Influence pathways and economic impacts of policy change in the Kenyan dairy sector

This study is an ex post assessment of the impact of the revised Kenya dairy policy. It outlines the policy change process, investigates induced behavioral changes at the levels of field regulators and SSMVs (small-scale milk vendors), and estimates economic impacts on producers, SSMVs and consumers. It also provides a strategic assessment of the research and coordinating roles played by ILRI, recognizing that ILRI was only one partner in a complex project with many people and organizations involved, and estimates how much of the overall gains can be attributed to this research/coordination component. It was designed to evaluate the impact of a revised Kenyan dairy policy that encouraged relevant government agencies to engage with SSMVs and, in particular, to explore and analyse the role that research/coordination played in contributing to the policy change and the net benefits to the investment in the policy research component. The study describes the policy, institutional (in the broad sense of ‘rules of the game’) and behavioral changes that have occurred in Kenya’s dairy sector and how they occurred and what role the research and coordination component of SDP (Smallholder Dairy Project) played. It quantifies transaction costs and evaluates how reduced transaction costs have impacted the prices paid by consumers and those received by producers. It measures the overall economic benefits of the policy change to consumers, producers and SSMVs, and presents a counterfactual situation, depicting what might have happened if SDP had not been implemented and the dairy policy had not changed

An assessment of the adoption of seed and fertilizer packages and the role of credit in smallholder maize production in Kakamega and Vihiga Districts, Kenya [1998]

This study documents maize farmers' practices in Vihiga and Kakamega Districts of Kenya, which account for one-third of the maize area in the mandate region of the Regional Research Center-Kakamega. In both districts, farms are small and maize yields are very low. Primary data were obtained from farmers through direct interviews based on structured questionnaires. Surveys farmers were chosen through a multistage, purposive sampling procedure with simple random sampling selection. Survey data were used to identify socioeconomic and technical factors affecting the adoption of improved maize seed and fertilizer. Special attention was given to the role of credit in seed and fertilizer adoption. Farmers were grouped into adopters and nonadopters of improved maize, and the two groups were compared. Factors affecting the adoption of improved maize varieties and the use of fertilizer were analyzed using a logit model. The logit analysis showed that secondary education, cattle ownership, use of hired labor, the farmer's location (division), and access to extension all significantly influenced the adoption of improved maize varieties. Cattle ownership, use of hired labor and manure, the farmer's location (division), and membership in an organization were significant factors influencing the adoption of fertilizer