Can the Market Deliver? Lessons from Kenya's Rising Use of Fertilizer Following Liberalization

Published by Tegemeo Institute for Agricultural Policy and Developmentfood security, food policy, Kenya, fertilizer use, Crop Production/Industries, Marketing, Q18,

Private sector responses to public investments and policy reforms: The case of fertilizer and maize market development in Kenya

millions fed, food security, Fertilizer, maize, Liberalization market,

Factors Driving the Growth in Fertilizer Consumption in Kenya, 1990-2005: Sustaining the Momentum in Kenya and Lessons for Broader Replicability in Sub-Saharan Africa

The objective of this study is to identify the factors responsible for the impressive growth in fertilizer use in Kenya since market liberalization in the early 1990s. Over the past 10 years, fertilizer consumption has risen by 35%. So far, it is unknown whether smallholder farmers are responsible for this growth or whether it is being driven mainly by the large-scale and/or estate sectors. Moreover, it is important for policy makers to know whether the increased fertilizer consumption is being devoted to smallholder food crops or whether industrial crops such as tea and sugarcane are responsible for this growth. This study addresses these questions using nationwide survey data on smallholder fertilizer use patterns between 1996 and 2004. The study also explores whether the growth in fertilizer use in Kenya is attributed to any particular types of fertilizer delivery supply chains. A better understanding of the types of fertilizer distribution channels fueling the growth in consumption and the sustainability of these delivery systems can be of great help in guiding future policy to replicate successful supply chain models more widely in Kenya. Finally the study is meant to guide discussions on fertilizer marketing policy in Kenya in line with the new Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS).Food Security, Food Policy, Fertilizer Consumption, Kenya, Crop Production/Industries, Q18,

Trends in Kenyan Agricultural Productivity: 1997-2007

Egerton University Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and DevelopmentAfrica, Kenya, productivity, Productivity Analysis, Q10,

Trends and Patterns in Fertilizer Use by Smallholder Farmers in Kenya, 1997-2007

This study uses nationwide household panel survey data from 1996/97 to 2006/07 to examine trends in fertilizer use on maize by smallholder maize growers. The paper also compares these findings with fertilizer use rates according to other recent surveys in Kenya to assess comparability. We also examine the correlation between household fertilizer use and indicators of welfare such as wealth and landholding size. In addition, we use econometric techniques applied to household survey data to identify the main household and community characteristics associated with fertilizer purchases. Lastly, the study considers alternative policy strategies for maintaining smallholders’ access to fertilizer in the current context of substantially higher world fertilizer prices.Fertilizer, Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Small Holders, Crop Production/Industries, Q13,

Staple Food Consumption Patterns in Urban Kenya: Trends and Policy Implications

This study examines current consumption patterns of the main staple carbohydrate products in Nairobi -- maize, wheat, rice, and cooking bananas -- in an effort to update policy makers’ knowledge of current urban food consumption patterns. The study also identifies the factors driving changes in the amount and form of urban maize meal consumption, in order to better understand how food security policy should be designed to respond to the needs of low-income consumers. The study reveals how consumption and expenditure patterns differ according to household income. The study also examines whether the marketing channels used by the poor to secure their staple carbohydrate products differ from those used by relatively high-income consumers. The data used in this study comes from a cross-sectional random survey of 542 households in Nairobi’s urban areas and environs. The Tegemeo Institute in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) using the CBS’s NASSEP IV frame implemented the survey in November/December 2003. An earlier analysis of household survey data conducted in 1995 involving a random survey of 549 in Nairobi was used was a baseline. The results indicate that while generally the volumes of staple carbohydrate consumption have declined, it is the poorest section of the urban population that has been affected the most. Also, on average, there has been a decline in consumption of maize products and rice. The poorest have experienced the greatest decline. Consumption of wheat products has grown significantly among all groups, but particularly among higher income groups. These results also indicate a significant shift in maize meal consumption patterns. Even though posho meal consumption has declined, it continues to be a preserve of the poor because it is relatively inexpensive compared to sifted maize meal. Retail channels used to procure staple carbohydrate products vary substantially by income. The poorest income groups rely mainly on small shops (dukas) while well-off households rely both on dukas and supermarkets. These findings hold some implications for food security policy. Because wheat is emerging as an important expenditure item among the urban households, even the poor, the duty on imported wheat and wheat flour, which currently stands at 35 percent and 60 percent, respectively, may have adverse effects on urban poverty. Because Kenya is a member of COMESA and WTO, there will be external pressures to reduce these duties over time. Measures aimed at enhancing productivity and marketing of domestically produced wheat so as to lower wheat prices for the benefit of the poor should be considered.Food Security, Food Policy, Maize, Wheat, Rice, Kenya, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q18,

Promoting Fertilizer Use in Africa: Current Issues and Empirical Evidence from Malawi, Zambia, and Kenya

This study was funded jointly by the Regional Strategic Agricultural Knowledge Support System (Re-SAKSS) for Southern Africa, based at International Water Management Institute, Pretoria, South Africa, and by the United States Agency for International Development's Africa Bureau. Much of the data and analysis reported in this study was carried out under the Tegemeo Agricultural Monitoring and Policy Analysis Project, funded by USAID/Kenya; the Food Security Research Project/Markets, Trade and Enabling Environment (MATEP) Program, funded by USAID/Zambia and the Swedish International Development Agency; and by the DFID and USAID offices in Lilongwe, Malawi.fertilizer, Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Crop Production/Industries, Q18,

Promoting Fertilizer Use in Africa: Current Issues and Empirical Evidence from Malawi, Zambia, and Kenya

It is generally agreed that increasing agricultural productivity is critical to stimulating the rate of economic growth in Africa. There are many important and often complementary determinants of agricultural productivity. In this brief and the full paper it draws from, the focus is on fertilizer and improved seed, without intending to imply that they are the only or most significant productivity determinants.fertilizer, Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, Q18,