Browsing by Author "Ayuya, Oscar I."

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    A Gendered Analysis of Perceived Risks of Commercial Oriented Smallholder Vegetable Farmers in Kilifi County, Kenya
    (IISTE Juornals, 2019) Mumba, Judith M.; Ayuya, Oscar I.; Sibiko, Kenneth W.
    This paper examines the relationship between gender and perceived risks of commercial oriented smallholder farmers in Kilifi County. A sample of 332 smallholder vegetable farmers was selected from the study area. A 5- point Likert scale and factor analysis approaches were used to rank and analyze risks encountered by farmers. Thereafter, a chi-square test was used to evaluate the mean scores of risks across gender. Gender was categorized – based on who manages the vegetable farms – into male managed (37%), female managed (24%) and joint- management (39%). Results from the study show that marketing risks are more frequent for male farmers while the joint-management group mostly experience financial risks. Additionally, severity of financial risks is greater for male farmers as compared to female farmers. The study concludes that female farmers were not prone to financial and marketing risks which implied that financial availability and marketing opportunities are still scarce to empower women in the vegetable sector. The study recommends implementation of policies that will help in minimizing the gravity of financial risks that affect both male and female farmers. Policies that are tailor-made to address gender specific financial constraints, more so in the informal sector, should be implemented in order to promote access to affordable financial support. Additionally, female empowerment programs should be implemented in order to increase their participation in domestic and high value markets.
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    Land Use Change and Determinants of Agricultural Land Conversion Due to Urbanization: Case of Smallholder Farmers in Njoro Sub-County, Kenya
    (IISTE Juornals, 2018) Muleke, Price Amanya; Ayuya, Oscar I.; Mutai, Benjamin K.
    Urbanization process stands out amongst the most imperative drivers of financial, physical and societal change. However, the drivers of agricultural land conversion due to urbanization in Africa specifically, Njoro Sub-County in Kenya are still not clear. This paper looks at the factors impacting decision to convert land used for agricultural purposes and the degree of conversion to non-agricultural purposes. Data for this study was collected from 384 randomly selected smallholder farmers, by the use of semi-structured questionnaires and key witness interviews. The study employed Craggit (Double-Hurdle Model) to examine the drivers of conversion and analyze the amount of land converted. The results from the study show that decision to convert and extent of land conversion were influenced by; age, gender, education, productive farm assets, distance to town, tenure system, risk attitude, soil fertility and land rented out. The study concluded that despite the threat urbanization has on food security, much of peri-urban agricultural land is still being converted to non-agrarian purposes. This study recommends coherent policies that take into account farmer socio-economic and bio-physical characteristics that could stimulate behavioral change towards land conversion. This could be complemented by adopting strategies that align all shareholders from different segments of the economy, provide secure rights to land and incentivize solutions for sustainable agriculture by making agribusiness more competitive.