Mavens and their potential role in the diffusion of marketing information

Small ruminants play an important social and economic role in the lives of many pastoralists who inhabit many parts of Northern Kenya. The area is poorly served by modern communication services although things are slowly changing as mobile telephone services are rolled into these areas. This possibility will likewise improve the chances of providing this population with up-to-date market intelligence which in turn should improve the returns from the sale of livestock in distant markets. To operationalise this, the use of the internet as well as SMS delivered market intelligence through the National Livestock Marketing Information System (NLMIS) was launched in 2007. As a novel idea in the region, it was expected that information about its existence would pass through a series of intermediaries such as mavens. Based on a study of 250 pastoral households, this paper attempts to explore the concepts of mavens, opinion leadership and innovativeness in the marketing of small ruminants from the larger Marsabit and Isiolo Districts of Eastern Province, Kenya. It concludes that though the NLMIS is still relatively unknown, the presence of market mavens who in this data are indistinguishable from opinion leaders could catalyze the spread and eventual use of the system.Market mavens, Opinion leaders, Innovativeness

Participatory Evaluation of Integrated Pest and Soil Fertility Management Options Using Ordered Categorical Data Analysis

During participatory rural appraisals, farmers at the Lake Victoria basin of Kenya and Uganda identified Striga, stemborer and declining soil fertility as three major constraints to maize production To reduce food insecurity, several innovative integrated technologies to address these constraints have been developed, including push-pull (maize intercropped with Desmodium and surrounded by napier grass), maize-soybean and maize-crotalaria rotations, and Imazapyrresistant (IR) maize seed coated with the herbicide. To let farmers evaluate the new technologies, 12 demonstration trials, comparing the different technologies, were established in four villages in Siaya and Vihiga districts (Western Kenya) and two villages in Busia (Uganda). These evaluations, where farmers' appreciation and feedback on the technology are captured, are an important step in technology development. During field days at the end of short rainy seasons of 2003 and 2004, 504 farmers individually observed and rated each treatment under the different cropping systems, with and without IR maize, and with and without fertilizer, with a maize continuous monocrop as control. Farmers scored each of the 16 treatments on an ordered scale of five categories: very poor, poor, average, good, and very good. The treatments were scored for each of the criteria farmers has previously determined (including yield, resistance to Striga and stemborer, and improvement of soil fertility). Analysis of the evaluation, using ordinal regression, show significant differences in farmers' preference by year and site. There was, however, little effect of farm and farmer characteristics such as farm size and gender of the observer. Ordinal regression of farmers' scores are not as intuitive and also bit cumbersome to use, but they have a better theoretical foundation than other methods, in particular the use of means. This paper shows how the method can be used, and concludes that, with some effort, it is a convenient way to analyse farmers' ranking of a large number of options.farmers' preference, technologies, ordinal regression, Crop Production/Industries,

Mavens and their potential role in the diffusion of marketing information

Small ruminants play an important social and economic role in the lives of many pastoralists who inhabit many parts of Northern Kenya. The area is poorly served by modern communication services although things are slowly changing as mobile telephone services are rolled into these areas. This possibility will likewise improve the chances of providing this population with up-to-date market intelligence which in turn should improve the returns from the sale of livestock in distant markets. To operationalise this, the use of the internet as well as SMS delivered market intelligence through the National Livestock Marketing Information System (NLMIS) was launched in 2007. As a novel idea in the region, it was expected that information about its existence would pass through a series of intermediaries such as mavens. Based on a study of 250 pastoral households, this paper attempts to explore the concepts of mavens, opinion leadership and innovativeness in the marketing of small ruminants from the larger Marsabit and Isiolo Districts of Eastern Province, Kenya. It concludes that though the NLMIS is still relatively unknown, the presence of market mavens who in this data are indistinguishable from opinion leaders could catalyze the spread and eventual use of the system

Mavens and their potential role in the diffusion of marketing information

Small ruminants play an important social and economic role in the lives of many pastoralists who inhabit many parts of Northern Kenya. The area is poorly served by modern communication services although things are slowly changing as mobile telephone services are rolled into these areas. This possibility will likewise improve the chances of providing this population with up-to-date market intelligence which in turn should improve the returns from the sale of livestock in distant markets. To operationalise this, the use of the internet as well as SMS delivered market intelligence through the National Livestock Marketing Information System (NLMIS) was launched in 2007. As a novel idea in the region, it was expected that information about its existence would pass through a series of intermediaries such as mavens. Based on a study of 250 pastoral households, this paper attempts to explore the concepts of mavens, opinion leadership and innovativeness in the marketing of small ruminants from the larger Marsabit and Isiolo Districts of Eastern Province, Kenya. It concludes that though the NLMIS is still relatively unknown, the presence of market mavens who in this data are indistinguishable from opinion leaders could catalyze the spread and eventual use of the system

Determinants of Market Participation Decision in Small Ruminants’ Market by Livestock Keepers in Isiolo and Marsabit Districts, Kenya

Production and sale of livestock in Kenya has been changing in terms of quantity over time. As population, urbanization and income growth increases, pastoral livestock keepers should be able to respond to potential increases in demand for livestock and livestock products by releasing small ruminants into the market. This study critically examines the sales decisions of the rural livestock keepers in the arid and semi arid lands (ASALS) of Kenya by analyzing the significant determinants of the market participation decisions in small ruminants market by the pastoral livestock keepers. The study was carried out in Isiolo and Marsabit Districts where data were drawn by interviewing a sample of 250 livestock keepers through administration of structured questionnaires in July 2010. These were supplemented with secondary data from libraries and government offices in the study area. The two step selectivity model was used to analyze the data collected from the study. The study results show that road conditions to the markets, price for small ruminants, group membership, cash relief, credit facilities and the herd size are the significant determinants of market participation decisions by livestock keepers. The study recommends that in order to increase participation of livestock keepers in the small ruminant market, it is imperative to improve the conditions the of the roads, discourage reliance of pastoralists in relief by promoting diversification of activities in the ASALS and motivate pastoralists to be commercially oriented by focusing on investments that result in marketable surplus through increased production

Participatory Evaluation of Integrated Pest and Soil Fertility Management Options Using Ordered Categorical Data Analysis

During participatory rural appraisals, farmers at the Lake Victoria basin of Kenya and Uganda identified Striga, stemborer and declining soil fertility as three major constraints to maize production To reduce food insecurity, several innovative integrated technologies to address these constraints have been developed, including push-pull (maize intercropped with Desmodium and surrounded by napier grass), maize-soybean and maize-crotalaria rotations, and Imazapyrresistant (IR) maize seed coated with the herbicide. To let farmers evaluate the new technologies, 12 demonstration trials, comparing the different technologies, were established in four villages in Siaya and Vihiga districts (Western Kenya) and two villages in Busia (Uganda). These evaluations, where farmers' appreciation and feedback on the technology are captured, are an important step in technology development. During field days at the end of short rainy seasons of 2003 and 2004, 504 farmers individually observed and rated each treatment under the different cropping systems, with and without IR maize, and with and without fertilizer, with a maize continuous monocrop as control. Farmers scored each of the 16 treatments on an ordered scale of five categories: very poor, poor, average, good, and very good. The treatments were scored for each of the criteria farmers has previously determined (including yield, resistance to Striga and stemborer, and improvement of soil fertility). Analysis of the evaluation, using ordinal regression, show significant differences in farmers' preference by year and site. There was, however, little effect of farm and farmer characteristics such as farm size and gender of the observer. Ordinal regression of farmers' scores are not as intuitive and also bit cumbersome to use, but they have a better theoretical foundation than other methods, in particular the use of means. This paper shows how the method can be used, and concludes that, with some effort, it is a convenient way to analyse farmers' ranking of a large number of options

Participatory evaluation of integrated pest and soil fertility management options using ordered categorical data analysis

Maize is becoming the major food crop around Lake Victoria. Major constraints to its production are Striga, stem borer, and declining soil fertility. Innovative integrated technologies have been developed: the 'push-pull' system (intercropping with Desmodium and surrounded by Napier grass), soybean and Crotalaria rotations, and imidazolinone-resistant (IR) maize seed. In 12 demonstration trials in four villages in Siaya and Vihiga districts (Kenya) and two villages in Busia (Uganda) in 2003 and 2004, 504 farmers evaluated all cropping systems and a mono-cropped continuous maize, each cropped with IR or local maize, and supplemented or not with fertilizer, totaling 16 treatments. Farmers evaluated all treatments for yield, resistance to Striga and stem borer, improvement of soil fertility, and provided an overall evaluation score, using an ordered scale of 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). Data were analyzed using ordinal regression, estimating log odds ratios. The results show significant preferences for all treatments over the control. Push-pull with IR and fertilizer had the highest log odds ratio (2.93), so the odds of farmers preferring this treatment are 18.7 times the odds that farmers prefer the control. The odds ratios for the other push-pull combinations were generally highest (9-15), followed by the rotation systems with Crotalaria (3.5-7.0), and soybeans, especially with IR maize and fertilizer (odds ratio of 5.7). In mono-cropping systems, IR maize was only appreciated in combination with fertilizer, and then only in 2004. Push-pull and Crotalaria were more appreciated in 2004 than in 2003. Farmers in Vihiga had a stronger preference for push-pull, and those in Busia for soybean rotations. Significant differences among farmers were observed, but the effects were small. Women appreciated push-pull more than men, while other technologies were gender-neutral. Older farmers were more likely to prefer push-pull and Crotalaria with fertilizer. Livestock ownership was not found to have an effect on technology preferences. Measured yield, stem borer and Striga infestation all had significant but small effects, although their inclusion did not eliminate the treatment effects, indicating that other factors are still important. OLS of the scores for different criteria on the overall score shows yield to be the most important criterion (coefficient of 0.40), followed by soil fertility enhancement (0.25) and Striga resistance (0.13). Labor saving (0.09) and stem borer resistance (0.03) are relatively minor criteria. This research shows that scoring and analysis with ordinal regression is a convenient way to solicit and analyze farmers' preferences for new technologies, with wide applicability in farming systems and participatory research. Its application here shows that farmers like the new technologies, especially push-pull, but that there are substantial differences between years, sites and farmers. The use of this method can be very helpful to define and focus further research and formulate specific and targeted recommendations for agricultural extension.Maize Imidazolinone-resistant maize Ordinal regression Participatory evaluation Striga Stem borer