Animal health care is critical for livestock production especially in arid and semi-arid areas where majority are agro-pastoralists. Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) is a highly contagious and fatal disease which commonly affects goats in arid and semi-arid areas. The government has been the major provider of CCPP vaccine and few large-scale farmers who are licensed and able to purchase directly from the vaccine producer. Although the vaccine is sold to farmers at a subsidized price by the government, its distribution has been characterized by scarcity, irregular and late administration by the authority concerned. It is envisioned that if the willingness to pay for the CCPP vaccine among the agro-pastoralists was high, the sustainability for the vaccine availability and accessibility to everyone will be assured. This study was conducted in Kajiado and Taita Taveta counties where 323 households were sampled; thus, 276 households who were aware of the CCPP were considered for the analysis. Double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation model was used to elicit agro-pastoralists’ willingness to pay for the improved CCPP vaccine with new attributes. The model revealed that off-farm income, membership to a group, previous experience on CCPP attack on goats and access to extension services positively influenced households’ willingness to pay for the improved CCPP vaccine. The results implied that provision of extension services by the government through promotion of public awareness on CCPP and on the benefit of vaccination will motivate farmers to willingly pay for vaccination services. This can be done through enhanced trainings, seminars and demonstrations to the village level, encouraging formation of groups which facilitates information sharing between agro-pastoralists as awareness and knowledge can drive the demand for the improved CCPP vaccine.

In Kenya, smartphones are readily available at lower cost than before, allowing farmers to access agricultural information through mobile applications. However, despite increased ownership of smartphones and the availability of mobile applications, the overall usage of mobile applications is still low. This research aimed to assess the factors that determine the adoption of mobile phone applications among smallholder dairy farmers in Tharaka Nithi County of Kenya. A multistage stratified sampling procedure was used to interview 427 farmers. A Double Hurdle approach was employed to analyze the drivers of decision and extent of adoption of mobile applications. The study revealed that 51% of the respondents used mobile applications to access agricultural information. The decision to use a mobile phone application was influenced by the sex of the household head, age and level of education, distance to the market center, farming (as the primary occupation), access to credit, channels of access to information, farmer's perception on the cost and ease of use of the mobile application. Subsequently, farm size and the various channels through which farmers access information about the applications positively influenced the number of mobile applications used. This study recommends strengthening the existing extension pathways to disseminate more information regarding the use of mobile applications among smallholder farmers. Supporting public-private partnerships will be crucial in increasing the utilization of mobile phone applications.

The National Rice Development Strategy in (Kenya vision 2030) aims to improve food security, rural employment, and income for smallholder farmers in the Mwea irrigation scheme (MIS) through planned and intentional efforts. A study was conducted to identify major influences in choosing market avenues among rice farmers. The study used a sample size of 384 small-scale rice farmers to analyze the different rice marketing channels used in MIS, and to understand the factors that influence farmers’ choices of marketing channels. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the marketing channels, multinomial logit model was used to evaluate channel choices. The marketing channels were Channel 1: Farmer-Consumer (0.3%); Channel 2: Farmer-Brokers-Millers-Consumer (51.1%); Channel 3: Farmer-Brokers-Millers- Retailer-Consumer (42.3%); Channel 4: Farmer- Millers-Retailer-Consumer (62.72%) and Channel 5: Farmer- Millers- Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer (37.28%). The most profitable channel was direct sales to consumers, which accounted for only 0.3% of total rice production in MIS. The study also found that factors such as education level, participation in marketing groups, distance to market, and age of the household head significantly influenced farmers’ choice of marketing channels. The study is critical in enriching literature on rice agricultural supply chains in Kenya. The study recommends policy considerations to protect small-scale farmers from exploitative brokers and suggests registering brokers to monitor their activities and set standards for fair practices, with the goal of regulating their activities to prevent exploitation of small-scale farmers in rice marketing.

Milk plays an important role in the growth and development of children. In Kenya, it is one of the most produced and consumed animal-sourced foods, but often consumed in small amounts among children of low-income families, especially in urban settings. The aim of the study was to identify household milk purchase and consumption patterns of milk, with emphasis on young children, as well as estimate key determinants of such patterns to identify areas of leverage to increase milk consumption. Results showed that 98% of households purchased unprocessed fresh milk at least once during the 7 days prior to the survey, while only 17% purchased packed pasteurized milk. Findings from the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model of purchase behavior suggest that the amount of unpacked milk purchased by households is positively and significantly related to household income, the number of children below the age of 4, and the budget of animal-sourced food. The price and quantities of pasteurized milk purchased were negatively related to the amount of unpacked milk purchased. Consumption patterns for children below the age of 4 showed that milk and dairy products are most commonly consumed as part of dishes than as individual products. Informal markets played a key role in meeting the milk needs of children, but consumption was below recommended amounts. The clear association of income and milk intake calls for efforts from the government to support the dairy sector with policies that promote the availability and affordability of milk, especially for a sector that feeds low-income families, as it is the case with the informal dairy markets.

Agricultural credit is believed to play a catalytic role in enhancing agricultural productivity; however, its access is limited for smallholder farmers in Rwanda. To investigate this phenomenon, this study sought to identify and assess the determinants of access to agricultural credit among rice and maize smallholder farmers in Rwanda. The study was conducted in the eastern and western provinces of Rwanda using a cross-sectional survey design. Sample districts, sectors, and cells were obtained using stratified random sampling techniques. Convenient and purposive samplings were used to sample households and farmers, respectively. Data were collected using structured interviews and questionnaires, and were analyzed using a binary logistic regression model. Model results indicated that both individual and institutional factors determine access to agricultural credit among smallholder maize and rice farmers in eastern and western provinces of Rwanda. The individualfactors included: saving of money in commercial banks (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.389), owning a size of land that is 0-0.1 ha (AOR = 0.127), and knowledge of the repayment terms of agricultural loans (AOR = 0.203), while the institutional factors included: having privately-owned finance institutions in the area (AOR = 0.287), offer of both long and short-term loans (AOR = 0.290), interest rate between 11-15% (AOR = 0.178), the process for obtaining agricultural credit not being too long (AOR = 2.026). Institutional factors were more important than the individual farmer characteristics in determining access to credit. Policy interventions aimed at bolstering agricultural credit access among the smallholder farmers should address institutional challenges such as information asymmetry and the lack of credit guarantees that hinder agricultural credit access.

Women contribute substantively to the agricultural sector and support food security. However, gender-based differences in terms of control and access to financial and productive resources inhibit their sustainability, resilience, and agricultural productivity. This study investigates the gender-based productivity differences in Irish potato production in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya, and identifies the factors driving this disparity. This study adopted a cross-sectional field survey and simple random sampling to collect quantitative data from 256 respondents (67 female and 189 male farmers). The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition model decomposed the gap into the endowment (differences in resource endowments) and structural (differences in return to the endowment factors) effects. Our study finds a production gap of 11% favoring male farmers, with a structural effect (53 %) larger than the endowment effect (33%). This study confirms that a notable number of factors, including land, education, climate-smart technologies, and fertilizer, cause the gap. Therefore, these factors represent the potential intervention areas in any attempt to reduce the gender gap. Policymakers should devise interventions through a gender lens against using a one-fits-all intervention to uplift female farmers from their low productivity traps. Keywords: Oaxaca-Blinder, Female, male, agricultural, farmers, gap DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-14-04 Publication date: July 31 st 2022

Contract farming (CF) can be a panacea that can solve the issues of sorghum productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In Kenya, farmers who engage in CF have increased the productivity of their sorghum enterprises. This study assessed factors behind low farmers’ participation in CF in Laikipia county, despite the recorded benefits. A multistage sampling was used to select the 192 respondents that were included in the sam­ple. A double hurdle model (DH) approach to analyze the factors influencing decision to participate in CF and the intensity of participation. Land tenure, land size, distance to a major town, belonging to a social group, and extension contacts were significantly influencing the decision to participate in CF. Farming experience, access to extension education, credit access, and land tenure were significantly influencing the intensity of CF participation. The study concludes that the County Government of Laikipia and the East Africa Malting Limited agents should beef up extension services to enhance more sorghum CF participation and intensity. The County government through the Department of Social Services to strengthen informal and formal farmer groups to increase their farmers’ access to government services such as extension and credits. Keywords: Contract farming, Sorghum, Participation, Decision, Intensity, Double Hurdle DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-10-02 Publication date: May 31 st 2022

Sorghum farming has been promoted in Kenya as an alternative crop in the semi-arid areas due to its ability to tolerate harsh weather condi­tions. This study assessed the profitability and the factors influencing the profitability of sorghum farming among the contract farming (CF) participants and non-participants in Laikipia County from 188 respondents selected using a multistage sampling. The study used gross margins approach and multiple linear regression (MLR) to assess profit and factors influencing profitability. The return on investment (ROI) among the participants of CF was 1.69 with an annual net profit per acre of Kes 57170. Among the CF non-participants, the significant determinants of profitability included age, education, and land acreage. The determinants of profitability among the CF participants included education, land acreage, and credit access. The agricultural education extension officers and Necco Fosa Cooperative Society agents should collaborate to encourage more farmers to access credit because it significantly increases the profitability of the enterprise under CF. Department of Social Services of Laikipia county government should formulate strategies to encourage more participation into social groups that may increase profitability of CF farming. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-10-03 Publication date: May 31 st 2022

AbstractPoor identification of Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia diseases from its signs and symptoms is a major problem to goat farmers which leads to use of wrong method of disease control. The uptake of control strategies like vaccination by farmers depends on many factors while awareness and knowledge become the foundation of the technology adoption processes. This therefore necessitated a study to understand the level of awareness and knowledge of Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, which is a highly infectious goat disease. The study analysed and used cross-sectional data collected from 342 households interviewed in October, November, and December 2020 in Kajiado County and Taita Taveta County in Kenya. These two counties are dominated by agro pastoralists and goat keeping is predominant. The study examines the factors influencing the agro pastoralists’ knowledge and level of awareness on the six major signs and symptoms of Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia disease differentiating it from other goat diseases. Multivariate probit model was the main data analysis method used. Results show that agro pastoralists’ level of knowledge and awareness on Contagious Caprine Pleuropnemonia disease depend significantly on other factors such as the gender of household head, age, education level, household size, access to extension services, and group dynamics. The findings imply that policymakers and agricultural development partners should increase public and private investment on agro pastoralists’ training and education programmes which is one of the main pathways for increasing public awareness in livestock dominated areas.

This paper uses data collected from 452 sampled households to estimate the impact of improved sorghum varieties (ISVs) on poverty reduction in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. Consumption expenditure per adult equivalent is used as the poverty indicator. Different matching methods complemented by endogenous switching regression model were used to ensure robustness of the estimated results. The impact results generated by the three models are consistent and affirm poverty reducing effects of adopting ISVs. Therefore, this study recommends formulation and implementation of adoption-stimulating policies that target to raise resource endowment of households, improve access of extension service and rural infrastructure.

Supply chain management (SCM) practices have become valuable resources and capabilities in formulating strategies aimed at enhancing organizational performance (ORGPER). However, it is not clear how SCM Practices influence organizational performance in the agribusiness context. Therefore, this study sought to examine the mediation effects of competitive advantage in the relationship between SCMPs and ORGPER from the dairy supply chain perspective in Kenya. The study postulated four hypotheses that were tested using Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) techniques to address the study objectives. A cross-sectional survey design was utilized to gather primary data from 109 dairy cooperatives in the thirteen major milk-producing counties in Kenya. The result revealed that SCM practices have a positive and significant influence on CA (?=0.730), and ORGPER (?=0.237). Additionally, CA has a positive, statistically significant influence on ORGPER (?=0.522). Further results show that competitive advantage mediates the relationship between SCMPs and organizational performance. Consequently, high employment of SCM practices will result in high levels of competitive advantage and enhance organizational performance. The results provide insights on the resource-based view theory as well as a conceptual framework for its validation. Similarly, the study informs managers and policymakers in knowing specific SCM practices responsible for enhancing competitive advantage and improving performance in the dairy industry. Keywords: Competitive advantage, Organizational performance, Supply chain management, and PLS-SEM

Declining soil fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a significant constraint towards increasing agricultural productivity. Soil fertility decline coupled with rapid population growth and low use of organic soil fertility technologies has threatened the population's economic status that lives in the rural area and relies on rain-fed agriculture. We conducted a cross-sectional household survey in the Central Highlands of Kenya (Gatanga and Meru South sub-counties) to determine farmers' perception of the benefits of using organic resources technologies, socioeconomic drivers influencing their perceptions, and financial returns from the technologies. The selected technologies were; sole animal manure and a combination of animal manure with inorganic fertilizer. We based the benefits of using the selected soil fertility management technologies on four variables; potential to improve soil fertility, crop yields, profitability, and labor requirement. The majority of the farmers strongly agreed that using the selected technologies improved soil fertility, crop yields and were profitable. On the contrary, they agreed it was labor-intensive. Gender of the household head, household size, Tropical Livestock Unit (TLU), access to external labor, access to credit, total land cultivated, age, and years of farming experience were the socioeconomic drivers that significantly influenced farmers' perception of the use of sole animal manure and animal manure combined with inorganic fertilizer. Results showed that animal manure had the highest financial returns of US$ 440.74 in Gatanga, while in Meru South, animal manure combined with inorganic fertilizer had the highest returns of US$ 456.25. The study highlights that the use of sole animal manure and animal manure combined with inorganic fertilizer is perceived positively by the smallholder farmers and has better financial returns than sole inorganic fertilizer. Thus, the use of selected organic resource technologies should be encouraged by creating more awareness through farmers' training programs.

The significance of access to agricultural credit in perpetuating agricultural productivity is unquestionable, because it is a means to achieving optimal productivity. The minimization of any barriers to agricultural credit access should,thus,be a global priority. One of the most significant and current barriers to agricultural credit access is information asymmetry which results into mutual distrust between lending institutions and borrowers in this case the smallholder farmers. To address information asymmetry, both the lending institutions and borrowers need to have definitive descriptive information about either party. Without the profiling of institutions and potential borrowers, an information gap persists, thereby increasing mutual distrust. This study addresses that gap, in the context of Rwanda by characterizing smallholder farmers and agricultural credit institutions. Across-sectional survey design was used in this study with smallholder farmers and staff in agricultural credit institutions in the Eastern, Western, and Central provinces of Rwanda as the units of analysis. A multistage sampling procedure was used,with stratified sampling of administrative levels spanning from province(stage 1) to districts (stage 2) and sectors(stage 3),followed by a simple random sampling of cells per sector, and the convenience sample of households. Staff in the financial institutions were purposively sampled. The data collected was analyzed using principal component analysis and cluster analysis with the K-means statistic(SPSS version 25). The largest cluster of smallholder farmers has the following characteristics: household size of1to 5 people, farmers with education, owning arable land not exceeding a hectare, with more than five years of farming experience,earning from other off-farm activities, with no dependents under five years of age, and renting less than an acre of land. As for agricultural credit institutions, the largest cluster has following compositions:have mechanisms or measures established for managing loan defaults with the majority using refinancing, rescheduling, and collateral release, with variable loan payback options, and provide targeted agricultural credit to farmers such as agricultural input premium.The research findings are particularly pertinent for maize-and rice-growing farmers,and how to reduce the information gap and the implications of broadening access to credit to smallholder farmers were discussed. This study emphasizes the need for characterization for both parties to be better informed about the characteristics and dynamics of each other, all in a bid to lessen asymmetric information and thus improve access to credit.

This paper assesses the impact of access to agricultural credit on the agricultural productivity of 422 smallholder farmers that cultivate maize or rice in the Western and Eastern province of Rwanda. Stratified, simple random and convenience sampling techniques were used to sample districts, sectors, cells and households. Data were collected using structured interviews and analyzed using propensity score matching techniques. Results indicated that productivity was higher by 44% among the farmers who accessed credit implying that they harvested on average an extra 440 kilograms of maize or rice. According to a crop-specific analysis, agricultural credit access had a more significant impact on maize productivity, with a difference in proportion of 68% (p = 0.000) but had no impact on rice productivity (p = 0.149). The study concludes that agricultural credit was important for Rwanda's agricultural productivity. Thus policy measures should aim at improving smallholder farmers' access to agricultural credit and promoting the use of modern agricultural inputs, particularly among rice farmers in Rwanda.

Soil fertility decline continues to be a major challenge limiting agricultural productivity globally. Despite the novelty of organic-based technologies in enhancing agricultural production in Kenya's central highlands, adoption is low. Therefore, we carried out a cross-sectional household survey of 300 randomly selected smallholder farmers to determine the specific organic-based practices by farmers; and the socioeconomic factors that influence the adoption intensity of selected organic-based technologies. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the data and the Tobit regression model to evaluate the socioeconomic determinants of adoption intensity of selected organic-based technologies. We identified nine organic-based technologies that had different adoption rates among the farmers. The majority of the farmers had adopted manure (97%) and manure combined with fertilizer (92%) in Murang'a and Tharaka-Nithi, respectively. Manure was applied to the largest land in Murang'a with 31% of the cultivated land. In comparison, manure combined with fertilizer had the highest adoption intensity in Tharaka-Nithi applied to about 25% of the cultivated land. Gender, age of the household head, level of education, household size, access to external labor, training, Tropical Livestock Unit, agriculture group membership, access to credit, land cultivated, and farming experience influenced the adoption intensity of organic-based technologies among smallholder farmers. Based on the smallholder farmers' adoption behavior, this study can be used to disaggregate the farming households better in order to tailor specific organic-based soil fertility technologies solutions that meet their unique needs. One group would be those households that face specific constraints, as reflected in their low adoption rates, women-headed households and older farmers, and thus require more targeted / intensive efforts to overcome these barriers. The other group would be those households that require less focus because, when confronted with the technologies, they are more likely to adopt them easily, for example, the male-headed households. Hence, the smallholder farmers' adoption behavior, can enable policymakers to form a base for designing appropriate policies that encourage the adoption of organic-based soil fertility technology by smallholder farmers.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of supply chain management practices on the organizational performance underpinned on resource-based view theory (RBV). Methodology: The study adopts descriptive and explanatory research design with purposive sampling and quantitative methods to collect primary data through crossed ended questionnaires from 109 dairy co-operatives in Kenya. Data collected was organized and cleaned using both excel and statistical package for social scientist (SPSS). Additionally, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) techniques were used to analyze data in SmartPLS version 3.2 software, and the results for both descriptive and inferential were presented in tables. Results: The result revealed that SCMPs has a positive and significant impact on Market performance (β=0.558), operational performance (β=0.371) and customer satisfaction (β=0.543). These results reveal that SCM practices are associated with high levels of organizational performance. Thus, SCM practices explain and predict the organizational performance of the dairy industry in Kenya. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study provides evidence of the building blocks of supply chain management practices and a framework of their implementation for performance improvement to the managers in the dairy industry. Theoretically, the study contributes to the development and advancement of the theory of supply chain management (SCM) as well as validation of the Resource-based View (RBV). Policy-wise, the study provides directions for coming up with policies geared towards performance improvements in the dairy industry.

We examine the multiple dimensions of the effect of public investment in education on agriculture sector output in a multivariate econometric framework. The study is underpinned by the growing interest in empirical investigations on the effects of public education expenditure on economic growth in developing countries to inform the education sector policy environment. The research employed a longitudinal study approach to examine the extent of public investment in education and effects on agriculture sector output in Uganda. The study relied on data from national statistics for the period 1982- 2017. Overall, public expenditure on education has a net positive effect on agriculture sector output. The impact of education on agriculture output has been proven to promote agriculture output through supporting farmer adoption of new productivity-enhancing technologies.

Agriculture is a viable exit strategy from the poverty cycle in Kenya, where it contributes to 23% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Moreover, collective marketing in agriculture has the potential to reduce on transaction costs and mitigate on marketing risks, which reduce on farm incomes. However, less than 20% of households in Eastern Kenya are currently participating in collective marketing of the farm produce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the factors that determine participation in collective marketing of local poultry breeds and its impact on farm income and gross margins in Eastern Kenya. A random sample of 237 households was obtained from Wote, Kee and Kaiti divisions within Makueni County. First, we randomly picked three districts and a division from each of these districts. Subsequently, we collected data using pretested questionnaires and from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Thereafter, we used a logit regression, propensity score matching (PSM) and average treatment effect on treated (ATT) to estimate effects of socioeconomic factors on collective marketing and its impact on gross margin. The results indicate that participation in collective marketing is significantly affected by education of household head (0.21)**, frequency of contact with extension worker (0.02)**, distance to nearest market(-0.11)**, distance to all weather roads (-0.17)**, source of labour(-0.15)** and marketing channel(-0.08)**. Moreover, participants in collective marketing improved gross margins by Ksh 2125.36*** (US$20), compared to the nonparticipants in collective action. Therefore, to enhance participation in collective action farmer field schools and open field days should be used to promote collective action among smallholder in Makueni County. Furthermore, innovative strategies such as subsidised extension services should be adopted. Basic infrastructure such as markets and all weather roads should be improved to improve participation in collective action. There is also need to invest in training of labour and promotion and adoption of efficient and reliable sources of labour. Finally, shorter and efficient marketing channels should be promoted among smallholder to improve on their participation in collective marketing. Therefore, Government policy, specifically on rural development and extension, should focus on consolidating smallholder farmers into commodity marketing groups.

In this era of changing climatic conditions, agricultural technology developers continue to promote suitable innovations to cushion and improve resilience of smallholder farmers against adverse effects and shocks. These improved varieties contribute towards attainment of household and national food security. This paper aims to understand what influences households' decision to adopt, speed of uptake and extent of use of improved sorghum varieties (ISVs). Data from 452 households were analysed using Double Hurdle and Duration models. Study revealed that consumption expenditure levels, income and tropical livestock unit are important determinants of three household's adoption decisions. Access to agricultural credit, distance to administration centres and adoption intensity depicts unexpected a priori. The findings also show that households are credit constrained and use own or neighbour's home saved seeds to expand the use of ISVs. Study concludes that the three facets of ISVs' adoption are influenced by different combination of determinants. Due to the vastness and rough terrain in Tharaka Nithi County, agricultural credit lenders should come up with effective low cost, sustainable and scalable outreach strategies. Policies targeting to derisk sorghum value chain with an aim of incentivizing financial institutions increase their lending appetite to cash-constrained smallholder farmers and agro-dealers should be implemented.

This study used Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Profit Frontier to analyze economic efficiency of sorghum farmers in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. Using a multi-stage stratified sample of 259 farmers, results depicted a wide range of profit efficiency between the best (0.96) and the worst (0.12) farmer with a mean of 0.17. The actual and potential profit was USD 164.88 ha-1 and USD 969.87 ha-1 respectively. This indicates that, sampled farmers incurred profit-loss of approximately USD 804.99 ha-1. Family labour and fixed capital base were the major contributing factors to sorghum profitability. Drivers of profit efficiency pointed out that, farmers who had more experience in sorghum farming, accessed agricultural credit, attended trainings, lived closer to the market and agro-dealers were likely to be more efficient. To increase profit efficiency, this study therefore advocates for policy strategies targeting these factors. Further, policy move targeting increase in uptake and correct application of fertilizer and other inputs should be reinforced. Key words: Improved sorghum varieties, economic efficiency, Cobb-Douglas stochastic profit frontier, Kenya.