Irish potato production in Kenya has been on the decline, yet this crop is a major staple and a s... more Irish potato production in Kenya has been on the decline, yet this crop is a major staple and a source of cash from sales. Using a random sample of 127 smallholder farmers in Nyandarua North district this paper applied a dual stochastic efficiency decomposition technique and a two- limit Tobit model, after disaggregating economic efficiency components using a dual stochastic frontier function, to analyze resource allocative efficiency in Irish potato production. This is in view of the unclear determinants of declining potato production trends in Kenya and considering that the Irish potato is a major staple and cash crop. The paper establishes that Irish potato production in Nyandarua North district is characterized by decreasing returns to scale with a mean allocative efficiency of 0.57. It was further established that farming experience, access to extension and credit, and membership in a farmers’ association positively and significantly influenced allocative efficiency. Implicatio...
The CGIAR Systemwide Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) is an initiative of... more The CGIAR Systemwide Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) is an initiative of the 15 centers that
The push-pull technology (PPT) has widely been disseminated to control stemborer (Chilo partellus... more The push-pull technology (PPT) has widely been disseminated to control stemborer (Chilo partellus and Busseola fusca) and Striga weeds (Striga hermonthica and Striga asiatica) in maize fields in Kenya. This study examined farmers’ preferences for various dissemination pathways in order to proffer better targeting of resources in an optimal dissemination strategy. The pathways considered were public meetings (barazas), radio, farmer field schools (FFS), field days (FD), farmer teachers (FT), the fellow farmers (FF) and print materials. Using a weighted score index and ordered probit regression, the different pathways were sequentially ranked as FD, FT, FFS, FF, print materials, Radio, and barazas. Marginal effects from ordered probit showed that farmers had the least preferences for baraza and radio pathways. The farmer categories with the highest preference for particular pathways were: less educated farmers for FD, farmers with small land sizes for FT, farmers belonging to groups f...
Market transactions in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are usually small, because the mar... more Market transactions in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are usually small, because the markets are thin and point-to-point transportation of commodities is difficult. The prices offered are not competitive and volumes traded are usually season dependent. Where market infrastructure is weak and under-developed, liberalization and structural adjustment policies have not been able to improve market access; and the private sector has failed to make the investments needed for proper and effective market coordination.
The Adoption Pathways project was part of a portfolio of projects that has contributed to the bro... more The Adoption Pathways project was part of a portfolio of projects that has contributed to the broader theme of sustainable intensification research led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and made possible by the contribution of several teams from national and international research groups brought together by funding from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The project was undertaken in the five Eastern and Southern African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. 1. Gender disaggregated three wave panel data set (2010/11, 2013), building on a legacy dataset collected under a related ACIAR funded project (SIMLESA) is now being developed covering close to 3500 households in each data wave across the five project countries. The 2015/16 data will be available in due course. 2. Several empirical evaluations of the gender gaps in technology adoption, food security and market access have been completed a...
The main challenge with respect to water in the rural setting, lies in access, control and manage... more The main challenge with respect to water in the rural setting, lies in access, control and management. Collective action has been taken up following the International Water Management (IWM) princip...
Increasing evidence suggests that social capital can facilitate the diffusion of innovations thro... more Increasing evidence suggests that social capital can facilitate the diffusion of innovations through increased inter-relations among individuals and subsequently influencing technology adoption. In this study, the role of social capital generated through FFS and CIG group-based farmers training approaches in the adoption of IPM technology was investigated. Data were collected from 487 farmers in Central and Eastern provinces of Kenya. Principal component analysis and logit model were used to assess the role of social capital in IPM technology adoption. Social capital index, IPM knowledge sharing, distance to extension services, wealth status of the farmer, household literacy and household size were found to influence farmer’s adoption decisions. This paper also highlights the positive and significant contribution of social capital generated through group membership in IPM technology adoption. It is, therefore, important that development organizations encourage formation of farmer gr...
Based on the data collected during the reconnaissance survey, a total of five districts were sele... more Based on the data collected during the reconnaissance survey, a total of five districts were selected for the baseline survey. Two districts were from western Kenya region (Bungoma and Siaya) and three districts from eastern Kenya region (Embu, Meru South and Imenti South). A total of 600 households were targeted for this survey (300 in each region). In western Kenya, each district was allocated 150 households. Similarly, in eastern Kenya, each district was allocated 100 households. Efforts were made to ensure representativeness of the sample depending on the population of the study areas. Proportionate random sampling was designed to select divisions from each district, locations from each division (see survey summary document on main project page), villages from each sub-location, and households from each village. The survey villages were randomly picked from the list prepared for each division in each district. Finally, the number of households to be surveyed in each village was ...
Results of an evaluation of the impact of agricultural science and technology (AS and T) policy s... more Results of an evaluation of the impact of agricultural science and technology (AS and T) policy system institutions on efficiency and technical change in Kenyan and Ugandan agriculture are presented here. Data envelopment analysis was used to derive efficiency and technical change and logistic regression applied to delineate AS and T institutions that induced efficiency and technical progress. Technical progress was positively influenced by transboundary technology transfer, decentralization of extension services, thematic agricultural research and the literacy rate of the agricultural labour force. The intellectual property rights regulatory system negatively impacted on technical progress. On the other hand, efficiency progress was supported by the enactment of a regulatory framework for intellectual property rights system, but negatively influenced by transboundary technology transfer and decentralization of extension services.
Estimating pastoralists’ willingness to pay for artificial Insemination in Arid and Semi -Arid Lands in Kenya, 2018
Effective promotion of artificial insemination (AI) by private providers in pastoral areas requir... more Effective promotion of artificial insemination (AI) by private providers in pastoral areas requires stakeholders’ opinion in shaping the direction of their adoption. A structured questionnaire was administered to 384 pastoralists in Kajiado and Narok counties, Kenya to elicit data on willingness to pay for AI services. Double bounded contingent valuation methodology was adapted in computing their willingness to pay for AI services. Results revealed that 90% of farmers were aware of AI of which 51.7 and 50.5% were willing to pay for the services in Kajiado and Narok counties respectively, for an average of Kenya Shillings 1, 853, reflecting a premium of 23.6% placed on AI by pastoralists with reference to the base price of Kenya Shillings (KES) 1,500 offered for exotic breeds in Kenyan highlands. Awareness, herd size and access to extension services significantly increase farmers’ willingness to pay unlike farm income. The study recommends utilization of existing extension networks o...
ONE-AND-ONE-HALF-BOUND DICHOTOMOUS CHOICE CONTINGENT VALUATION ... valuation question: the second... more ONE-AND-ONE-HALF-BOUND DICHOTOMOUS CHOICE CONTINGENT VALUATION ... valuation question: the second question will be appropriate half the time, on average, but not the rest of the time. Hence, we refer to this as the one-and-one-half-bound (OOHB) format. ...
Irish potato production in Kenya has been on the decline, yet this crop is a major staple and a s... more Irish potato production in Kenya has been on the decline, yet this crop is a major staple and a source of cash from sales. Using a random sample of 127 smallholder farmers in Nyandarua North district this paper applied a dual stochastic efficiency decomposition technique and a two- limit Tobit model, after disaggregating economic efficiency components using a dual stochastic frontier function, to analyze resource allocative efficiency in Irish potato production. This is in view of the unclear determinants of declining potato production trends in Kenya and considering that the Irish potato is a major staple and cash crop. The paper establishes that Irish potato production in Nyandarua North district is characterized by decreasing returns to scale with a mean allocative efficiency of 0.57. It was further established that farming experience, access to extension and credit, and membership in a farmers’ association positively and significantly influenced allocative efficiency. Implicatio...
The CGIAR Systemwide Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) is an initiative of... more The CGIAR Systemwide Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) is an initiative of the 15 centers that
The push-pull technology (PPT) has widely been disseminated to control stemborer (Chilo partellus... more The push-pull technology (PPT) has widely been disseminated to control stemborer (Chilo partellus and Busseola fusca) and Striga weeds (Striga hermonthica and Striga asiatica) in maize fields in Kenya. This study examined farmers’ preferences for various dissemination pathways in order to proffer better targeting of resources in an optimal dissemination strategy. The pathways considered were public meetings (barazas), radio, farmer field schools (FFS), field days (FD), farmer teachers (FT), the fellow farmers (FF) and print materials. Using a weighted score index and ordered probit regression, the different pathways were sequentially ranked as FD, FT, FFS, FF, print materials, Radio, and barazas. Marginal effects from ordered probit showed that farmers had the least preferences for baraza and radio pathways. The farmer categories with the highest preference for particular pathways were: less educated farmers for FD, farmers with small land sizes for FT, farmers belonging to groups f...
Market transactions in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are usually small, because the mar... more Market transactions in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are usually small, because the markets are thin and point-to-point transportation of commodities is difficult. The prices offered are not competitive and volumes traded are usually season dependent. Where market infrastructure is weak and under-developed, liberalization and structural adjustment policies have not been able to improve market access; and the private sector has failed to make the investments needed for proper and effective market coordination.
The Adoption Pathways project was part of a portfolio of projects that has contributed to the bro... more The Adoption Pathways project was part of a portfolio of projects that has contributed to the broader theme of sustainable intensification research led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and made possible by the contribution of several teams from national and international research groups brought together by funding from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The project was undertaken in the five Eastern and Southern African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. 1. Gender disaggregated three wave panel data set (2010/11, 2013), building on a legacy dataset collected under a related ACIAR funded project (SIMLESA) is now being developed covering close to 3500 households in each data wave across the five project countries. The 2015/16 data will be available in due course. 2. Several empirical evaluations of the gender gaps in technology adoption, food security and market access have been completed a...
The main challenge with respect to water in the rural setting, lies in access, control and manage... more The main challenge with respect to water in the rural setting, lies in access, control and management. Collective action has been taken up following the International Water Management (IWM) princip...
Increasing evidence suggests that social capital can facilitate the diffusion of innovations thro... more Increasing evidence suggests that social capital can facilitate the diffusion of innovations through increased inter-relations among individuals and subsequently influencing technology adoption. In this study, the role of social capital generated through FFS and CIG group-based farmers training approaches in the adoption of IPM technology was investigated. Data were collected from 487 farmers in Central and Eastern provinces of Kenya. Principal component analysis and logit model were used to assess the role of social capital in IPM technology adoption. Social capital index, IPM knowledge sharing, distance to extension services, wealth status of the farmer, household literacy and household size were found to influence farmer’s adoption decisions. This paper also highlights the positive and significant contribution of social capital generated through group membership in IPM technology adoption. It is, therefore, important that development organizations encourage formation of farmer gr...
Based on the data collected during the reconnaissance survey, a total of five districts were sele... more Based on the data collected during the reconnaissance survey, a total of five districts were selected for the baseline survey. Two districts were from western Kenya region (Bungoma and Siaya) and three districts from eastern Kenya region (Embu, Meru South and Imenti South). A total of 600 households were targeted for this survey (300 in each region). In western Kenya, each district was allocated 150 households. Similarly, in eastern Kenya, each district was allocated 100 households. Efforts were made to ensure representativeness of the sample depending on the population of the study areas. Proportionate random sampling was designed to select divisions from each district, locations from each division (see survey summary document on main project page), villages from each sub-location, and households from each village. The survey villages were randomly picked from the list prepared for each division in each district. Finally, the number of households to be surveyed in each village was ...
Results of an evaluation of the impact of agricultural science and technology (AS and T) policy s... more Results of an evaluation of the impact of agricultural science and technology (AS and T) policy system institutions on efficiency and technical change in Kenyan and Ugandan agriculture are presented here. Data envelopment analysis was used to derive efficiency and technical change and logistic regression applied to delineate AS and T institutions that induced efficiency and technical progress. Technical progress was positively influenced by transboundary technology transfer, decentralization of extension services, thematic agricultural research and the literacy rate of the agricultural labour force. The intellectual property rights regulatory system negatively impacted on technical progress. On the other hand, efficiency progress was supported by the enactment of a regulatory framework for intellectual property rights system, but negatively influenced by transboundary technology transfer and decentralization of extension services.
Estimating pastoralists’ willingness to pay for artificial Insemination in Arid and Semi -Arid Lands in Kenya, 2018
Effective promotion of artificial insemination (AI) by private providers in pastoral areas requir... more Effective promotion of artificial insemination (AI) by private providers in pastoral areas requires stakeholders’ opinion in shaping the direction of their adoption. A structured questionnaire was administered to 384 pastoralists in Kajiado and Narok counties, Kenya to elicit data on willingness to pay for AI services. Double bounded contingent valuation methodology was adapted in computing their willingness to pay for AI services. Results revealed that 90% of farmers were aware of AI of which 51.7 and 50.5% were willing to pay for the services in Kajiado and Narok counties respectively, for an average of Kenya Shillings 1, 853, reflecting a premium of 23.6% placed on AI by pastoralists with reference to the base price of Kenya Shillings (KES) 1,500 offered for exotic breeds in Kenyan highlands. Awareness, herd size and access to extension services significantly increase farmers’ willingness to pay unlike farm income. The study recommends utilization of existing extension networks o...
ONE-AND-ONE-HALF-BOUND DICHOTOMOUS CHOICE CONTINGENT VALUATION ... valuation question: the second... more ONE-AND-ONE-HALF-BOUND DICHOTOMOUS CHOICE CONTINGENT VALUATION ... valuation question: the second question will be appropriate half the time, on average, but not the rest of the time. Hence, we refer to this as the one-and-one-half-bound (OOHB) format. ...
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Papers by Gideon Obare