. The study recommended that farmers should adopt production methods that enhance incorporation of the preference attributes. Tradersshould adopt appropriate marketing mix based on attributes of preference and segment the chicken market based on the social economic characteristics of the consumers. Research institutions need toincorporate attributes of interest to consumers in their breeding programmes so as to enhance consumer acceptability and utilization.
Analysis of Consumer Preference in Product Attributes: A Case of Common Beans in Kiambu County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015) Gitonga, Hannah Wairimu
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important source of livelihood and food for approximately three million households in Kenya. Consumers appreciate common bean more due to its nutritional value and health benefits. Between 2005 and 2009, a total of 403,604 MT of bean with a value of US$ 199,743,000 was produced in Kenya. The Kenyan bean market has a deficit of 14,256 metric tons and is dominated by old improved bean varieties, an indication of consumer preference for those beans. This is despite new varieties being released into the market following intensive research and breeding work done by research institutions. Consumer preference assessment gives important information on acceptability of a commodity by consumers. The primary objective of this study, therefore, was to analyze consumer preference for common bean varieties by attribute sensory test and willingness to pay for preferred attributes. This study focused on bean consumers and traders in two districts, Thika East and Thika West of Kiambu County. The region was chosen as a test bed for this study due to high utilization of common beans in most of the diets among the residents. Additionally the two districts were selected because of their high population, diverse socioeconomic characteristics of residents, and their rural and urban living setups. Semi structured questionnaires were used to elicit information from 212 consumers and 67 traders who were randomly selected. Bean variety preference was assessed using a preference scale of 1-7 score. A pairwise analysis of eight bean attributes was done to assess preference of bean attributes. This was followed by assessment of attributes in seven bean varieties using likert scale of 1-5 rank. A hedonic price model was used to analyze effect of preferred attributes on price consumers were willing to pay. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics in Excel and SPSS software programs. Results showed that beans were an important part of respondents diet with majority of respondents (86%) consuming beans more than once a week. Rural respondents consumed beans more frequently compared to urban respondents; difference in consumption was statistically significant (p-value =0.025). Beans were popular with women (83%) and were consumed by all age groups but there was more consumption in the 31-40 years age group (26.8%). GLP 585 was ranked l ", GLP 2 was ranked 2nd and KAT X56 was ranked 3rd in preference by 64.7%, 43% 39.8% respondents respectively. GLP varieties were popular among urban respondents while rural respondents consumed both GLP and KAT varieties. Consumers had preference for cooking quality, keeping quality, color, taste, low flatulence and grain size attributes associated with GLP 585, KAT X56, GLP 2 and KAT B1 varieties. Consumers were willing to pay a premium for taste, price, cooking time and discount for grain size of GLP 585. They also discounted grain size in KAT X56 and KAT B9. Other discounts were in color of KAT B9, taste of GLP 2 and flatulence of KAT X56 varieties. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that government supports breeding and improvement programs to ensure seeds with preferred attributes are available and affordable to producers. This would enhance acceptability and utilization of beans by consumers. It is further recommended evaluation of KAT Bl' s, low consumer preference, yet it has preferred attributes.
Analysis of Cooking Fuel Demand Patterns among Rural Farm Households in Kiambu County, Kenya
(kenyatta University, 2020) Kago, Elizabeth Wangui; Kago Elizabeth Wangui; Gabriel Mwenjeri
Cooking fuel energy is an important element in the daily livelihood of households where majority depend on fuel wood which’s readily available for energy sources. However, these natural resources experience degradation occasioned by the growing population causing an imbalance in the demand and supply. Therefore, it has decreased fuel wood availability and accessibility thus fuel scarcity making it expensive to acquire which has led households to use alternative sources of fuel. For this reason, there’s a dilemma between meeting the growing demand for fuel energy and the sustainable utilization of the limited stock of natural resources. Due to a significance disruption of bio-diversity, it has led to many households depending on the market (prices) as their main source of fuel. More so, there’s use of multiple fuel which is influenced by income and other factors. Price volatility as well as income vulnerability significantly affect household consumption patterns. Hence, this study aimed at investigating the influence of household characteristics on energy demand, determining the impact of income changes on household energy demand patterns and identifying the energy demand patterns for fuel used by households to address the persistent problem of fuel insecurity. Guided by neoclassical demand of consumer behavior, Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) was used for analysis. Data was collected from 200 respondents using systematic random sampling. Analysis was done using STATA version 13 to obtain descriptive statistics and the empirical results. The results indicated that firewood, charcoal and kerosene are necessary goods while LPG was a luxury. Expenditure elasticity for the fuels were positive implying that the fuels were normal goods and an increase in income will lead to higher consumption. The main determinants of energy demand were gender, education level and occupation of the household head as well as age and household size. It is recommended that government and other stakeholders formulate income oriented policies to augment household earnings which will increase their purchasing power. Furthermore, the government should enact policies to ensure LPG is affordable with a view to mitigate against environmental degradation. Additionally, capacity building by educating both the old and young by giving information on the negative impacts of using such fuel and the benefits derived when the public switch to modern fuels. Besides, strategies are needed to identify affordable, scalable and accessible efficient fuel-saving cooking practices to the local context.
Analysis of factors influencing farmers' participation in collective marketing initiatives in Maara, Meru south and Mbeere South Sub-Counties, Kenya
(2016) Mate, Harold M
This study was carried out in Meru South, Maara and Mbeere South sub-counties in the Republic of Kenya. The purpose of this study was to analysis the factors affecting farmers' participation in collective marketing initiatives. Marketing of agricultural commodities in Kenya is unsystematic coupled with high transport costs, low prices, exploitation by middle men and insufficient markets information among other factors that force farmers to sell when prices are lowest. Studies in the past have focused and examined the advantages of collective action, while little is known or documented on the dynamics of smallholder participation in collective action initiatives. The objective of this study were to evaluate the effects of farmer groups' characteristics and activities on participation in collective marketing of food crops; To examine the household and farm factors that influences the participation of farmers in collective marketing of food crops and to assess farmers' perception on the benefits of marketing food crops collectively. Simple random sampling was used to sample individual farmers while purposive sampling was used to sample farmer groups who participated in the study. Primary data were collected using semi - structured interview schedules administered to farmer groups (n=59) and individual farmers (n=273). Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Logit regression and Principal Component Analysis in Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Results indicate that the age of the group had significant effect on the participation of a group in collective marketing (p<0.05). The average age of groups not participating in collective marketing was 9.07 years while those participating had a mean age of 5.44 years (p<0.05). Group activities significantly affected the participation of groups in collective marketing initiatives (p<0.05). Training in collective action positively influenced the participation of farmer groups in collective marketing (p<0.05). Participation of farmers in collective marketing was influenced by group membership (p<0.05), land tenure (p<0.05), off farm income (p
Analysis of Household Milk Purchase and Intrahousehold Allocation to Children among Low Income Households in Periurban Area of Dagoretti, Nairobi
(Kenyatta University, 2023) Muunda, Emmanuel Mwau; Eric K.Bett; Nadhem Mtimet
Milk is one of the most important animal sourced foods for Kenyans. The Kenyan dairy sector contributes 8% to the country’s GDP and has grown tremendously in the last two decades. Despite the growth and contribution to the economy, the dairy sector is fragmented into formal and informal marketing channels, with the latter dominating over 80% of the market, selling unprocessed milk. The informal sector is preferred for offering cheaper milk and is comparatively more accessible among low-income households, hence contributing significantly to their food and nutritional security. Despite this, there are food safety concerns that elicit the regulatory authorities to introduce regulations banning the direct marketing of unprocessed milk. There is little evidence of the extent to which both dairy subsectors play in the nutritional requirements of low-income households, especially to children who rely on milk as key source of nutrients from livestock-derived foods. Consequently, this cross-sectional study aimed at characterizing the purchase and consumption behavior of low-income households and estimating what household factors influenced the behavior. It also aimed at assessing the potential effects such policy regulations would have on the milk allocation to children below 4years in such households. Using a questionnaire, primary data was obtained from 200 respondents in Nairobi County. Descriptive statistics and OLS regression were used to understand the purchase and consumption behavior of the households. A best-worst scaling approach was used to analyze the potential effects of banning the informal dairy sector. The results revealed that 98% of the households purchased raw milk at least once during the 7 days before the survey and only 17% purchased processed milk. Results from the OLS model suggests that quantity of raw milk purchased in positively and significantly associated with income, number of children below 4 years of age and budgetary allocation to ASF. The price of raw milk and amount of processed milk purchased negatively influenced quantities purchased from informal markets. The findings also indicated that, an increase in milk price, occasioned by elimination of the cheaper option would decrease allocation to children and lower income households would replace milk with fruits or porridge, foods that are not of equivalent nutritional value to milk. These results provided insights into the behaviour of low-income dairy consumers as well as information useful to policy shapers and industry players while filling the knowledge gap of role informal dairy plays to low-income households’ food basket. The clear association of income and milk intake calls for efforts from the government to support the dairy sector with policies that promote the availability and affordability of milk, especially for a sector that feeds low-income families, as it is the case with the informal dairy markets. This study recommends that food policy changes streamlining milk value chains should account for the effects on pricing, consumer responsiveness to the price adjustments and children’s nutrition. It also recommended that regulatory and other sector players should consider interventions that strengthen informal sector as an agent of supplying affordable and safe milk to households with constraint budgets.
An analysis of indigenous chicken marketing efficiency and market participation among producers in Makueni County- Kenya
(2014) Ayieko, David Michael Ochieng
The indigenous chicken Gallus domesticus production is an important agricultural activity in many households in Kenya. Despite its importance, little research has been carried to enhance its productivity unlike other farm enterprises. The producers from Makueni are constrained in their participation in the indigenous chicken high value markets .Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the marketing efficiency of the indigenous chicken marketing channels in Makueni, determine the profitability of indigenous chicken to producers in Makueni and to determine the factors that have an effect on participation of producers from Makueni in the high value markets. A random sampling was used to sample 130 households from Makueni County and 66 traders from indigenous chicken markets in Makueni County. The Data used in this study was collected by the use of semi structured questionnaires, with additional information from key informant interviews and focus group discussion. This data was then analysed using Stata11 and Excel software. The SCP (structure-conduct-performance) approach coupled with the shepherd index, Gross margin analysis and Heckman two stage models were used to analyze the marketing efficiency, determine the profitability of indigenous chicken to producers and identify factors that have an effect on the high value markets participation of producers respectively. The results showed that the indigenous chicken markets had a concentration ratio (CR4) of 41% and a Herfindahl Hirschman index (HHI) of 1087.The 8 marketing channels identified had an average marketing efficiency of 2.29. The main constraints included: price fluctuations, inadequate access to credit and information, inconsistent supply, theft and lack of storage facilities. The producers got a gross margin of Ksh.8455 per year. Apart from the age of the household head, which had a negative effect on the producer decision to participate in indigenous chicken high value markets, processing, education level of household head, the farmer group membership status, the flock size and region all had a positive and significant effect decision to participate in indigenous chicken high value markets. On the other hand, the family size, the type of indigenous chicken, experience in selling indigenous chicken and the flock size all had a significant and positive effect on the number of indigenous chicken sold. However the age of the household head had a negative effect on the number of indigenous chicken sold. Therefore it is recommended that contract models should be used to improve the marketing efficiency. Secondly, the producers should use collective marketing to enhance their profits. Finally to increase the participation of the producers in the high value markets, the Government policy framework must focus on improving indigenous production and marketing in Makueni County.
An Analysis of Sesame Crop Value Chain: A Case Study of Kordofan Region, Sudan
(2013-10-17) Ahmed, Shawgi Ali
There is an urgent need to improve production and marketing conditions of small holder farmers in Kordofan region of Sudan in order to alleviate poverty and enhance food security. This study was conducted to determine the profitability of the sesame value chain as one of the viable options that can address the challenges of small holder fanners. This study characterized the sesame value chain from producers to processors in terms of material and information flows as well as theinter-relationships between the actors. In addition, constraints and opportunities in the sesame production and processingwere determined and marketing costs, value added and profit margin distribution among actors in the chain evaluated. A sample size of 150 respondents (farmers) were randomly selected using multistage sampling procedures. Thirty other actors (assemblers, brokers, wholesalers and processors)were traced and interviewed subjectively using purposive sampling procedures. The study used functional analysis, flowcharts and mapping of the current sesame value chain as well as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and financial analysis to draw results, conclusions and recommendations. The findings revealed that sesame production is constrained by lack of extension services, civil war and conflicts between farmers and livestock keepers over natural resources and scarcityof farming equipment.Oil processors are constrained by high cost and insufficiency of inputs and oil imports. Sesame producers' opportunities in the region include production of good local varieties and favorable growing conditions.Oil processors have the potential to increase oil production and compete with other oils by improving quality and exporting the livestock cake directly to the world market instead of selling it to brokers who then export the product. Traditional oil processors appeared to have higher profits(1 ,297.1 SDG/ton)compared to the industry sesame oil and this was attributed to the high cost of oil that was processed traditionally due to increasing demand for organic products and healthy oils.The resultsalso showed 'thattahania processorswere the winners of the chain in terms of profits with the highest profit share of 2705.5 SDG inany ton of sesame that ,wasprocessed. The commendations includea call for government to intervene by establishing extension services and routes demarcation to reduce the conflicts between farmers and livestock keepers. Policy makers, agricultural banks and existing small scale programs could form partnerships with relevant organizations to provide financial and infrastructural support to expand the scope and effectiveness of the current initiatives to overcome reported obstacles of access to credit.
Analysis of socio-economic factors affecting the Yields of smallholder coffee farmers In Kirinyaga County, Kenya.
(Kenyatta University, 2014) Maina, James Minai
Coffee is one of the key agricultural export commodities in the Kenyan economy. Prior to 1998, coffee was Kenya's top foreign exchange earner and currently ranks fourth after tea, tourism and horticultural sub-sectors. Despite coffee prices displaying a stable trend increase since 2002, yields in Kirinyaga County have remained low. This has negatively impacted on the farmers earnings from the coffee enterprise thus affecting their economic wellbeing due to the loss of income. This study aimed at determining the socio-economic factors influencing yields as well as assessing the influence of coffee prices on re-investment and yields within the small holder sector of Kirinyaga County. A total of 251 farmers were selected from the study area using the stratified random technique and a semi- structured questionnaire used to collect the data. The selection of farmers was done by first dividing the entire population into several sub-populations referred to as stratums. The three agroecological zones that are suitable for coffee growing in Kirinyaga County represented the stratums. Due to logistical limitations, three co-operative societies cutting across the three zones were randomly selected and fourteen wet mills representing the various AEZs further selected to represent each stratum. Finally, farm households were randomly selected from each of the selected factories using the random number tables. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression (log - linear model) and correlation analysis using Stata (version11). The results indicated that the mean age of the respondents was 52.95 years. This suggests that the small holder coffee farming community is skewed towards the aging which could negatively affect productivity in the farms. Out of the 76.52% of the fanners who needed credit, only 36.8% had access to adequate credit. This lack of adequate credit limits productivity. The study revealed that only 35.4% of farmers were aware of the Coffee Development Fund despite the existence of institution since 2006. The multiple regression analysis showed an R2 of 0.5217 for all variables investigated which means that 52.17% of the variation in yields can be explained by these variables. The explanatory variables which were statistically significant were access to adequate credit, having some source of cash from other enterprises or employment and consulting extension agents. It was also found that there was a strong positive relationship between price and the level ofre-investment (Pearson's r =0.814). This indicates that higher prices encourage reinvestment in coffee. However, the correlation analysis between price and yields showed a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.154 which was statistically insignificant. This implies that although price influenced yields positively, it did not necessarily lead to significantly higher yields. Higher prices need to be supported by the three significant variables in order to increase yields significantly. Agricultural policy effort on small holder coffee farming should thus focus on ensuring farmers get access to adequate credit, diversification of farm income base, and training. ,.
Analysis of sorghum market chain in Isiolo County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2023) Kalawa, Gitonga Gregory; Gabriel Mwenjeri; Lucy Ngare
The sorghum market in Kenya has grown significantly over the past few years, and it has continued to expand as a result of the commodity receiving considerable attention from a various interest groups. The absence of a planned and aggressive marketing strategy for raw sorghum and its value-added products, however, continues to be a significant barrier to the market's further expansion. This study analyzed the market chain of sorghum with reference to structure, conduct, and performance, and analyzed the causal factors of selling outlets preference and selection among sorghum farmers in Isiolo County. Data was collected from 203 producers and 85 traders using random and clustered sampling respectively. Structured questionnaires were used to acquire information from respondents. Analysis was done using STATA version 14 to obtain descriptive statistics and the empirical results using multiple linear and multinomial logistic regressions. The Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient were employed to assess the level of market concentration in the research area. The performance of the sorghum market in Isiolo county, Kenya, was evaluated using the marketing margin, marketing efficiency and gross margin. The study's findings revealed that the Gini coefficient for wholesalers and merchants was 0.612, an indication that the market was very concentrated thus consequent income disparity. Additionally, this research revealed that producers had the largest gross margins of Kenya shillings Ksh11 per Kilogram, followed by wholesalers and retailers with Ksh9 per kilogram and Ksh5 respectively. I used Multiple linear regression to predict the sorghum producer market supply. Factors such as gender, selling price, farm size under sorghum production, producers’ age, education level and membership to a cooperative were found to be positive and statistically significant. In addition, to predict the sorghum trader market supply, results indicated that experience, age, selling price were positive and statistically significant while buying price and trader type were negative but significant. To determine the market outlet used by the producer, multinomial logit regression was applied. Factors such as age, education level, farm size under sorghum production, access to information regarding the market were positive and significant while membership to a cooperative group, experience and distance to the market were negative but significant. In conclusion, it was discovered that sorghum trading and production in Isiolo are profitable but uncompetitive. Therefore, this study suggests that the national government together with county government should formulate regulations that strengthens sorghum production and marketing to make it more competitive and ensure all the actors are well protected from the hefty cost that reduces their efficiency hence low-profit margins. Secondly, since the profits from both producers and traders are still low, access to information should be accelerated through investment in telecommunication platforms such as the use of cell phones to aid reliable and timely sharing of market information to the users. Given the market's relative lack of competition, it was important to establish a clear market research and development strategy for sorghum in order to remove market obstacles and advance market efficiency through quality control, decreased price volatility, and a steady supply of the commodity. Furthermore, in order to lessen the likelihood of a closed and uncompetitive market, the government must put in place an institutional structure to control sorghum contracts and assist market participants in contractual arrangements. By putting these policies into place, the county's general sorghum market may become more effective and organized, ensuring fair returns for all participants.
Analysis of technical efficiency among smallholder rice Farmers in Eastern and Southern Provinces of Rwanda
(Kenyatta University, 2014) Ingabire, Chantal
Since 2004, rice is a priority crop for food security and poverty reduction in Rwanda. The crop was found capable of giving the highest yield in the marshlands compared to other crops and its consumption has been growing over the years, surpassing the domestic supply since the 1980s. In a bid to attain self-sufficiency, the country made remarkable efforts to develop the subsector. These were mainly directed towards the expansion of the area under rice, organisation of farmers' cooperatives and easy access to inputs. Despite these efforts, the country continues to rely on imports and the current productivity of.rice is still very low compared to the potential yield. The failure to reach the expected potential yield suggests a lack of technical efficiency in the production process. This study aimed, at assessing rice producers' technical efficiency as well as its determinants in Ntende and Cyili schemes respectively located in the Eastern and Southern provinces of Rwanda. It used a Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) with the Cobb-Douglas function on a random sample of 185 rice farmers. The results indicated that in Rwanda, the size of land, quantity of pesticides used and involvement of family labour in rice farming activities were the significant determinants of paddy production. The results also showed that the average yield in the sample was 4.81tons per hectare and the mean technical efficiency (TE) was 72% implying that rice farmers were operating below the production frontier. Results showed that if the average .farmer should produce at 100% of TE, hislher average yield should reach to 6.7 tons per hectare. Moreover, if the average farmer is compared to the one having the highest TE in the study sample, results indicates that the former would have reduced the inputs by 23% for the same current output. Regarding the determinants of TE, the age of rice farmers was found positively affecting technical inefficiency which indicated that as farmers become older, the inefficiency effects increase and TE decreases. On the other hand, trainings on rice farming practices and visits of extension agents were found to decrease inefficiency and significantly increase with TE. The implication of the study is that, there is an opportunity to increase paddy production through increased technical efficiency. To achieve this, the study recommends an increased number of extension officers' visits, training of farmers as well as a close follow-up to the older farmers.
Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Sorghum Producers in Machakos and Makindu Districts in Kenya
(2014-02-24) Chepng’etich, Evaline; Bett, E.K.; Nyamwaro, Sospeter O.
Majority of the rural households in Kenya depend mainly on agriculture as a source of food and livelihoods. Agricultural productivity has been declining due to many factors including climate change. Declining agricultural productivity has in turn resulted in increased food insecurity in the country. Consequently, there is a renewed interest in promoting drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum, which are known to perform well in the arid and semi-arid lands of the developing world. Owing to its ability to thrive in drought prone and low input conditions, sorghum production has been widely promoted among smallholder farmers in the arid and semi-arid parts of Kenya. However, performance of sorghum production among the smallholder farmers has remained low. This study was carried out to determine the technical efficiency of sorghum production among smallholder farmers in Machakos and Makindu districts in Kenya. Multistage sampling technique was used to sample a total of 143 sorghum-farming households; 71 households in Makindu district and 72 in Machakos district as representative samples. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to collect data and information on farm inputs and outputs; and on farm and farmer characteristics. Data Envelopment Analysis technique was used to estimate efficiency scores, while a Tobit regression analysis model was used to determine the influence of farm and farmer characteristics on the technical efficiency. Result highlights showed that the average technical efficiency achieved overall in both districts was 41%. This implies that technical efficiency in sorghum production in Machakos and Makindu districts is low and could be improved by 59% through better use of available resources given the prevailing state of technology. Research findings suggest that technical efficiency was positively influenced by various farm and farmer characteristics such as land sizes planted with sorghum and use of manure; and formal education of the household head, household size, years of sorghum farming experience, membership to farmer associations, hired labour, and production advice given to farmers. It is recommended that in order to reduce technical inefficiency farmers should be trained appropriately to improve their agronomic knowledge on sorghum production . Farmers are also encouraged to form and be active members of farmer associations. Policies and programmes that promote extension services should be emphasized in order to improve performance of sorghum production enterprise in Machakos and Makindu districts, Kenya.
Assessment of profit efficiency among sweet yellow passion fruit farmers in Mbeere South, Embu County
(Kenyatta University, 2016-06) Mwita, Amos Chacha
The horticulture industry in Kenya has been very successful in the last one and a half decades. This subsector has grown to become a major employer and foreign exchange earner. In 2014, fruits contributed Kshs. 51.5 billions accounting for 22% of the domestic value of horticultural produce. The sweet yellow passion fruit variety is gaining adoption in Mbeere South Sub-county due to its apparent adaptation to the hot arid conditions and a ready market. Efforts had been made to promote the production and marketing to boost smallholder farmer income by various passion fruits stakeholders. Despite the efforts, profit levels were considered to be dismal as some farmers were investing highly to the fruit agribusiness venture but ending up making losses due to high production costs. The causes of the varying profits had not been empirically established. The economic/profit efficiency level of the agro-enterprise was therefore unknown and further the use of agricultural credit on the sweet yellow passion fruit by smallholder farmers in Mbeere South was not known. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze profit efficiency levels among smallholder sweet yellow passion fruit farmers, to determine the influence of socio-economic and institutional factors to profit efficiency among sweet yellow passion fruit farmers, and to measure the use of credit among sweet yellow passion fruit farmers in Mbeere South sub-county. This study used primary data which was obtained from smallholder farmers through a semi-structured questionnaire that was administered to farmers through an interview schedule. In this study, the target population was defined by the smallholder farmers producing sweet yellow passion fruit and the sample size was 90. A purposive sampling method was employed to select Mbeere South as the area of study and a systematic random sampling method was used to select two locations from each division in the district. Systematic random sampling at an interval of 1 respondent was used to select a sample from each division for the study; that is every second sweet yellow passion fruit farmer was selected. The obtained data was analyzed using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) method and descriptive statistics by running a model on frontier 4.1 version and STATA 11 Softwares respectively. The study showed that the profit efficiency levels ranged from 23% to 90% with a mean of 76% implying that an estimated 24% profit loss was being made due to a combination of both technical and allocative inefficiencies. The study also found out that the frequency of farming experience, group membership and access to market information influence profit efficiency significantly. Therefore it is recommended that extension education investments should be scaled up through producer organizations to improve agricultural productivity and agricultural marketing through proper search and use of marketing information.
Assessment of Purple Passion Fruit Orchard Management and Farmers’ Technical Efficiency in Embu, Meru and Uasin-gishu Counties, Kenya
(2014-02-24) Karani, Charles Gichimu; Macharia, Ibrahim; Mwangi, M.
Horticulture industry sustains millions of livelihoods in Kenya. Over the last decade, passion fruit has emerged as an important high market value horticultural crop following the establishment of new and expansion of existing large scale beverage producers that use local fruits for juice extraction. There has also been growing export markets and increasing numbers of health conscious consumers. Currently, the productivity levels are low, at 8 ton ha-1 compared to potential of 24 ton ha-1. Purple passion fruit production is mainly done by small scale farmers (with land holding as low as 0.04 ha). The primary objective of this study was to assess purple passion fruit orchard management and technical efficiency of small-scale farmers in Embu, Meru and Uasin-Gishu Counties. Cross-sectional data from 123 randomly selected farmers was collected using a personally administered semi-structured questionnaire. In the analysis, descriptive statistics, stochastic frontier and multiple regression models were used. The results showed that the purple passion fruit production input elasticity was 0.95 which represented decreasing returns to scale. Orchard age, credit amount used, non-passion fruit income and County variables significantly and positively influenced TE at 5% level. The level of education, extension advice use frequency and market access positively and significantly influenced technical efficiency at 10% level. The overall mean technical efficiency was 59%. This indicated production costs saving estimate of 32% for the average farmer in attaining the TE of the most technically efficient purple passion fruit farmer (86%). The gamma parameter (γ) was 0.86 which indicates that 86% of the total variation in purple passion fruit output was due to technical inefficiencies. Farmers in Meru had the highest technical efficiency (65%) followed by Uasin Gishu (57%) while Embu had the lowest (47%). Mean management scores for the five practices (training of vines and pruning, weeding, watering, manure/fertilizer and pest/disease management) evaluated also followed the above trend across the Counties. Based on the results, increased emphasis on farmer update on farming trends through participatory methods (lead farmer approach, training, farm visits and demonstrations) is recommended. There is need for up-scaling orchard management practices among farmers to reduce the orchard age effect and prolong their lifespan. Credit access and use could be enhanced through increased formation and operations of services provision oriented farmers‟ associations. Farm and non-farm income activities diversification should be encouraged to a level that farmers can adequately manage so as to promote enterprises monetary inter-dependence. The study further recommends promotion of County cross-border farmer linkages in tapping the economic potential from passion fruit. This is expected to offer a platform for sharing ideas and success experiences thus increasing farmers‟ production efficiency and improving livelihoods.
Assessment of the Performance of Small-Scale Dairy Farming in Meru County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2019-06) Kainda, Seberah
Despite the apparent importance of the dairy sub-sector to Kenya’s economy, the sector is plagued with low milk production. The general objective of the study was to assess dairy performance among the small-scale farmers in Meru County. The specific objectives were (i) to characterize small-scale dairy farmers; (ii) to assess the profitability of small-scale dairy enterprises; and (iii) to determine the factors influencing profitability among small-scale dairy farmers in Meru County. The research used cross-sectional design where 150 small-scale dairy farmers were selected from the subgroups using simple random sampling technique. Gross margin analysis was used to analyse profitability while multiple linear regression analysis using ordinary least square method was used to determine the factors influencing dairy profitability. The mean age of dairy farmers in Meru County was 45.7 years with 92% being men who are the household heads. 92% of the farmers had formal education and 68% had experience of more than 10 years. The average household size was 5 members. Only 29.3% of farmers had applied for a dairy enterprise development loan. Most of the farmers were members of groups and had attended dairy farming trainings. Dairy in Meru County was characterised by intensive farming technologies for instance zero grazing system. The average land size under dairy was 0.7 acres and the average herd size was 3 cows. Results also show that there is potential for increased small-scale dairy performance in Meru County. Dairy farming was profitable with farmers receiving an average gross margin of Ksh. 5,299 per cow per month. The model shows that herd size, education level and credit access have significant influence on dairy profitability. In view of the study findings the study recommends that the policy makers should take initiative in enacting laws aimed at lowering the cost of inputs thus reducing production costs. Secondly the study recommends that the government should prioritize investing in farming as a way of promoting employment to the population. The study also recommends use of alternative improved feed such as homemade dairy ration to reduce feed cost as one way of maximizing profits from small-scale dairy farming. Finally, the study recommends that policy intervention should be aimed at establishing breeding centers for dairy cows in order to enable farmers increase herd size, formulation of laws which can help farmers get access to loans in order to invest in dairy farming and transfer of knowledge through provision of extension services to educate farmers on dairy management.
Contract Farming of Coconut in Kwale and Kilifi Counties: Participation and Productivity Analysis
(2014-08-26) Macharia, Christopher Mwangi
Coconut is mainly grown by small scale farmers in coastal Kenya. However, the marketing system is inefficient and the production low and this has hindered farmers from getting optimum benefit from coconut farming. Contract farming in coconut has been introduced since 2006 but it is limited and only a small number of farmers engage in it. This study analyzed coconut contract farming in relation to participation and productivity. It sought to characterize and obtain a better understanding of coconut contract farming, determine factors that influence participation and evaluate the effect of contract choice on productivity and market access. The study was conducted in Kwale County Msambweni division and Kilifi County in Watamu division. Stratified simple random method of sampling was used. The data was collected through formal interviews using a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed in a comparative approach. Regression models were used to determine factors that influence participation, price and income. The study established significant difference in household demographics between contract and non-contract farmers. The descriptive analysis indicated that contract farmers were more educated, had bigger farms and more coconut trees than non-contract farmers. Unlike the contracted farmers, non-contract farmers had low trust on other farmers. Contract farmers’ price for coconut was 26 percent higher and their average income per tree was 39 percent higher. Regression analysis indicated that price, payment date and level of education of household head were the main factors that positively influenced participation in contract farming. It also established that presence of other sources of income and farmers’ need for credit affected the participation negatively. The study found that contract farming improved farmers’ income and access to market. It should therefore be promoted in coconut farming by developing policies that are enabling.
Determinants and Profitability of Coffee Market Outlet Choice among Farmers in Murang’a County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2021) Keru, Zacharia Ndungu; Bernard Njehia; Lucy Ngare
The coffee industry is a significantly important contributor to the Kenyan economy. Relatively, this is as a result of coffee farmers’ productivity which trickles down to their individual decisions at the farm and marketing level. When there are different outlets in the coffee market, farmers are expected to utilize the opportunities provided by selling through the most beneficial market outlet. Murang’a County has cooperatives, licensed millers, direct sale and informal traders as the existing marketing outlets. This study aimed at investigating the determinants that lead farmers to the choice of selling coffee through the different marketing outlets and the profits generated through their decisions. The specific objectives were: determining the marketing characteristics of the coffee farmers; analyzing the determinants of coffee market outlet preference and analyzing the farm profitability obtained from the choice of different market outlets. This study was based on the rational choice theory where the farmer weighs in on profit margins and factors that come into play during marketing before choosing an outlet based on the degree of happiness and satisfaction. Purposive sampling method was used in selecting 150 farmers from a sample population of 70,000 farmers. Sample sizes of 68(Kandara), 42(Gatanga) and 40(Kangema) were generated through proportional distribution of respondents. Descriptive statistics techniques such as pie-chart, tables, bar graphs, means and percentages were used in analyzing coffee marketing characteristics of farmers; The Multinomial Logistic Regression model using Stata v13 was used in analyzing the determinants of coffee market outlet choice; and Gross Margin was used in analyzing profitability of outlets. The study findings on marketing characteristics of coffee farmers shows that: Majority of farmers sold coffee in fresh cherry form, followed by dried beans, pulped beans and then clean beans; Sixty percent of farmers had more than twenty years of experience in coffee marketing; More than half of farmers sold quantities below 1 tonne; Sixty one percent of farmers sold coffee below the price of ksh.50 before the survey period; 23% of farmers owned coffee transportation equipment, 29% acquired credit from outlet, 52% were updated with coffee marketing information; Cooperative societies were the most selected followed by Millers, multiple outlets, informal traders and direct sale; Cooperative societies were selected by 72% of members and 20% of non-members, millers by 4% of members and 50% of non-members, informal traders by 6% of members and 13% of non-members, multiple outlets by 17% of members and 12% of non-members, direct sale by 4% of non-members and 0% of members. The regression outcomes on the determinants of coffee market outlet choice showed that the statistically significant estimates at 5% level of significance are quantity offered for sale, distance to market outlet, coffee outlet price, farmer’s experience, credit, ownership of transport, lack of up-to date market information and lack of off-farm income. These findings suggest that an adjustment in each one of the significant estimates significantly influences the probability of selling coffee to/through either of the four market outlets. The profits acquired between farmers selling to different outlets was statistically different (p=0.02) implying that direct sale is shown significantly as the most profitable (GM=415) followed by millers, cooperatives and then informal traders. In view of the research findings, several recommendations are suggested: Coffee cooperative societies should invest in milling plants and offer credit to farmers; Farmers should avoid selling coffee to informal traders and instead dry coffee and sell to millers as dried beans.
Economic Analysis of Smallholder Organic Vegetable Production System in Kiambu and Kajiado Counties of Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015) Ndungu, S. K.
In Kenya, there are more than 200,000 farmers who have been trained on organic farming technologies and systems. Currently certified land under organic management in Kenya stands at 104,211 ha while the organic sub sector employs 12,647 farmers who are directly involved in production of different organic products. Although there are many documented reasons that make farmers to adopt organic farming system, economic benefits present one of the major motivations. These benefits however are not well documented in Africa. The study was conducted to evaluate the determinants of adoption and profitability of smallholder organic vegetable production system in Kajiado and Kiambu counties of Kenya. It also aimed at evaluating the impact of organic production system on profitability of smallholder vegetable production systems in the two counties so as to appraise its contribution to improvement of rural livelihoods. The study collected data on costs, returns, social economic characteristics, farmer characteristics and market characteristics for a sample of 215 smallholder vegetable farmers who were composed of 71 organic and 144 conventional farmers. The whole population of smallholder organic farmers growing vegetables was sampled while conventional farmers sample was made up of clusters established using Stratified sampling method. A logit regression model was used to evaluate the factors affecting adoption of organic production system among smallholder vegetable farmers. Factors associated with profitability of smallholder organic production system were evaluated using an OLS regression model while the impact of organic production system was evaluated using propensity score matching. Organic vegetable production system was found to have a positive significant impact of increasing farm gross margin by 45.16% among smallholder producers in Kiambu and Kajiado Counties of Kenya. The organic vegetable prices were found to be higher than conventional vegetable prices for all the vegetables. Additionally, organic production system was found to have higher production cost but higher gross margin as compared to conventional production system. Age, farming experience, irrigation, land ownership and County of residence were found to be associated with adoption of organic vegetable production system. Furthermore age, farming experience, number of trainings attended availability of irrigation, target market selected, production per acre, cost of production and price per unit had a bearing on the profitability of an organic smallholder vegetable farm. The study recommended wide adoption of organic production system as a tool to improve farm incomes of smallholder vegetable farmers in Kiambu and Kajiado counties of Kenya. Furthermore, the study recommended that organizations involved in promotion of organic farming in the two counties should design strategies that take cognizance of the important role of social economic, farm and market factors in determining profitability and adoption of smallholder organic vegetable production systems. The study concluded by recommending that further similar studies should incorporate the health and environmental benefits and the effect of conversion period while evaluating the economic benefits of organic production system.
Economic Evaluation of Integrated Pest Management Technology for Control of Mango Fruit Flies in Embu County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2015-01-15) Kibira, Mary Njeri
Mango is the third most important fruit in Kenya in terms of area and total production. Nutritionally, mango fruit is important for vitamins and mineral provision in the daily diet of Kenyans. As an export crop, mango earns the country foreign exchange, acts as source of food and household income especially for resource poor farmers, contributing to poverty alleviation and achievement of Millennium Development Goal number one. However, mango production and marketing is constrained by several factors, among which pests and disease infestation is major. Among the pests, mango fruit fly present a real challenge to producers and exporters due to losses incurred at the farm level and infested mango rejections at export points. To reduce losses, cost of production and increase the profit at producer level, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) developed and implemented an Integrated Pest Management fruit fly control package (IPMFFCP) in Embu County, Kenya. The impact of this intervention, however, had not been evaluated. This study therefore evaluated the impact of this intervention on magnitude of mango rejection due to fruit fly damage, insecticide expenditure and net income from mango production. The study also established households’ perception of the effect of the intervention on human health. The study used survey research design in which a structured questionnaire was administered to 257 randomly selected IPMFFCP participants and non participants from the intervention and control areas. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis and Difference-in-difference (DD) method were used to assess the impact of the IPMFFCP on magnitude of mango rejection and insecticide expenditure. Two Stage Least Square (2SLS) analysis and DD were used to evaluate the impact of IPMFFCP on net income from mango production. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the household perception of the effect of IPMFFCP on health. The results indicated that on average IPMFFCP participants had approximately 54.5 percent reduction in magnitude of mango rejection than the non participants. The participants spent approximately 46.3 percent less on insecticide per acre than the non participants and on average received approximately 22.4 percent more net income than the non participants. Results also showed that 78 percent of households perceived the intervention improved human health. The results imply that IPMFFCP participants are better off in terms of magnitude of mango rejection and insecticide expenditure reduction and net income from mango production increment. The study recommends expansion of IPMFFCP intervention to the entire mango growing area in Embu County to improve the farmers’ livelihood through the increased profitability.
Effect of pineapple (ananas comosus l. Merrill) and papaya (carica papaya l.) fruit extracts on sericin removal from silk moths cocoons in Kenya
(2014-05-20) Wainaina, Pauline Wairimu
Sericulture (Silk farming) is the rearing of silk moths for the production of raw silk. Silk farming originated from China where it was secretly practiced for many years before spreading to other parts of the world. Silk moths are grouped into mulberry silk moths (domesticated) and wild silk moths. Silk moth cocoon has a double filament made of insoluble protein known as fibroin which is embedded in a water soluble protein called sericin. Prior to processing cocoons, are boiled in strong alkali so as to dissolve the sericin a process called degumming. Proteinases enzymes such as papain from papaya (Carica papaya) and bromelain from pineapple (Ananas cosmosus) characterised by their proteolytic activity have the potential to hydrolyse sericin, thus increasing its solubility in water. This study sought to investigate the effect of extracts from pineapple and papaya on the solubility of sericin protein from cocoons of three species of silk moths: Gonometa postica, Argema mimosae and Bombyx mori at different temperatures. Twenty cocoons of each species were cut open, cleaned to remove the pupae remains and weighed. The cleaned cocoons were immersed in the degumming agents at various temperatures and five cocoons were taken out at 30 minutes intervals for 120 minutes. These cocoons were dried for two hours and then re-weighed. The degumming agents used were crude extracts from papaya and pineapple, commercial papain, commercial bromelain and their effects were compared with that of the conventionally used sodium bicarbonate and distilled water. The efficiency of the degumming processes was assessed using mean weight loss at different temperatures and was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Where significant difference existed, mean separation was carried out using the Student-Newman-Keuls test. In G. postica cocoons, papain gave the highest mean weight loss at a temperature of 60°C for all time intervals. The highest mean weight loss from G.postica was 0.5 g at 60 ºC, 120 minutes in G. postica cocoons this was significantly different from the mean weight loss with other treatments. The least mean weight loss in G. postica was recorded in water and ripe papaya treatment which was significantly lower than the other treatments extract. A.mimosae cocoons showed highest weight loss with bromelain at 60°C, 90 minutes of but this was not significantly different with sodium bicarbonate. The least mean weight loss in A mimosae was recorded in papain and ripe papaya treatment 70°C, 120 minutes but this was not significantly lower than the other treatments extract. With B. mori cocoons, papain gave the highest mean weight loss of 0.12g at a temperature and time of 70° C, 60 minutes respectively, this was significantly different compared with the mean weight loss with all the other treatments. The results obtained from this study have shown that plant proteases can be utilised for effective degumming of cocoons. Commercial proteases were the best agent for degumming cocoons of G. postica and B. mori as it gave the highest mean sericin loss within the shortest duration. The results show that locally available fruit proteases can be used to remove sericin from silk moth cocoons. These offer farmers a cheaper local option while also shortening the time required for boiling hence saving fuel.

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