Browsing by Author "Bett, Hillary K."

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Factors Influencing Crop Diversification Strategies among Smallholder Farmers in Cotton Production Zone in Mal
(Egerton University, 2018-05) Dembele, Bandiougou; Bett, Hillary K.; Kariuki, Isaac Maina; Le Bars, Marjorie; Ouko, Kevin O.
Smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) seek to improve their livelihood through diversification of crops, livestock production systems and non-farm activities. This study was conducted in the cotton growing areas in Mali, which constitutes the major agricultural production zone in Mali. This study examines crops diversification strategies and identifies the main factors that influence diversification strategies. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 134 selected randomly smallholder farmers in three villages drawn from different agro-ecological zones in Southern Mali. A multinomial logistics (MNL) regression model was used to estimate the main factors that determine diversification strategies of smallholder farmers. Results from MNL model revealed that the age of family head, education level, family size, oxen ownership, farm income per capita and crop pest significantly influenced families’ participation in the four diversification strategies. Policy interventions should be employed to encourage and promote profit-oriented activities through diversification strategies. Institutional interventions should be implemented to increase smallholder farmers access to inputs and both agricultural and non-agricultural credit.
Understanding the Multiple Sources Drivers of Agricultural Income amongst Smallholder Farmers in Southern Mali
(Review of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 2018) Dembele, Bandiougou; Bett, Hillary K.; Kariuki, Isaac Maina; Bars, Marjorie Le
Multiple sources of income are important strategies for reducing smallholder farmer liquidity constraints and over dependency on single income source. However, farmers in Southern Mali, especially Malian high agricultural potential region are still faced with liquidity constraints resulting from low income from cash crop (cotton) production. Therefore, this study was carried out to understand the factors that motivate farmers’ decision to engage in several income-generating activities. Cross-sectional data were collected from 134 randomly sampled smallholder farmers from three villages in different agro-ecological zones in Southern Mali. Multivariate probit (MVP) regression model was used to estimate the effect of socioeconomic and institutional factors on farmer participation in different sources of farm income. Correlation analysis showed that there is a significant correlation between the different income sources. Results from the econometric model revealed that the age of the family head determines the probability of farmers' participating in multiple sources of incomes, family size, dependency ratio, land tenure, education level, access to agricultural credit and extension services, cash crop income, off-farm income, input prices, agricultural output prices, and rural infrastructure. These results imply that policymakers and agricultural development programs should target strengthening of institutions as well as enhancement of farmers’ access to productive resources. Keywords: Drivers, Multiple sources, Income, Multivariate probit (MVP), Southern