In Sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural commercialization is a major factor in household food diversification and household income. To move to agricultural transformation, Rwanda has focused on shifting from subsistence-based farming to market-oriented agriculture. Various studies have been conducted on agricultural commercialization, however, women’s role in the commercialization of agriculture has received little attention and none of the studies have associated it with women’s empowerment in agriculture. In Rwanda, women are principal players in agriculture and food security, therefore, it is important to understand the influence of their empowerment in agriculture on its commercialization. To investigate the relationship between women’s empowerment in agriculture and agricultural commercialization, the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) was used to measure women’s empowerment in agriculture. A sample size of 252 households from Musanze and Burera districts in the Northern Province of Rwanda was used. It was obtained using the multistage and random sampling techniques. To analyze data, a fractional regression model was used. The results revealed that farm commercialization in Rwanda was positively and significantly influenced by WEAI score, farm size and the prices of maize, potatoes and beans. On the other hand, the index has a negative relationship with access to extension services. It is recommended that the government should strengthen policies of empowering women in agriculture.
In Kenya, good quality heifers are in high demand but are generally unavailable and expensive. Innovative usage of sexed semen in an in-vitro embryo production (IVEP) system has a potential to help deliver appropriate cattle genotypes to farmers efficiently. Sexed In-vitro Fertilization Embryo Transfer (SIFET), which involves both IVEP and embryo transfer (ET), is a breeding technology which ensures a 90% success rate of achieving the desired sex of a calf. While SIFET technology is potentially beneficial, its costs and benefits have not been locally assessed. A cost benefit analysis was done to assess the economic feasibility of SIFET for commercial utilization in Kenya. Our results indicate that SIFET technology is a feasible option for potential investors. SIFET could benefit cattle farmers through availability of cattle of preferred sex (male calves for beef and female calves for dairy production) and better matching of genotype to farmers’ production conditions. Such technologies can enhance regional trade in cattle breeding stock due to increased value and demand for Boran cows and heifers as donors and surrogates.
A priority concern in the marginal areas of Kenya is food security, which can be achieved through the development of technologies relevant to dry-land farming with a strong component of water management. One area where runoff harvesting technologies have been promoted extensively over the last few years is Lare division of Nakuru district where several institutions initiated an integrated system of technology generation and transfer to promote water harvesting from runoff. The objective of the study was to investigate factors, which influence adoption of runoff harvesting technologies. A Probit model was used to analyze primary farm level data collected from a sample of 124 farmers chosen through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Trained enumerators administered structured questionnaires that detailed information on the adoption status of the farmer, socio-economic data and household demographics. Results of the Probit analysis show that farm income, farm size, labour requirement, and education of spouses significantly influenced adoption of water harvesting technologies. The study draws some policy recommendations. Keywords: Water harvesting: Adoption Technology, Semi-arid, Runoff. Eastern African Journal of Rural Development
Lack of access to credit is a key obstacle for economic development of transitional economies such as Kenya. The underlying problem is related to information asymmetry combined with the lack of collateral by low income households. Microfinance led group lending model offer a new way to deal with this problem without resorting to collateral requirements. The core issue in group lending is that it systematically exploits elements of social capital that inherently exist in groups into an incentive contract that substitutes collateral; a formal bank conventional requirement of lending that is virtually unavailable to the poor. This study sought to ascertain the influence of social capital dimensions on households’ participation and repayment performance in micro-credit groups in the study area. The study was conducted in Moiben Division, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya based on a sample of 174 households selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. The data was collected using a personally administered structured questionnaire. In the analysis descriptive statistics, Heckman two stage and a Tobit regression models were employed. The results show that individual and group borrowers had significant differences in gender, age, farm size, years of education, income and land tenure. It was established that household size, farm income and distance to the nearest financial institution positively influenced a household to join micro-credit group. On the other hand age, gender, years of education, farm size and interest rate were found to be significant and negatively influenced household decision to join micro-credit groups. The level of household participation in micro-credit groups measured by the number of loan borrowings was significantly and positively influenced by age, total income, years of experience in group borrowing and decision making index while farm size, heterogeneity index and density of membership had a negative affect on household number of loan borrowings. Lastly, the results on group loan repayment performance using the Tobit model revealed that experience in group borrowing, number of visits by loan officer, peer pressure, meeting attendance index and heterogeneity index positively and significantly influenced loan default rate while gender, household size, distance to the nearest financial institution and density of membership were significant but negatively influenced household loan repayment performance. The study therefore recommends that MFIs should increase awareness and encourage poor households to form micro-credit groups. These institutions are obliged to provide training to households on group dynamics in order to take advantage of social capital existing within well organized and managed groups.
The debate on forest degradation in Kenya is mainly concerned with the utilization and exploitation of forest resources. Of particular interest is fuelwood, whose scarcity is a major forest degradation concern. Fuelwood gathered from the forested commons is the most important source of domestic energy in the rural areas of many developing countries. For the case of Kakamega, as shown by this study, there is a declining trend in the availability of fuelwood. Despite this state, rural households still depend largely on it for energy provision in the face of limited options constrained by low capital base. This study sought to examine how these households cope with the existing scarcity of fuelwood. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. For primary data, a total of 140 households were selected and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Response mechanisms were analyzed through descriptive methods by looking at collection attributes, use patterns and fuel saving technologies applied by households. Majority of households in Kakamega have resorted to planting trees on their own farms to ease problems of fuelwood shortage. Findings further reveal that households in their endeavor to circumvent the problem of continued scarcity, have resorted to poorer quality tree/bushes for fuelwood, alongside other innovative methods of responding to the fuelwood scarcity. With improved economic well being, households become less reliant on forests for their livelihoods. Since reduced forest reliance is positively related with reduced demand for forest products, the findings suggest complementarities between strategies aimed at poverty alleviation and those towards forest conservation.
Despite Ethiopia possessing the highest number of livestock in Africa, its benefit to the country and smallholder farmers is small as more than 99% of the cattle are indigenous breeds with low yield. Though the government introduced Artificial Insemination (AI) technology to improve this condition, the adoption rate by smallholder farmers is still low. The objectives of the study were to determine factors affecting adoption and the extent of adoption of among smallholder dairy farmers in Lemu-Bilbilo district of Ethiopia. Data from 196 smallholder dairy farmers was collected using semi-structured questionnaire. The study utilized double-hurdle model for analysis where the two stages were run separately as Probit and truncated regression, respectively. Contacts with extension agents, access to credit, income from milk sales, feeding concentrate to cows and family size influenced the probability of adoption without affecting the extent of adoption. While membership in dairy cooperatives and off-farm income positively affected the probability and extent of AI adoption, distance from AI station and access to crossbred bull services influenced both variables negatively. Education level and efficiency of AI service had positive impact on the extent of AI use; whereas experience in keeping cross-breeds and years of using AI had negative influence on same. Much work should be done to improve the accessibility of AI service by expanding AI stations throughout the district, by training more AI technicians and by encouraging private involvement. Adult education and education in farmers training centres can be the way forward to improve educational status of farmers. Bureau of Agriculture must work to improve access to credit and extension services; established dairy cooperatives have to be strengthened and more need to be established. Keywords: adoption, artificial insemination, double hurdle model
Access to market information is an important determinant in agricultural commercialisation. However, most econometric analysis have ignored effects of market information networks that necessitate dissemination among smallholders. This paper aims to assess the effects of social networks on commercialisation of African Leafy Vegetables (ALVs). ALVs which were once considered as poor man s crop have increasingly become an important crop due to the increased nutritional awareness especially among urban dwellers. We model its commercialisation using a two stage double hurdle model: participation decision and extent of commercialisation. The paper is based on data collected in 2015 from a household survey on 202 small holder vegetable farmers in Kenya. Econometric analysis were conducted on STATA 13. Social networks were found significant determinants in intensifying ALVs commercialisation. Market information received by people outside the village (bridging social capital) increased the likelihood of intensifying ALVs commercialisation by 52%. Market information received by fellow farmers mainly through farmer groups had a positive likelihood of intensifying commercialisation by 365% compared to information received by extension officers. Other positive determinants of ALVs commercialisation were farm size, household size, ALVs income share while negative determinants were livestock unit, age, and share of off farm income. Acknowledgement : The authors are grateful for research grants from the Horticultural Innovations and Learning for Improved Nutrition and Livelihood in East Africa project (HORTINLEA) funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.
The objective of this paper is to estimate economic efficiency in the dairy production sector in Uasin Gishu County of Kenya. Zero grazing, semi-zero grazing and open grazing production systems are analyzed separately using the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier cost function. In a second stage we examine the degree to which the calculated efficiency correlates with a set of explanatory variables using a censored regression model. The results indicate that each of the three milk production systems is relatively inefficient, with potential in all cases for reducing input costs or increasing output. Economic efficiency increased with the level of intensification of milk production, with open grazing, semi-zero grazing and zero grazing attaining 0.43, 0.51 and 0.69 respectively. The maximum likelihood estimates of milk production were an increasing function of cost of feeds and equipment in the three production systems with statistical significance of 5%. The estimated determinants of economic efficiency were positively related with education and social capital, and negatively related with gender, land size and market access. Keywords: Dairy production; Economic efficiency; Frontier cost function and Intensification
Poverty is increasing in rural areas of Kenya. The study examined factors influencing vulnerability of French beans farmers to expected poverty using Vulnerability to Expected Poverty approach on 492 randomly selected respondents. The study found a mean vulnerability to expected poverty of 19.6% which is below vulnerability threshold of 50% indicating that majority of French bean farmers irrespective of Global-GAP certification status were invulnerable to expected poverty. However, majority of those who were expenditure (56.3 percent) and income poor (92.2 percent) are vulnerable to future poverty. Factors influencing vulnerability to expected poverty are asset value (P=0.000), net crop income (P=0.000), off-farm income (P=0.000), household size (P=0.000), age of household head (p = 0.088), gender of household head (P=0.001) and distance to market (P=0.000). French beans farmers should practice farm diversification and expand acreage under Global-GAP certified French beans in order to increase income and expenditure and hence alleviate future poverty. Key words: French Beans, Vulnerability, Poverty, Global-Gap Standards DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-10-14 Publication date :May 31 st 2019
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