Patience Mlongo Mshenga, Mwanarusi Saidi, Agnes O. Nkurumwa, Juma Riziki Magogo and Shem Ipomai Oradu
The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors influencing adoption of African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) into the agro-pastoral farming systems aiming at improving…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors influencing adoption of African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) into the agro-pastoral farming systems aiming at improving livelihoods.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based upon the diffusion theory which is linked to the random utility theory. A survey of 205 agro-pastoral households obtained through multistage sampling technique was used. Factors influencing adoption of AIVs were estimated using a logit model.
Findings
Findings indicate that the acreage under AIVs was still very low compared to other crop enterprises with the most common types of AIVs grown being Solanum nigrum, Amaranthus spp., Cucurbita maxima, Vigna unguiculata, Basella alba and Cleome gynandra. Factors influencing adoption were found to be gender, age, farm size, education level, off-farm income and number of visits to extension officer.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include reliance on respondents’ willingness to provide correct information.
Originality/value
This paper adds value in its contribution to literature on diversifying agro-pastoral livelihoods through production of AIVs for income and food security.
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Keywords
Mercy Maiwa Mwambi, Judith Oduol, Patience Mshenga and Mwanarusi Saidi
Contract farming (CF) is seen as a tool for creating new market opportunities hence increasing incomes for smallholder farmers. Critics, however, argue that CF is likely to pass…
Abstract
Purpose
Contract farming (CF) is seen as a tool for creating new market opportunities hence increasing incomes for smallholder farmers. Critics, however, argue that CF is likely to pass risks to small scale farmers, thus favouring large scale farmers at the expense of smallholder farmers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of CF on smallholder farmers’ income using a case study of avocado farmers in Kandara district in Kenya.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses data collected from 100 smallholder avocado farmers in Kandara district in Kenya and employs an instrumental variable model (Probit-2SLS) to control for endogeneity in participation in the contract and examine the effect of CF on household, farm and avocado income.
Findings
The results indicate that participation in CF is not sufficient to improve household, farm and avocado income. Question remains regarding efficient implementation of CF arrangements to promote spill over effects on other household enterprises.
Research limitations/implications
The research was carried out using farmers in Kandara district in Kenya as a case study, findings might therefore not reflect the status of CF in all countries.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the growing debate on the effect of value chain upgrading strategies such as contracting on smallholder farmers’ welfare. The form of contracting studied in this paper differs from the standard contracts in that the key stakeholders (producers) are loosely enjoined in the contract through officials of their groups.
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Emmanuel Kiprotich Kiprop, Cedric Okinda, Asma Akter and Xianhui Geng
Improved indigenous chicken is considered a sustainable agricultural practice with social, economic and environmental indicators. Therefore, the analysis of the choice of market…
Abstract
Purpose
Improved indigenous chicken is considered a sustainable agricultural practice with social, economic and environmental indicators. Therefore, the analysis of the choice of market channels is of considerable importance to farmers with reference to improved livelihoods and poverty alleviation in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence market channel choices among improved indigenous chicken farmers in Baringo County and to rank the determinants according to their level of importance in influencing farmer's choice of marketing channels.
Design/methodology/approach
A multistage sampling technique was employed to collect data from 209 households for the study conducted between April and July 2019, out of which, 198 useful responses were obtained. Multinomial logit regression and neural network models were used to analyze the factors influencing market channel choice based on socioeconomic, demographic and farm characteristics.
Findings
It was established that group membership, education, market distance, transport costs, farm size, cost of information and bargain costs were statistically significant in the choice of market channels (wholesaler, brokers, processors and supermarkets). With the direct consumer as the base market choice. The cost of transport had the highest normalized importance in the prediction of a farmer's selection of market channels for both radial basis function (RBF) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural networks. However, flock attributes and age of household head had the least normalized importance in MLP and RBF, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the insufficiency of resources and time, this study only focused on a small part of the country (Baringo County). However, improved indigenous chicken farming is widely practiced in Kenya. Further studies can be carried out in other counties to validate the results of this study.
Practical implications
The outcome can be used in policy implementation involving improved indigenous chicken production in Kenya.
Originality/value
This study suggests the methods aimed at enhancing poultry sector in other counties in Kenya as well as other developing countries.