Do Land Disputes Affect Smallholder Agricultural Productivity? Evidence from Kenya

Rural households experience land disputes with relatives or neighbors. These conflicts, even if small-scale in nature, may have considerable impact on incentive to invest on land productivity enhancing inputs. This study investigates the impacts of land disputes on households’ incentive to invest in farmyard manure and inorganic fertilizers, and on crop productivity in Kenya. A truncated normal hurdle model is applied on farm plot level data. The results show that land conflicts affect smallholder farmers’ optimization behaviour. Farmers are indisposed to apply farmyard manure or to plant perennial crops on disputed plots. When other production inputs are controlled for, active land disputes reduce agricultural productivity through other avenues such as constrained crop choice and reduced crop care by about 13 percent. In view of these results and in the context of the ever shrinking farm sizes, the efficiency of land disputes resolution systems emerge very important policy issue. Keywords: Land disputes, chemical fertilizers, organic fertilizers, agriculture, Keny

Exploring The Nexus Between Crop Diversification and Household Welfare, in Borabu Sub-County, Kenya

Following the effects of climate change, there has been a resurgence of interest in promoting crop diversification as a climate-smart agricultural practice in Sub-Saharan Africa to improve food security, increase income, and reduce vulnerability to external shocks. This practice is considered an effective risk management strategy and consumption smoothing strategy in a context characterized by repeated exposure to shocks. Agricultural production in Kenya is mainly dependent on rain-fed cultivation, with maize as the principal staple food crop. However, staple crops face major challenges and therefore, a diversification from over-reliance on staples will be important as part of progress toward achieving food security. The Kenyan government has, for a long time, been promoting crop diversification to improve household welfare and minimize risks associated with heavy dependence on maize. A decline in maize yields associated with the emergence of new pests and diseases, such as maize lethal necrosis disease (MLND) in Borabu sub-county, emphasized the need for maize farmers to diversify away from maize production. Although this strategy is in use, there is no clear evidence of the impact it has on the livelihoods of vulnerable households. Thus, the study sought to find out the nexus between crop diversification and household welfare among small-scale farming households in Borabu sub-county. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select a representative sample size of 385 small-scale farmers. Primary data was collected using observations and interviews with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the STATA computer program. This paper adopted the Endogenous Switching Regression Model to determine the nexus between crop diversification and household welfare, with household welfare being proxied by household financial savings. The findings indicate that smallholder maize farmers who practiced crop diversification experienced an enhanced ability to save than a random individual would have experienced. Keywords: Crop diversification, household welfare, Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease, Endogenous Switching Regression Model. DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/13-8-07 Publication date:May 31st 202

Modelling wheat and sugar markets in Eastern and Southern Africa. Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ReNAPRI)

The medium-term outlook for wheat and sugar markets in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia depicts a mixed picture with regard to production, consumption, prices and trade development. It takes the latest trends, policies and market information into consideration, but remains subject to many uncertainties on upcoming market development, macroeconomics or policy changes over the period 2015 to 2024.JRC.D.4-Economics of Agricultur

Haki Yetu (It’s Our Right): Determinants of Post-Election Violence in Kenya

経済学 / EconomicsDuring the violence following the 2007 presidential election in Kenya, it has been reported that around 1,000 people were killed and over 500,000 people were displaced. In this paper, we investigate the root causes of the violence by using a panel survey of 295 rural households living Rift Valley and Nyanza Provinces, where the violence took place. Among our sample households, 11 percent of male members and 9 percent of female members were victims of the violence, 11 percent of households were displaced, and 23 percent of households hosted at least one internally displaced person. The results show that certain ethnic groups had higher probabilities of being victims of the violence. In addition, we find that members of households without land titles were victimized more than those with land titles, but they were less likely to leave their homes. They could be victimized because the mobs wanted to chase them away, but they hesitated to leave their homes, knowing that it would be difficult for them to retain their land without land titles. The land issue was clearly one of the root causes of the violence, and the issue should be solved or at least addressed to prevent similar conflicts in the future

What Explains the Trends of Wheat Imports in Kenya; A Cointegration Analysis Using ARDL-ECM Modelling

This study aims to determine the cointegration of wheat imports and its determinants in Kenya. To achieve this objective, annual time series secondary data from 2000 to 2019 was utilized. The time frame was considered because it was during this period that wheat imports in Kenya skyrocketed. Data was collected from national and international published sources. The findings of the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag-Error Correction Model (ARDL-ECM) analysis shows that wheat imports in Kenya are determined by the tariff, relative prices and ending stock in the long run. In the short run relative price was the main determinant that influenced wheat imports in Kenya. It was also realized that wheat imports in Kenya are inelastic to its determinants. Therefore, the study recommends that policymakers should embrace policies that increase the competitiveness of domestic wheat production in Kenya to tap the multiplier benefits that can be realized from the wheat sector. This can be done by embracing modern and efficient production technologies. Keywords: ARDL model, Kenya, Time series, Wheat Import Demand, Error Correction Model. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-16-10 Publication date:August 31st 2021

Spatial price transmission under different policy regimes: A case of maize markets in Kenya

Kenya, like most countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, has continued to be overwhelmed by high and volatile food prices. In an effort to mitigate this problem, the government has implemented various trade and marketing policy instruments. The aim of this study is to examine whether the policies implemented have achieved their desired effects. The results of the study demonstrate a significant difference across the different policy regimes. Higher price transmission and faster dissipation of price shocks are observed under the regime with minimal or no policy interventions. Under policy regimes implemented to mitigate against high food prices, the reverse is true. Policies implemented to mitigate against price hikes resulted in market distortion. For these policies to achieve their desired effects, there is a need for proper consultation and coordination between government institutions, a review of the import ban on GMO foodstuffs, and distribution of the subsidised fertiliser through the private sector

The influence of women’s empowerment on poverty reduction: A case of smallholder sugarcane farmers in western Kenya

This study uses primary data from smallholder sugarcane farmers in Kenya to investigate how women’s empowerment affects household poverty. Instrumental-variable tobit (IV tobit) was used to determine the causality between women’s empowerment and household poverty. The results reveal that poverty levels in households with empowered women are low compared to households without such women. Besides, education level, credit access, market access, land size, and crop and income diversification contributed positively to women’s empowerment and to the reduction in household poverty. The domains that contribute significantly to women’s disempowerment in sugarcane farming are income, work balance and leadership. These results suggest that strengthening women’s control over income and their leadership position in society are vital domains that should be targeted by rural development interventions to improve the livelihoods of smallholder women sugarcane farmers. In addition, there is a need to intensify crop diversification and increase women’s access to markets

PARTNERSHIPS AND CHOICE OF MARKET OUTLETS AMONG BEANS FARMERS IN KENYA

Research background: Beans form a substantial part of the household diet in East and Central Africa and are consumed by most households. They are alternative low-cost proteins for less endowed people in a society and can contribute towards nutrition, food security, and employment. In Homa Bay County, beans are staple food grown by a vast majority of farmers. Choice of market outlet is the most significant decision for farm households to sell their produce to the different market outlets, which has a more substantial impact on household income. Purpose of the article: Factors influencing the choice of market outlets among smallholder bean farmers in Homa Bay County, Kenya Methods: Data collected were analyzed using a Multivariate Probit. Multi-stage sampling was used to collect data from 362 farmers, which constituted 181 participants and 181 non-participants of Public-private partnerships (PPPs); data was collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Findings & value added & novelty: The market outlet choices available in the study area for sales of beans included consumers, brokers, retailers, and wholesalers; however, retailers and wholesalers constituted more than half of the market outlets. Experience in bean farming, farm size, access to training, credit, and partnership participation positively and significantly influenced selling to these market outlets. Farmers who participated in PPP participated more in bean farming than non-participants; this might be attributed to the benefit acquired from partnerships, such as training farm inputs, among others. Thus, PPP could be an effective way of improving smallholder livelihood; policies that include mechanisms that create or secure markets for smallholder farmers will see to it that they get increased returns

HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND COMMERCIALIZATION AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN KENYA

Commercialization is often viewed as an avenue to improve household food security due to its comparative advantages over subsistence production. However, there are arguments for and against smallholder commercialization as a pathway for ensuring household food security. This paper sought to identify factors that influence household food security for Kenyan rural smallholder households, and in particular, determine if household commercialization as defined by household participation in input (fertilizer and seed) and crop output markets affects food security position. Results showed that household commercialization was associated with a reduced risk of being in the chronically food poor and oscillator groups compared to the food non-poor group. Hence, market participation can play a significant role in reducing food poverty, thus ensuring food security. This suggests that facilitating the expansion of market participation by smallholder farmers can be critical in helping households transition out of food poverty. This will entail enabling access to affordable production inputs, suitable to small scale farmers, thus ensuring that farmers are not trapped in low productivity–low return farming activities that lead to food insecurity. The use of productivity enhancing inputs will improve the ability of smallholder farmers to produce sufficient marketable surplus. Also, it will be important to strengthen efforts geared toward creating market linkages for the various agricultural enterprises. Moreover, innovations that enhance households’ access to land, education, savings and employment can be instrumental in raising their ability to produce food and access it from the market, ensuring food security