Access to Capital Finance and Performance of Small Scale Farms in Nyandarua County, Kenya
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Date
2023-11
Authors
Njui, William Ndung’u
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
As per the World Bank, the common farmer in Sub-Saharan Africa delivers only one ton of grain for every hectare, which is less than 50% of what an Indian farmer creates, a fourth of what a Chinese rancher produces, and a fifth of what an American rancher produces. The situation is equally worrying in the food basket region of Nyandarua County-Central Kenya, where the productivity of major crops produced like potatoes, peas and cabbages has been constant or declining significantly in recent years, even as the population continues to increase. Latest Food and Agricultural Organisation statistics show a country wide drop from an average of twenty tonnes per hectare for potatoes in the year 2010 to nine tonnes per hectare in 2020. This points out to dwindling financial fortunes for the Kenyan farmer. Access to capital finance is considered an important factor in growing the yields of populations in rural areas, primarily by marshalling resources to more fruitful activities. The general objective of this study is to establish the effect of access to capital finance on the performance of small scale farms in Nyandarua County. The specific objectives include identifying the effect of money market, cost of credit, terms of credit and, financial knowledge on the performance of small scale farmers in Nyandarua County. Finance and growth theory, finance and inequality theory are the two main theories that guided the research. The study used descriptive research design whereby questionnaires were used to collect primary data. Proportionate sampling technique was applied to select the required sample size. The sampling frame was proportionately calculated as per the sub-counties population in the 2019 Census using a sample of 100 farms. The study applied panel random effect regression model. Statistical Package for Social Sciences STATA, was used to analyse the data. Multiple regressions was applied for analysis of data. The study establishes that costs of credit, terms of credit and financial knowledge significantly influence the performance of small scale farmers in the county while money market has insignificant influence. Other factors that influence the performance of small scale farmers are education level and account ownership. The study recommends that financial institutions should lower lending rates to small scale farmers to enable financial flow in order to enhance crop yield and spur economic growth for the farmers and Kenya at large. Further, the financial institutions should provide credit at affordable terms by extending repayment period to allow the farmers to harvest their produce, sell and then make repayment. Further research should be carried out in other counties to determine which factors influence crop production to promote food security and accelerate economic growth. Further studies should also be done to determine what contributes to low agricultural yield, even though Kenya is considered to have a well-developed financial sector to support agricultural production. Lastly, research should be done to determine the insignificant influence of money market on the performance of small scale famers in Kenya and how it can be harnessed to increase agricultural productivity.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfillment for the Award of Master Degree in Business Administration (Finance), Kenyatta University, November 2023
Keywords
Capital Finance, Performance, Small Scale Farms, Nyandarua County, Kenya