The potential impact of improved maize seeds and fertlllsers on food security and incomes of smallholder farmers in the Mumias sugar scheme
Abstract
The high incidence of poverty (35% in 2002) and food insecurity in Kenya has prompted
the government to put in place policy measures such as the Poverty reduction strategy
paper, the economic recovery strategy to complement the national development plans in'
combating these ills In addition the government has promised to create 500,000 jobs per
year to address unemployment, low incomes and poverty In contribution to strengthening
the government policy formulation capacity this study seeks to establish the impact of use
of improved maize seeds and fertilizers and optimal farm planning on household incomes
and food securitv in the Mumias Sugar Scheme The study analyzed data collected at
baseline and during project intervention use of unproved seeds and fertilizers and the
accompanying yields of maize, beans and sugarcane and their implications on household
incomes and food security
The study used stratified purposive random sampling techniques to select the 120 farmers
who were interviewed Grossmargins were calculated and used to carry out impact analysis
while Linear-programming (LP) models were used to derive optimal farm plans The site
of the study was the Mumias Sugar Scheme in Butere-Mumias district. which is the largest
sugar scheme in Kenya Results of this stud v showed that households realized very low
yields of maize, beans and sugarcane under both baseline and project intervention
production conditions.which led to low incomes and food insecurity The low yields were
mainly attributed to the low rates of fertilizer applications. which were less than half the
recommended rat e s However there was a slight improvement In yields of maize and
beans, household incomes and food security under project intervention conditions. More
than 50 percent of the households experienced severe food insecurity under baseline
conditions but the situation improved to 40 percent under project intervention and it was
attributed to improvements in yields. The improvement in yields was attributed to the
increase in the amount of fertilizers and improved maize seeds applied
The demonstration sugarcane crop during project intervention had not matured by the end
of this study but yields are expected to improve as a result of the close supervision being
undertaken by the Mumias Farmers Development Group (MUFADG) The improvement in
yield is expected to improve incomes. food security and reduce poverty The Linear
programming results showed that optimal farm planning could improve farm incomes
tremendouslv and that capital and labour were the main constraints to crop production in
the Mumias sugar Scheme. Sensitivity analysis further showed that additional capital
could improve the total farm income but capital productivity P percent) under baseline
production conditions did not generate adequate returns t() capital to meet the market rate
of interest (23 percent p a ) at the time of the study However. capital productivity (7S
percent) increased under project intervention production conditions, which implied that
farmers could profitably utilize available credit at 23 percent rate of interest
The study therefore recommends that farmers use more improved maize seeds and
fertilizers to improve yields, income and food security The studv also recommends that
farmers practice optimal farm planning to Improve farm income The study further
recommends that the government and other stakeholders promote establishment of
affordable sources of credit in the scheme, as capital was a serious constraint to crop
production. Finally, the study recommends further research to evaluate the outcome of the
MUFAG managed demonstration sugarcane crop so as to determine its effect on incomes
and food security in the Mumias Sugar Scheme.
Citation
Manyengo, J U(2006). The potential impact of improved maize seeds and fertlllsers on food security and incomes of smallholder farmers in the Mumias sugar schemeSponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Subject
ImpactImproved maize seeds
Improved Fertilizers
Food security
Incomes
Small holder farmers
Mumias
Sugar scheme
Description
Msc-Thesis