Determinants of protected tomato production technologies among smallholder peri-urban producers in Kiambu, Kenya

Climate variability and the rise in incidences of pests and diseases continue to undermine production of high value vegetables among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to respond to these challenges, protected farming technologies (PFT) (such as greenhouses) which modify the plant environment and therefore aid in avoiding the harmful eects of climatic factors have been promoted. Greenhouses protect the crops against high solar radiation and heavy rainfall that have the potential of destroying vulnerable crops like tomatoes. Consequently, PFT is associated with better yields and farm incomes. However, the adoption of PFT among smallholder farmers, not least in Kenya is low. Drawing on the Agricultural Household Model (AHM) theoretic framework, this paper assessed the determinants of adoption of PFT among smallholder tomato farmers in Kenya. Tomato is the second most important horticultural vegetable crop in Kenya after potatoes in terms of production volumes and value. Data for the study were collected from a cross sectional multistage random survey of 104 tomato farming households and analysed using maximum likelihood probit model. The probit results revealed that the age of a farmer, educational level, household size, total household income and access to credit positively influenced the likelihood of PFT adoption. The likelihood of adoption was negatively related to distance to input markets and access to the county government extension services. Overall, the results of this study suggest that an integrated promotional strategy that accounts for household heterogeneities and focuses on institutional arrangements that support the accumulation of human and financial capital would enhance PFT adoption

A scoping review

The article processing charge was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – 491192747 and the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.Malnutrition continues to be a major problem with negative implications on economic and human development in many parts of the world, including in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Strengthening promising underutilized crops that are nutrient dense, climate resilient, and locally adaptable is an instrumental approach to enhancing dietary diversity. Due to their nutritional and economic benefits, African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) have the potential to contribute to livelihoods and address challenges of food and nutrition insecurity. Despite their importance but due to their perishability, AIVs tend to suffer from high post-harvest losses (PHLs). Effective distribution systems along the value chain have the potential to reduce PHLs for AIVs. We therefore conducted a scoping review on transport systems and coordination in AIVs value chains in SSA. The objectives of this review were to summarize and analyze the focus of research in AIVs transport, to analyze the extent to which the literature synthesizes interactions of sub-components of the chains, and to identify knowledge gaps in AIVs transport literature. Based on the research foci, we categorize the reviewed articles into seven themes. Our analyses indicate that distance to agricultural market is a fundamental aspect of AIVs transportation, as it interacts with transport costs, market participation, produce quality, and profit efficiency. Results show that collective action is instrumental in the coordination of AIVs transportation and that it contributes to cost reduction. Following light exploration of determinants of choice of means of transport, we recommend further research in this area for improvement of transportation in AIVs value chains.Peer Reviewe

Privatisation, empowerment and accountability: What are the policy implications for establishing effective farmer organisations?

Weak institutional development and information flows have constrained the extent to which the small-holder farming sector in developing countries can significantly drive growth and poverty reduction. Thisis despite widely implemented economic liberalisation policies focussing on market efficiency. Farmerorganisations are viewed as a potential means of addressing public and private institutional failure but thishas frequently been limited by inequalities in access to power and information. This article investigatestwo issues that have received little research attention to date: what role downward accountability plays inenabling farmer organisations to improve services and markets, and what influences the extent to whichdownward accountability is achieved. Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), one of the largest farmerorganisations in the world (>400,000 farmers) is examined alongside wider literature. Mixed methodswere used including key informant interviews, and eight months of participant observation followedby a questionnaire survey. The article concludes that without effective downward accountability farmerorganisations can become characterised by institutions and mechanisms that favour elites, restrictedweak coordination and regulation, and manipulated information flows. This in turn reduces individuals’incentives to invest. If farmer organisations are to realise their potential as a means of enabling the small-holder sector to significantly contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction, policy and researchneeds to address key factors which influence accountability including: how to ensure initial processes information of farmer organisations establish appropriate structures and rules; strong state regulation toenhance corporate accountability; transparent information provision regarding actions of farmer organi-sation leaders; and the role independent non-government organisations can play. Consequently attentionneeds to focus on developing means of legitimising rights, building poor people’s capacity to challengeexclusion, and moving from rights to obligations regarding information provision

To sell or store? Assessing smallholder farmers' willingness to pay for potato cold storage in Kenya

Abstract Storage of food commodities for some time after harvest can play an important role in alleviating the downside of price fluctuations in developing countries. While storage can offer smallholder farmers substantial inter‐temporal arbitrage opportunities, existing evidence shows that many farmers in developing countries store little of their harvest. Using a cross sectional survey of 502 households in Nyandarua and Bomet Counties of Kenya, this paper assessed smallholder farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for cold storage and compares their WTP with the arbitrage opportunities. Our results reveal that the storage of potato was generally limited with only 26% storing in the season preceding the study. Using a hypothetical scenario with double‐bounded contingent valuation formats, our findings show that a considerable proportion of households (70.7%) were willing to rent cold storage facilities. The WTP for storing a 90 kg bag of Shangi, a common variety with a short shelf life (1 month) was Kenya shillings (KES) 104 (1.16/kg/month) compared KES 96.4 (1.07/kg/month) for the Unica variety (slightly longer shelf life). The probit model results show that gender (being female), and transaction costs associated with access to markets (e.g., geographical location and distance to the road) were positively associated with WTP. Furthermore, household endowment, reflected in household expenditure, income and level of potato commercialization had a positive influence on WTP to store. In addition, institutional characteristics of collective action, previous experience with storage and use of certified seed (often associated with extension) enhanced households WTP for potato storage. The results on potato prices over a 5‐year period (2014–2019) show that seasonal price gaps were higher than the estimated WTP, suggesting that potato storage could be economically viable. These findings have significant policy implications not only for commodities whose harvest is perishable and season bound (e.g., vegetables, fruits) where arbitrage may offer price stabilization