Determinants of Smallholder African Indigenous Leafy Vegetables Farmers’ Market Participation Behaviour in Nyamira County, Kenya

Abstract

Participation in commercial agriculture holds key prospects for unravelling pertinent opportunities necessary for providing better incomes and sustainable livelihoods for small-scale farmers. Therefore, market participation has the potential to increase farmers’ rural incomes and employment opportunities, especially if farmers concentrate on production and marketing of indigenous crops requiring low inputs such as African indigenous leafy vegetables (AILV). This study examined factors that influenced smallholders’ market participation behaviour. Data was obtained through a household survey using structured questionnaires administered to 254 respondents picked for the study through a multistage sampling procedure. An ordered probit model was used to determine factors influencing smallholders’ market participation as either net buyers, net sellers or autarchies. Findings revealed that marketing experience, land ownership, households’ food self-sufficiency, contractual marketing, access to credit and extension services significantly influenced the regimes in which smallholders participated in markets. It is not enough that farmers merely participated in markets, rather they should participate in markets profitably as net sellers. Identifying the specific challenges and requirements that are unique for each market regime (net sellers, autarkic and net buyers) through proper targeting and screening of farmers is necessary. Here, equipping extension workers with the ability to address the specific needs of each group is recommended. Further, the study advocates for group marketing to increase farmers’ bargaining power during negotiations, in addition to reducing transportation costs by transporting produce in groups. Improving the state of the roads linking producers to markets is also important in reducing the cost of transporting produce, as well as the cost of searching for markets.

Keywords: Autarkic, Net buyer, Net seller, Ordered Probit, Smallholder, Nyamira, Kenya