Group items tagged

Smallholder Agriculture is key to livelihoods of many rural households in developing and transition economies. In Kenya, small farms account for over 75% of total agricultural production and nearly 50% of the marketed output. Despite favourable trends in global development drivers such as rising population, per capita incomes and emerging urban dietary preferences, most smallholder farmers remain poor. This study sought to characterize agricultural commercialization trends, identify and prioritize constraints to participation in markets, analyse determinants of percentage of output sold, and explore strategies to promote market-oriented production. A participatory Rapid Rural Appraisal approach, household survey and a Truncated Regression model were used. A sample of 224 farmers: 76 of them growing maize, 77 involved in horticulture (kales and tomatoes) and 71 practising dairy, were interviewed in one peri-urban and one rural district (Kiambu and Kisii, respectively). Results show that in rural areas, lower levels of output are sold and fewer farmers participate in markets compared to the peri-urban areas. Opportunities for profitable commercial agriculture are observed in growing demand, emerging food preferences and intensive farming. At village-level, market participation is hampered by poor quality and high cost of inputs, high transportation costs, high market charges and unreliable market information. At the household-level, the determinants of percentage of output sold are producer prices, market information arrangement, output, distance to the market, share of non-farm income and gender. Strategies are suggested to improve rural input supply, institutional and regulatory framework, enhance value addition and strengthen market information provision.

One of the main reasons that small- and medium-scale producers are often not participating in growing export markets for high-value agricultural commodities is that they cannot meet strict food safety and quality requirements associated with the delivery of their product to distant and more formal markets. These producers face four distinct problems: 1) how to produce safe food, 2) how to be recognized as producing safe food, 3) how to identify cost-effective technologies for reducing risk, and 4) how to be competitive with larger producers who have the advantage of economies of scale for compliance with food safety requirements. At the same time, lower standards are often applied for domestic markets in LDCs. This project examined the export flows of Green Beans from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Zambia to the EU. The study focused on the five research questions - a) any food safety requirements imposed by green bean importers and the national government. b) how producers and exporters meet those requirements, c) are small-holders squeezed out by these requirements, and d) what are the spillover effects of food safety regulations for exports on the domestic market?

Content remains one of the main bottlenecks for the success of mobile agriculture solutions. There is a lack of affordable content that doesn’t require significant effort to customise for selected markets and channels. This challenge is intensified by the diversity of content needs depending on the type of farming, value chain and stage of the crop cycle.

CABI, ILRI

information is needed, but farmers might not be willing or ready to pay for it. At the same time the perceived value of mobile services that facilitate or support transactions is much higher, as farmers need access to inputs, equipment and infrastructure, capital and markets – information by itself is simply not enough to make a difference on small-holders productivity and income. It’s apparent that the next generation of mobile agriculture services is likely to be represented by a spectrum of bundled services,

Jeckoniah, J., Nombo, C., Mdoe, N. (2012). Women Empowerment in Agricultural Value Chains: Voices from Onion Growers in Northern Tanzania. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences Vol 2, No.8, Pp 54-60 Jeckoniah, J., Nombo, C., Mdoe, N. (2012). Determinants of Women Empowerment in Onion Value Chains: A Case of Simanjiro District in Tanzania. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development Vol 2, No.8, Pp 54-60