ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ PARTICIPATION IN DOMESTIC HIGH-VALUE MARKETS FOR INDIGENOUS VEGETABLES IN SIAYA COUNTY, KENYA

Supermarkets and other high value markets are rapidly expanding, offering lucrative prices for suppliers of fresh produce. Participation in high value markets holds potential for raising smallholder farmers’ income and reducing poverty in rural areas. However, access to such markets has been a challenge to many smallholder farmers. Despite a growing literature on farmers’ participation in supermarkets, there is limited documentation on the analysis of smallholder African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) farmers’ involvement in Kenya. Besides that, there is no literature on other emerging high value domestic markets such as hospitals, schools and hotels. In order to address this knowledge gap, this study examined the factors that influence smallholder AIVs farmers’ participation in such markets in rural Kenya. In order to address this knowledge gap, the present study analyzed data from a random sample of 150 AIVs farmers in Siaya County, Kenya. Descriptive methods were used to characterize smallholders while a binary logit model was applied to assess factors that influence market participation. The results showed that production is dominated by female farmers using conventional farming methods and inputs. The traditional marketing system is dominant with less than 13% of the farmers selling their vegetables to high value markets. The results of the logit model show that the years in formal education, household income, price, output and access to credit had a positive and significant influence on farmers’ participation in high value markets. However, distance had a negative influence on market participation. Based on these findings, the study recommends policy interventions targeting investments on access to non-restricted credit especially from group-based informal member schemes. Moreover, interventions targeting enhanced access to better production technologies of AIVs would be a milestone in improving quality and quantity of output