Browsing by Author "Kariuki, Isaac Maina"

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Determinants of gender differences in household food security perceptions in the Western and Eastern regions of Kenya
(Taylor & Francis, 2015) Lutomia, Cosmas Kweyu; Obare, Gideon A.; Kariuki, Isaac Maina; Muricho, Geoffrey Simiyu
In addition to Intra-household resource allocations and internal dynamics of decision-making, gendered perceptions on household food security play a critical role in households’ nutritional status, especially in developing coun- tries. However, evidence on the role of gender-based perceptions on households’ food security and related implications on the households’ nutritional status is limited. This study examines the determinants of gender-disaggregated household food security perceptions among smallholder farming households. We used two panels of data from households in eastern and western Kenya and employ the House hold Food Insecurity Access Scale to measure perceptions of household food insecurity, and the random effects generalized ordered probit model to evaluate the determinants of security perceptions across gender. The results reveal that the factors that influence food security perceptions vary across gender. The education level of household head and the number of relatives were negatively associated with female perceptions of household food insecurity, whereas the household dependency ratio was positively associated with female perceptions of household food insecurity. In contrast, age and gender of household head were positively
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.
Supply and demand responsiveness to maize price changes in Kenya: An application of error correction autoregressive distributed lag approach
(Cogent Food & Agriculture, 2021-07-15) Abodi, Maurine Adhiambo; Obare, Gideon Aiko; Kariuki, Isaac Maina
Whereas maize is a primary staple food in Kenya, production volumes have not kept pace with local demand and consumption over time. This has constrained the achievement of the Kenyan government’s stated objective of food access, diversity, and nutritional status. Using secondary data from FAOSTAT from 1963 to 2016 and applying the error correction version of the autoregressive distributed lag model, we estimate Kenya’s maize subsector’s price supply and demand responsiveness. We find that maize supply responds significantly to producer price, the area under maize cultivation, and fertilizer use both in the short and long run. However, the supply elasticity of maize with respect to producer price is inelastic, suggesting that maize supply does not respond well to price incentives. On the demand side, we find that maize demand significantly responds to the production and price of substitutes both in the short and long run. The findings suggest that support price is a necessary but not sufficient condition for improving maize productivity, food security, and income for maize consumers and producers. Therefore, there is a need for enhanced efficient and effective use of the land resource through productivity-enhancing inputs, considering that land expansion is a limited option.
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