Faculty of Agriculture

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Effects of agripreneurial orientation on growth of cassava-based small and medium enterprises in Migori county,Kenya
(Egerton University, 2022-06) Matayo, Sambrumo Gad
Agripreneurial orientation and behaviour are the constructs that can potentially enhance entrepreneurs’ optimal outcomes. This is because it is a way of enabling them to be proactive, innovative, risk takers, autonomous as well as aggressive. Despite the Kenyan government promoting and creating opportunities for entrepreneurial development in agricultural sector, cassava producers in Migori County are yet to be entrepreneurially oriented towards income generation and growth of cassava-based enterprises. lt is unclear about innovation, value addition and diversiﬁcation of cassava products by agripreneurs in Migori County. This study generally aimed at contributing to the development of cassava- based agri-enterprises through agripreneurial orientation in Migori County. Speciﬁcally, it sought to characterise cassava-based enterprises in Migori County. detennine internal and external environmental factors inﬂuencing agripreneurial orientation constructs among cassava based agro-processors in Migori County and ultimately assessing the inﬂuence of agripreneurial orientation constructs on growth of cassava-based Small and Medium Enterprises in Migori County. A cross sectional survey comprising of 171 cassava entrepreneurs from Migori County within Suna East and Uriri Sub-Counties in Kenya was conducted during months of July-August 2019. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and subjected to analysis using descriptive statistics and ordered Logit and Probit models. The study revealed that the respondents were middle aged (43 years). majority were female (78.4 %.), had reached fomial education (52%), average age of enterprises was lOyears and average quantity of cassava traded per week of 29 Kg, average number of workers employed of 2 persons while the average distance to the market being 3Km. Agripreneurial orientation is mainly inﬂuenced by years of experience of the owner of enterprise, number of employees operating an enterprise, land size under cassava, quantity of cassava sold on daily basis. Gender, number of trained employees and age of the enterprise are the least determinants inﬂuencing agripreneurial orientation. Agripreneurial orientation was statistically signiﬁcant at (P<0.05) on growth of CBSMES. This study concludes that years of experience of the owner of enterprise, number of employees operating an enterprise. land size under cassava, quantity of cassava sold on daily basis among the respondents inﬂuence growth of cassava based small and medium enterprises in Migori county. This study recommends that the government should empower cassava based agripreneurs through training, trade fairs and capacity building to change the mind set of the agriprenurs while poviding incentives in venturing into cassava for the growth of the agrienterprises as well as individual growth. \‘i
Quality Characteristics of Fruit Jams and Marmalades Containing Gum Arabic from Acacia Senegal Var. Kerensis
(Egerton University, 2020-10) Imbahale, Ruth Kavaya
Jams and marmalades are some of the most popular fruit products because of their relatively low cost, all year long availability and appealing sensory properties. These products are described as gels with pectin as the gelling agent used in its formulation. Gels are a fonn of matter intermediate between a solid and liquid consisting of polymeric molecules cross-linked to form tangles. Under mechanical stress, pectin gels may be damaged leading to the release of colloidal water termed as syneresis. This study was aimed at solving the challenge of syneresis by integrating pectin with gum arabic. Gum arabic from Acacia senegal var. kerensis was added in the range of l-5% as an additive in the fruit spreads. Different fruits were used to make the jam (red Plums and Pineapples) and marmalade (Orange and Lemon) with gum Arabic (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%). Jam and marmalade without any gum Arabic was also prepared as a control in the study. Proximate composition and Microbial analysis were carried out using approved AOAC methods whereas sensory evaluation was carried out using a semi trained panel. Syneresis was measured using centrifugation method. Results for microbial analyses indicated that the products were safe for consumption having no detectable growths for TVC, TCC and yeast and moulds. From the study, gum arabic has no signiﬁcant effect at p<0.05 level of signiﬁcance on the microbial safety as well as the proximate composition of the formulated jam and marmalade. The attributes analyzed in sensory evaluation included taste, texture, spreadability, aroma, ﬂavour, colour and general acceptability. The jams and orange marmalade with 5% gum arabic inclusion level performed best in terms of the general acceptability. Lemon rnannalade was most preferred for general acceptability at 4% level of gum arabic inclusion. Viscosity was analysed on the jam and marmalade with results indicating shear thinning for the formulated products. From this study, gum Arabic which was meant to reduce the level of syneresis played a role on the texture of the product as the concentrations of gum changed. Gum arabic reduced syneresis in the fruit spreads. This is the ﬁrst report on preparations of jams and marmalades with reduced syneresis due to the utilisation of gum arabic from Acacia senegal var. kerensis. vi
Preferences for and Exposure to Climate Resilient Potato Varieties : Case of Smallholder Farmers in Meru County, Kenya
(Egerton University, 2021-05) Mukami, Sally Kimathi
Production of Potato (Solanum tuberosum. L) has been declining over the years in Sub- Saharan Africa (SSA) due to climate change and variability. This has resulted to low food supply and low income among smallholder farmers exacerbating levels of food and nutrition insecurity and poverty. Climate Resilient Potato Varieties (CRPVs) are said to have the potential to address this problem by increasing the resilience of farmers to climate variability. However, previous studies show that uptake of these varieties is still signiﬁcantly low. This study sought to contribute to enhanced farmers’ resilience to climate variability through increased adoption of CRPVs. Multistage sampling technique was used to sample 384 farmers from Meru County. Focus group discussions and structured questionnaires through household survey were used to collect primary data. Chi-square was used to compare adaptation practices across different agro-ecological zones. Average" Treatment Effect framework was used to determine true population adoption rates and factors affecting exposure to and adoption of CRPVs. To estimate preferences and willingness to pay for CRPV attributes, a discrete choice experiment was conducted and Mixed Iogit model was used for analysis. SAS, SPSS and STATA softwares were used for designing choice cards, data processing and data analysis respectively. Results revealed that the main adaptation practices among potato farmers in Meru County were irrigation, intercropping, crop rotation, soil conservation, use of organic fertilizers and use of CRPVs. Farmers from Abogeta West and Abothuguchi West were more adapted to climate variability than farmers from Kiirua/Naari and Kibirichia wards. Results further revealed that the main factors inﬂuencing exposure to CRPVs positively were education, training and access to credit. Access to information, access to quality seeds, training, group membership and variations in agro- ecological zones were the main factors affecting adoption. The actual population CRPVs adoption rate was 6.3% whereas the potential adoption rate was 30.7% revealing an adoption gap of 24.4% due to partial exposure. Resistant to pests and diseases was the most preferred trait indicated by the high value of willingness to pay. To improve adoption rates for CRPVs, more effort should put in exposing farmers to CRPVs. Finally, breeding programs should also focus in developing potato varieties that are highly resistant to pests and diseases, are high yielding, have low water requirements and short maturation period of less than three months as they are preferred most by farmers for adaptability to climate variability.
Prediction of Indigenous Chicken Genomic Breeding Values and Performance using Machine Learning
(Egerton University, 2020-07) Sumukwo, Chesang
Genomic selection (GS) is a new breeding strategy that is rapidly becoming the method of choice of selection. It predicts the phenotypes of quantitative traits based on genome-wide markers of genotypes using conventional predictive models. However. these conventional predictive models are faced with a statistical challenge related to high dimensionality of marker data and typically make strong assumptions related to linear regression analysis. They also do not capture the complex, non-linear relationships Within genotypes and between genotypes and phenotypes. Machine learning has been reported to be a promising tool, which accounts for these shortcomings. This study aimed at detemiining the adoption of machine leaming in genomic prediction and performance estimation of indigenous chicken (IC). To compare predictive ability of genomic models, DeepGS, ridge-regression best linear unbiased prediction (RR-BLUP), Ensemble and artiﬁcial neural network (ANN) models were adopted in predicting body weight (BW) of IC based on genome-wide markers. The Pearson correlation coefﬁcient (PCC) results for the four models were 0.891, 0.889, 0.892 and 0.812 respectively. All models were not signiﬁcant difference (p>0.05) from each other, therefore, all the four models can be used in complement. For perfonnance prediction, mean normalized discounted cumulative gain value (MNDCGV) were adopted. The MNDCGV results showed that the accuracy of genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) estimated using DeepGS RR-BLUP and Ensemble were 0.75~0.78, 0.66~O.76 and O.76~0.79 respectively. Thus, the Ensemble and DeepGS model outperformed the RR-BLUP model by a signiﬁcant margin (P<0.05), therefore they can be used as a supplement to RR-BLUP. To evaluate the extent of non-linearity among explanatory variables within genotypes and between genotypes and phenotypes, a multilayer perceptron ANN was adopted. Mean absolute error (MAE) and PCC were used to measure the ANN perfonnance. The results showed that the neural network with one hidden layer containing 10 neurons yielded high PCC value of 0.86 and MSE of 2.98E-3. Further increase of network dimension to 16 and 32 neurons the performance decreased to 0.67 and 0.27 for PCC and MAE increased to 7.73E-2 and 7.60E-2 respectively. Thus, model with 10 neurons is enough to handle non-linearity of data set thus chosen as the best non- linear model. This study concludes that DeepGS, Ensemble, RR-BLUP and ANN models can be used interchangeably in making phenotypic predictions, also the Ensemble and DeepGS model are appropriate in phenotypic ranking of individuals. vi
Potential Demand Estimation of East Coast Fever Vaccines in Makuyu Division, Kenya - An Application of Contingent Valuation and Conjoint Analysis
(Egerton University, 2002-04) Ngugi, Isaac Komo
East Coast fever (ECF) is considered the most important livestock disease in Eastern Africa and makes producers unable to realize the potential beneﬁt from the sub-sector. Use of vaccines could effectively control the disease. Given the anticipated beneﬁts of ECF vaccines, this study has assessed their potential demand among farmers from Makuyu Division in Central Province of Kenya. This was achieved through estimation of willingness and ability to pay (WATP) and analysis of farmer preferences. The Contingent Valuation (CV) method and double-bounded logit model were employed to elicit and model WATP, while conjoint analysis was used in decomposing farmer preferences regarding the vaccine to purchase. The estimated WATP for sub-unit was slightly higher than that of the other vaccine, infection and treatment method (ITM). Price was identiﬁed as a factor statistically inﬂuencing demand for the vaccines at 95% conﬁdence level. The contribution of vaccine- attributes to purchase decision in order of decreasing importance were; effectiveness, frequency of administration, reactors and price, hence the need to give priority to non-price factors when designing an ECF vaccine. Ill
Efficacy of Gibberellic Acid in Controlling Pathological Decay and Maintaining Post-Harvets Quality of Passion Fruits (Passiflora edulis var. edulis sims.)
(Egerton University, 2001) Mwangi, George Ngugi
Pathogens cause deterioration of passion ﬁuits and resist pesticides applied post-harvest to control them. Pesticides, unlike most plant growth regulators, may pose a health hazard to consumers. This research aimed at determining the effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) and timing of application on the post-harvest quality of passion fruits inoculated with Penicillium expansum and stored in a room maintained at 17 to 22° C and over 85 % relative humidity for 48 hours. Fruits were sprayed with 0, 50, 100, or 250 ppm GA;, packed in clear polythene bags and kept at room temperature. Repeated data were recorded at 2- days interval for 20 days post-treatment. Early application of GA; signiﬁcantly maintained soluble solids, colour, ﬁmmess, chlorophyll, and weight, and slowed disease incidence and severity, fruit loss, and ethylene evolution. Application of GA; at 0 days post-harvest (dph) was more effective in delaying deterioration than application at 5, 10, or 15 dph. Gibberellic acid signiﬁcantly inhibited disease incidence, fruit loss, and ethylene evolution frequently, whereas it signiﬁcantly affected colom, soluble solids, chlorophyll, and ﬁrmness occasionally. Weight and disease severity were least aﬂected by GA;. The effects of 50, 100, and 250 ppm GA; were similar, but greater than of 0 ppm GA;. In a related experiment, passion fruits were stored for 0, 5, 10, or 15 dph before fungi were isolated on a potato dextrose agar medium to determine the effect of storage time on prevalence. P. expansum, F usarium oxysporum, Alternaria passiﬂorae, Seploria sp., Cladusparium sp., Aspergillusﬂavus, and Rhizopus stolonifer were isolated. Prevalence increased with storage time. This research revealed that passion fruits should be treated with preservatives soon after harvest, because delaying renders the ﬁ'uits susceptible to post-harvest pathogens. lll
Performance of Exotic Chicken Fed Insect-Based Diets: Effect on Laying Capacity, Egg Characteristics and Economic Returns
(Egerton University, 2021-10) Khayanga, Esther Sumbule
Increasing demand for soybean meal and fishmeal for use in fonnulating animal feeds has led to increased prices and moreover their availability in future might be limited. Insect rearing can be part of the solution because they take a short period to mature, require small space and fewer resources to start. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of substituting ﬁshmeal (FM) with black soldier ﬂy larvae (BSFLM) at different inclusion levels, as a protein source in exotic chick, grower, and layers diets. The following parameters were measured, weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), laying percentage, egg characteristics and economic implication. A total of 250-day old Isa Brown layer birds were used for this experimental trial that ran for 45 weeks. Diets were formulated based on ﬁve different inclusion levels of BSFLM to replace FM (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). Chicks were randomly distributed into ﬁve treatments each with ﬁve birds per replicate and nine replications, while a total of seventy ﬁve (75) layer hens were randomly placed in different cages each with 5 hens replicated 3 times and offered ﬁve different treatments. Data on weight gain, feed intake, egg characteristics, laying percentage, FCR and economic implication were analyzed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SAS version 9.00 (2002) with completely randomized design (CRD) model. The signiﬁcance between treatment means was tested at statistical signiﬁcance level of 5% and separated using Tukey’s test. The results showed that most parameters were signiﬁcantly (P<0.00l) different in chick’s experiment. However, there were no signiﬁcant (P>0.05) difference recorded for grower birds’ parameters. The study also demonstrated that laying capacity was signiﬁcantly (P<0.00l) different while egg characteristic was not signiﬁcantly (P>0.05) different. Conventional layers diet (Tl) was most expensive (Kes 45/kg) while T5 was the cheapest (Kes 42/kg). In conclusion, high performance can be achieved at lower inclusion levels of BSFLM up to 50% in chicks’ diet and up to 75% in grower birds and layer hens’ diets. Thus, BSFL is a suitable alternative to FM in exotic birds’ diet. vi
Participation of Smallholder Avocado Farmers in Contract Farming and its Effects on Income in Kandara District, Kenya
(Egerton University, 2013-10) Maiwa, Mercy Mwambi
Contract fanning is seen by its proponents as a tool for creating new market opportunities as well as for providing credit and training, leading to increased smallholder farmers’ incomes. Critics, however, argue that contract farming encourages unequal bargaining relationships with agribusiness ﬁrms and is likely to pass risks to famiers, thus favouring large scale farmers at the expense of smallholders. Another school of thought contends that the effect of contract farming on the livelihoods of smallholder famiers is context speciﬁc and depends on the enterprise in question. Yet, there is a dearth of empirical evidence from such studies in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study used data collected in 2012 from 100 smallholder avocado farmers in Kandara district in Kenya, obtained using multistage technique, to determine the socioeconomic attributes of contract and non-contract fanners. To control for unobservable characteristics that might affect pariciation, Heckman two stage model was used to assess the factors that inﬂuence smallholder avocado famiers' participation and their extent of participation in contract fanning. Further, because of lack of pre-treatment data and the possibility of selection bias due to observable characteristics, propensity score matching technique was used to construct controls for the treatment group. The results indicated that contract and non-contract famiers had signiﬁcant differences in gender. access to credit and education. Further, smallholder avocado farmers’ membership in agricultural group. access to credit, number of trees, proximity to a leader in Avocado Growers Association of Kenya (AGAK), perception of price of avocado offered under contract and perception of the ability of contracts to offer ready market were signiﬁcant in inﬂuencing households‘ decision to participate in contract farming. Findings also showed that contract fanning does not improve smallholder farmers‘ income. Instead, support services such as interlinked credit and provision of information should also be taken into consideration in contract farming because of their potential benefits for smallholders. vi
The perception of Egerton university agricultural education graduates on the relevance of their pre-service training to their job performance: A case study of Nakuru district, Kenya
(Egerton University, 2004-04) Mkang'ombe, Janet J
Egerton University is one the institutions that train Agriculture teachers in Kenya, through the tfsgramme of Agriculture Education and Extension. Such an exercise is, therefore, necessary to ezchers for teaching agriculture in secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to Lerermine the relevance of the B.Sc. Agricultural Education and Extension Pre-service Training Fagramme to Job Performance of the graduates from Egerton University. An ex post facto esearch design was used. A sample size of l lO agriculture education graduates was to be used in ‘e study, which was selected using multistage cluster sampling procedures from four divisions riong 15 administrative divisions of Nakuru District. These graduate teachers were to be Eected from 55 secondary schools distributed in four administrative divisions. However, only F Ieachers were found to meet the Agriculture Teacher characteristic, out of which only l l were . ed The researcher used questionnaires and observation schedules, as the key data collection ifs The questionnaire was pre-tested in ll schools found in Mombasa, Kiliﬁ and Kwale 1 siflcts of Coast Province. The questionnaire was self- administered. Observations were made :_.".ng the ﬁrst or second visit to the schools. The collected data and information was analyzed _: ".5 descriptive statistics. Findings of the study indicated a lack of balance between agriculture J ; biology in the training programme, which was said to be inclined more towards agriculture " ;: biology. Some courses were deemed irrelevant towards teaching of agriculture and biology ' secondary schools. Areas of importance such as PHV/AIDS were found wanting in the " gtzrnme. Thus, it was recommended that the whole curriculum of the training programme be : ed in line with the ﬁndings. \'1 —.
Effects of Stinging Nettle, African Spider Plant and Chilli Extracts on two Spotted Spider Mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) Population and Damage on roses
(Egerton University, 2015-05) Kapsoot, Esther Chebet
Characterization of mating systems in tea (camellia Sinensis (L.) O Kuntze)
(Egerton University, 2007-04) Chalo, Richard Muoki
Characterization and combining ability among selected soybean cultivars
(Egerton University, 2003) Okwiri, Pascal Ojwang
Antifungal activities of essential plant oils on mycotoxigenic moulds isolated from maize in selected areas of Western Kenya.
(Egerton University, 2012) Nelima, Jannet Nyukuri
An Economic Evaluation of irish potato research technologies
(Egerton University, 1998) Muruiki, Muthoni
An Household of urban household food demand in Nairobi, Kenya
(Egerton University, 2008) Musyoka, Phillip Michael
Adaptation of rainfall-runoff models for runoff simulations in the humid zones of Kenya
(Egerton University, 2004) Olang' Luke, Omondi
Distribution and use of Varietal Resistance and Pesticide in the Control of Red Spider Mite (Tetranychus evansi (Baker and Pritchard) in Tomato...
(Egerton University, 2013-04) Matika, Samuel Musa
Analysis of the Carrot Value Chain and Determinants of Outlet Choices by Smallholder Farmers in Nakuru County, Kenya
(Egerton University, 2024-09) Ng’eno, Hillary Kiprotich
Smallholder farmers had limited access to relevant market information for their farm produce, especially those from rural areas who entirely depended on rain-fed agricultural activities for their livelihoods. Specifically, smallholder carrot farmers were faced with numerous decisions in the allocation of available scarce resources, especially when dealing with several market failures and competitiveness bottlenecks that limited their productivity. Additionally, the supply of carrots in various market outlets in Kenya did not match the demand, yet they fetched a higher premium in formal market outlets. Thus, efforts to increase market participation among carrot producers had great potential to lift them to an overall better household income level. This study aimed to analyse the carrot value chain in Nakuru County with the specific objectives of understanding the available carrot market outlets/channels, gross margins along different market outlets/channels, as well as the main conditioning factors towards the development of a vibrant carrot value chain in a holistic manner. A multi-stage sampling method was employed to obtain a representative sample of 195 carrot farmers and 30 traders, and a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data through face-to-face interviews. Data collected were analysed using an Excel spreadsheet, SPSS, and STATA software. Accordingly, this study used a gross margin analysis, double hurdle model, and a multinomial logit model, and the results showed that more than two-thirds (81%) of the sampled carrot-producing households in Nakuru County marketed their produce (market participants). They sold their produce at the farm gate (29.94%), cleaning point (25.48%), local market (21.02%), external market (15.92%), and export market (7.64%). The carrots in the study area were mainly purchased by aggregators (33.76%), brokers (27.39%), wholesalers (18.47%), retailers (15.92%), and consumers (4.46%), particularly at the farm level. The gross margin analysis results indicated that carrot producers recorded positive average gross margins ranging from KES 44,800 to KES 113,200 per acre in the five market outlets. The results further suggested that gender, age, market distance, land size, experience, land size under carrots, household size, and distance to the cleaning point were important factors conditioning the household decision to choose a specific carrot market outlet, as well as the level/intensity of market participation. These findings imply that policymakers and other stakeholders should promote the reduction of several carrot market failures as well as competitiveness bottlenecks and support farmers to access credit and appropriate market information regarding demand and prices on various market outlets.
Effect of stinging nettle, African Spider plant and chilli extracts on two spotted spider mite (tetranychus urticae koch) population and damage on roses
(Egerton University, 2015-05) Kapsoot, Esther Chebet
Tetranychus urricae Koch. is a major pest of cut rose ﬂowers and causes high losses if not controlled effectively on time. Laboratory trials were conducted to evaluate and validate the repellent and toxic properties of three local plants Cleome gynandra (capparaceae), Urtica dioica (urticaceae) and Capsicum ﬁwrescence (solanaceae) against the two spotted spider mite T erranychus urticae Koch (Acari; T erranychidae) on rose ﬂowers grown under greenhouse. 100g of each plant extracts was constituted in methanol and distilled water separately and rose leaves at 3 leaﬂet stage were immersed in it. Ten TI urticae mites were introduced onto the treated leaves and observations on repellence and mortality of mites was recorded. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design with nine treatments replicated three times. Methanol was found to be the most effective solvent and Cleome gynandra, Urtica dioica and Capsicum frutercence methanoic extracts identiﬁed and recommended for further evaluation in the ﬁeld trials for repellence and eﬂicacy eﬁects on the yield and quality of out rose ﬂowers. Results showed that these extracts from methanol were effective against T. urticae with the number of mites repelled signiﬁcantly higher at P5005. Cleome gynandra methanol extract, Capsicum frutescence methanol extract and Urtica dioica methanol extract were the most effective repellents in descending order. Signiﬁcance of the treatments was more evident with exposure time. The crude extracts on the ﬁrst day had moderate repellance in the second hour and higher repellence was found on the third and fourth hours after exposure. However, the observations also showed that plant extracts have a slow mortality effect on the two spotted spider mites over the six days period compared to Polytrin miticide which attained approximately 70% kill on the ﬁrst day to sixth day. The powders were slow acting achieving up to 80% kill on the 6th day as observed in Cleome gynandra methanol extract. The three test plants have repellence and mortality effects which may be used as there is considerable acaricidal activity of C. gynandra, C. frutescence and U. dioica on T. urticae. Their use against the two spotted spider mites signiﬁcantly reduced the population of mites on rose leaves within a period of six days. However, the level of mortality and repellence was dependent upon the period of exposure to the crude plant extracts. The potential beneﬁts of methanoic plant volatile extraction in the control of mites in rose grown for export markets is evident
Farmers participation and perfomance analysis on grain warehouse receipts system in Nakuru District, Kenya
(Egerton University, 2014-01) Mutai, Julius Kiplangat
Although maize performs well compared with other grains and legumes in Eastern and South there are challenges in production, post harvest handling and marketing of the maize produce. Majority of farmers sell the maize produce soon after harvest realizing low prices. As £1 effort to mitigate the challenge, the Govemment together with other development partners introduced Grain Warehouse Receipt System (GWRS) under Kenya maize development programme (KMDP). However, the success of the system is yet to be achieved hence the need to be re-examined. This study therefore analyzed level of awareness and factors that inﬂuence farmers’ participation in Grain Warehouse Receipt System (GWRS). A multistage sampling technique was adopted in the study with two divisions, Njoro and Gilgil purposely selected. Each of the divisions had 89 maize growing households randomly selected. The sample size thus became 178 households. Data on the socio-economic characteristics of respondents, post harvest costs and maize price movements were collected. Marginal rate of retum (MRR) was used to analyze economic benefits of the system and double hurdle model was used to analyze factors that determine farmers’ participation in the system and the extent of participation. The organizations that offered warehousing services were National cereals and produce board (NCPB) and Lesiolo grain handlers. On level of awareness of GWRS, 38.76% of the household heads were not aware of the existence of GWRS, 34.27% were aware but were not participating in Grain Warehouse Receipt System (GWRS) while 26.97% were aware and were participating in GWRS. Of the household heads that were aware, 4.27% perceived it as less important maize marketing strategy, 36.75% perceived it as important while 58.97% perceived it as very important. Gender and distance to warehouse negatively inﬂuenced farmers’ participation in the system while land size under maize production, off farm income, group membership positively inﬂuenced farmers’ participation in GWRS. Gender and distance to warehouse negatively influenced the extent of participation in GWRS while land size under maize production, group membership positively inﬂuenced the extent of participation. After carrying partial budget and marginal analysis, marketing maize under GWRS was the most proﬁtable compared to other post harvest trading options. The study recommends promotion of Grain Warehouse Receipt System, strengthening of farmer owned organizations, women empowerment in agricultural activities promotion of off farm income generating activities and grain driers and collection points made which Famwers access them.

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