Finding missing markets (and a disturbing epilogue) : evidence from an export crop adoption and marketing intervention in Kenya

Due to copyright restrictions, this item cannot be sharedA DrumNet project led to increases in production of export-oriented crops and lower marketing costs; this translated into household income gains for new adopters. However, one year after the study ended, the exporter refused to continue buying cash crops from the farmers because the conditions of the farms did not satisfy European export requirements. DrumNet collapsed in this region as farmers were forced to sell to middlemen and defaulted on their loans. The risk of such events may partly explain why many seemingly more profitable export crops are not adopted. DrumNet provides smallholder farmers with information and loans supporting cultivation of export crops