Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture No. 2/14
Smallholder Participation in the Commercialisation of Vegetables: Evidence from Kenyan Panel Data
Beatrice W. Muriithi and Julia Anna Matz
University of Bonn, Germany
Abstract
This paper describes the participation of smallholders in commercial horticultural
farming in Kenya and identifies constraints and critical factors that influence their
decision to participate in this industry by selling their produce. The study employs
panel survey data on smallholder producers of both international (export) and domestic
market vegetables and controls for unobserved heterogeneity across farmers. We find
that participation of smallholders in both the domestic and export vegetable markets
declined and that this trend is associated with weather risks, high costs of inputs and
unskilled labour, and erratic vegetable prices, especially in the international market.
Different factors are at play in determining a household’s market choice for the
commercialisation of vegetables: credit is important only when vegetables are (also)
exported, livestock ownership is negatively related to production for the domestic
market, and distance to the nearest market town positively related to all pathways of
commercialisation, for example.
Keywords: horticulture, commercialisation, smallholders, Kenya
JEL: O10, Q12, Q13, Q17
Vol. 53 (2014), No. 2: 141-168