Decentralization and Access to Agricultural Extension Services in Kenya

The form and content of decentralization has dominated development discourse and public sector reform agenda in Kenya in the last two decades. The case of agricultural extension service presents decentralization in a difficult context partly due to lack of information on its possible diverse impacts especially on resource poor farmers. This paper explores the effect of decentralization of agricultural extension on access, accountability and empowerment, and efficiency of delivering services to farmers. Secondary data, participatory research methods and primary data from a random sample of 250 farmers were used. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis and logistic regression. The results show that there is improved access to extension services with increasing level of decentralization. Farmers from areas with higher decentralized extension also showed enhanced level of awareness of different channels for delivery of extension services. This improved knowledge, being an important component of empowerment of the farming community, resulted from the increase of service providers, who displayed synergy in their multiple methods of operation. Public delivery channels were the most affordable and were also ranked first for quality. Income, literacy levels, distance from towns and access to telephone significantly influenced access to extension services. Gender of the household-head was a key determinant for seeking out extension services in areas with high concentration of agricultural activities. For a pluralistic system to work there is need for better co-ordination between the various groups. Although there is evidence of partnership and synergy between service providers, there appeared to be little effective co-ordination of the groups involved. The government and other stakeholders should work towards developing a strong institutional framework that will guide and enhance this mutually beneficial partnership.extension services, decentralization, partnerships, policy reform, Kenya, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

A rapid appraisal of the Yemeni end-market for Somali livestock exporters

European Unio

Enhancing the provision of livestock marketing information in Somaliland

The economy of Somaliland depends on livestock, which employs about 70% of the population and contributes approximately 60% of GDP and 85% of export earnings. The principal export markets are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Exports to these markets have shown a steady growth in the last four years. Despite recent growth in export volumes, livestock trade takes place in an environment characterized by an underdeveloped legal framework, contract uncertainty and high information costs among other factors. Trade is guided by informal traditional institutions, customs and religious practices that serve as alternatives to formal contracting. The Livestock Marketing Information System (LMIS) was initiated in 2007 to address the constraint of high market information cost. The purpose of the LMIS is to provide timely current information to livestock producers, traders, government officials and other development partners. It collects and disseminates data from three livestock markets (Hargeisa, Burao and Tog Wajaale), the port of Berbera and crossborder market of Lowya Caddo. It is implemented by the Somaliland Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture, in collaboration with the Ministry of Livestock, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, the municipalities of Hargeisa, Burao and Tog Wajaale, with the technical support of Terra Nuova and funding from Danish Government. Although several agricultural market information systems exist in developing countries, the validity, reliability and impact of information they generate vary and depend on a number of factors. Some of these include technology used, technical capability of personnel, protocol employed in data capturing, management and transmission among others. Despite the Somaliland LMIS being in operation for eight year, there has been no attempt to evaluate its validity and reliability. To redress this concern, this study provides an appraisal of the validity of the Somaliland LMIS as a decision making tool for stakeholders, identifies its strengths and weaknesses and offers recommendations for improvement. The validity of the system was assessed by focussing on three areas. First, by evaluating the proportion of total Somaliland livestock exports that are traded through the monitored markets. This enabled understand how the LMIS covers the target population. Second, by analysing the extent to which the trends in volumes of livestock traded in monitored markets is explained by shocks and opportunities in both local and international markets; and third by evaluating the type of trends that exist in livestock prices and the main drivers of these trends. Data used were obtained from the LMIS database, comprising weekly traded volumes, weekly price data for different grades of small ruminants, cattle and camels, and weekly export trader numbers for a period 2007–12. The study shows that the LMIS has provided valid data and information over time, noting that the data series exhibited direct and strong relations with shocks and opportunities that have occurred in local and international markets. The LMIS’s coverage has been high and consistent for small ruminants, although modest for cattle and camels. A vector autoregressive model applied to quantify the effects of seasonal and occasional factors on price revealed that whereas prices of small ruminants and camels have exhibited secular and upwards trends over time, those of cattle have remained the same. In addition, market structure, seasonal effects as well as shock events were found to only affect the prices of small ruminants. The report presents preliminary recommendations for public and private sectors, with some predicated on further study

Knowledge and exploitation of small ruminant grading and pricing systems among Somaliland livestock producers

This study sought to determine the level of awareness of the informal indigenous livestock grading and pricing system among producers and the exploitation of this knowledge to increase market participation and realise better prices and returns for their animals. Data was collected from 144 small ruminant producers in 3 livelihood zones (West Golis pastoral, Togdheer agro-pastoral and Hawd pastoral regions) in the northern Togdheer region using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and econometric methods were used in the analysis of data. Results confirmed the importance of small ruminants as sources of income among livestock producers in Somaliland. On average, a household kept 53 sheep and goats with most of the producers (79-85%) having sold some animals (mean=10) during the preceding 12 months. It was also established that producers were generally well versed with the grading and pricing system except for the very fine details. However, this knowledge did not have significant effect on level of market participation, but rather, other supply influencing factors like the number of animals kept by the household, gender of sales decision maker, age of household head and livelihood zone in which the household resided significantly influenced household annual small ruminants sales volumes. Despite level of awareness of grading and pricing having no significant effect on the absolute annual household sales volumes due to other adjunct supply constraints, producers tended to avail more of the superior quality grades for sale. For example, Grades I and II of small ruminants accounted for the largest proportions of animals sold (40% and 29%, respectively) with inferior quality grades (grade III and the local grade) accounting for only 15% and 17% respectively. Furthermore, results of an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression showed that supply of higher grade animals had a positive effect on prices received. In addition, number of animals sold and involvement in other economic activities besides livestock production positively affected the level of prices received by producers. Although a significant number of producers (39%) said that they deliberately fatten animals before sale, the strategy employed simply involved grazing of animals in communal land during the rainy season. Sheep and goats producers in Somalia face formidable constraints of drought and the attendant lack of feed and water for livestock, and also animal health issues. This provides a justification for development agencies and research organisations to continue working to address these problems