| dc.description.abstract | The rising world prices for major tradable staple
s such as maize have been a concern for sub-
Saharan countries such as Kenya which are maize
deficit countries. Maize
is a major staple food
for over 80 percent of Kenya’s
population. Kenya relies on mai
ze for up to 40 percent of its
dietary energy supply and is accordingly search
ing for ways to increase maize productivity.
Maize productivity has been rising in the last d
ecade manly as a result of the use of improved
germplasm and fertilizer. However,
the proportion of farmers using
these technologies is low and
the aggregate productivity in maize
is low compared to other countries and its potential. Previous
studies on input adoption have often assumed
the existence of perfect supply and product
markets, tending to ignore the important but significant role played by institutions as well as the
role of transaction costs associ
ated with market exchange. Th
is study makes use of qualitative
information from institutions and actors in seed
input value chains as
well as quantitative
information collected from a sample of 150 farmers, in the Moist Transitional Maize Zones of
Kenya. A two stage regression model was applie
d to analyze determinants of adoption and
factors affecting degree of adoption of certified
improved maize seed. The results show that as
farmers adopt certified seeds, they incur high
er transaction costs th
an non adopters, rural
infrastructure, social capital such as membership in
groups and trust play an important role in the
decision of whether or no
t to use certified seed | en |
