Effects of Participation in Groups on Women Involvement in Agribusinesses in Njoro and Molo Sub-Counties in Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

The Kenyan government has been promoting participation in groups to enhance agricultural productivity through marketing and financial access to improve livelihoods. Groups have also been valued for their ability to foster social capital and collective actions. However, women's involvement in these groups has not been primarily focused on and taken seriously. Although previous researchers have clearly shown the importance of participation in groups, the effect of this participation on agribusiness involvement is still unknown. This study, therefore, intended to characterize women agri-preneurs, to determine the factors that influence women's participation in group and to determine the effects of women's participation in groups on involvement in different agribusinesses lines. The study was conducted in Njoro and Molo sub-counties in Nakuru County. A multistage sampling technique was employed to sample 267 female in agribusinesses, both group participants and non-participants. Pretested semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data. Data processing was done using STATA and SPSS software. Descriptive statistics characterized female agri-preneurs while Binary Logit Model determined factors influencing women's participation in groups. The standard Poisson regression model examined the effect of women participation in groups on their involvement in different product lines. This study helps policy makers to make necessary decisions in supporting female agri-preneurs and participation in groups, in Nakuru County in Kenya. Results revealed that savings as a source of fund, shows that 0.93 (or 93%) of non-participants (No) rely on savings, with a standard deviation of 0.26. This means that the proportion of non-participants relying on savings varies from 0.67 to 1.19. Similarly, 0.88 (or 88%) of participants (Yes) rely on savings, with a standard deviation of 0.32. There is a higher proportion of non-participants (0.93) than participants (0.88) who rely on savings as a source of funding. However, the difference is relatively small. Participants in a group are more likely to hold leadership positions (0.21) compared to non-participants (0.08). The major factors influencing participation in groups were size of agribusiness enterprise and loan access. Age, education level, leadership position, size of agribusiness enterprise, time taken in agribusiness activity and loan access were statistically significant in (P<.05) to the number of agribusiness product lines owned. The study recommends need for government support to involve women agri-preneurs in policy making in participation in groups, making it successful for most agribusinesses in Kenya.