Participation of Men and Women Non-Producer Actors in the Dairy Value Chain: A Case Study of Sirikwa Dairy Hub in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

Dairy farming has the potential to increase household income and improve food and nutrition security globally. Estimates from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) reveal that about 40% of smallholder farmers‘ income in Kenya can be attributed to dairy farming. Studies focusing on dairy farming and its entire value chain indicate that women and men participate across the nodes, although in varying capacities. While the presence of women at the production node of the dairy value chain is well-documented, it is generally on terms deemed different from and unequal to men‘s. There is an immense knowledge gap on the gender dynamics that influence men‘s and women‘s participation in dairy post-production activities. The main objective of the study was to assess participation of smallholder women and men non-producer actors in Kenya‘s dairy value chain with a focus on Sirikwa Dairy hub in Uasin Gishu County. A gender-based analysis of the non-producer actor categories within the dairy value chain is vital to gaining a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by both women and men, their perceptions and relationships, their participation in different actor categories, and the critical constraints that hinder full participation and, consequently, the competitiveness of smallholder male and female actors in the non-producer categories. The specific objectives were to identify the socio-economic factors influencing women‘s and men‘s participation as non-producer actors in the dairy value chain, to identify the sociocultural factors influencing women‘s and men‘s participation in the non-producer actor categories in the dairy value chain, and to identify the perceived benefits for women and men in the non-producer actor categories in the dairy value chain with a focus on Sirikwa dairy hub in Uasin Gishu County. The Gender, Agriculture and Assets framework was employed to identify the socio-economic and socio-cultural factors at play. The study and its pretest were conducted in Sirikwa dairy hub. It was purposively selected and 39 respondents were identified through snowballing. Of the 39 respondents, 30 were male respondents and 9 were female smallholder farmer respondents. Key informant interviews were used for data collection. In analyzing dominant themes on perception of women and men participation, NVIVO software was used. Women‘s limited agency and their triple role in the family were results that featured as negative shocks that adversely affected women‘s participation across the value chains. Male managers indicated that farmer organizations are predominantly male and there is a skewed preference for male candidates for managerial positions. The study provided policy recommendations that include incentivizing women to participate in non-traditional economic activities across the post-production nodes of the dairy value chain through more targeted approaches by various stakeholders in the post-production nodes of the dairy value chain