An assessment of mango farmers’ choice of marketing channels in Makueni, Kenya
Abstract
Improving market access for small-holder farmers is important in helping towards raising rural
incomes and reducing poverty. The Millennium development goal number one is to eradicate
poverty. Most of the poor are small scale farmers in rural areas of Africa and Asia. The
Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) anticipates that improving
access to market for these farmers will help towards reducing poverty. Small scale farmers in
developing countries are excluded from markets due to long value chains, lack of transparency,
and presence of too many players. Mangoes are produced in the Eastern and Coastal areas in
Kenya. Farmers in the Makueni have taken up mango farming quickly, making Makueni the
leading producer of mangoes in Kenya. Marketing is however not organized. Despite the
presence of several mango buyers in the country, mango farmers are experiencing up to 30
percent post-harvest losses, and gross margins are low at Kshs. 1.70 per piece. Profit should
guide farmers‟ choice of market channel, yet this is often not the case, it is not clear what drives
farmer decision of the channel to sell to. There is no study that has actually been carried out to
determine the factors that influence farmers‟ decision to participate in the available market
channels; this is the literature gap that this study sought to fill. The aim of this study was to
assess the factors that influence mango farmers‟ choice of market channels in Makueni County.
The study used data collected in 2014 from a sample of 227 farmers using multistage and
random sampling techniques. Analysis of Variance was used to determine the difference in the
prices offered by the different channels, while Multinomial logit model was used to quantify the
factors affecting channel choice. Results of the study show that farmers sold to three major
channels, which are brokers, exporters, and direct market. Majority of the farmers (58 percent)
sold to brokers, 30 percent to export, while the rest sold to direct market. Price analysis results
show that farmers selling to direct channel earned the highest average prices, while brokers
offered the lowest prices. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results find sufficient evidence that
prices offered by the channels are different. The multinomial logit results show that farmers who
were members of producer marketing groups, had attended training, and had a large number of
mango trees were more likely to sell to exporters relative to brokers. In addition, farmers who
owned a vehicle, were closer to the tarmac road, and had access to market information were
more likely to sell to direct market relative to brokers. Results of this study provide insights for
the ongoing efforts to transform agriculture from subsistence to market oriented activity for
farmers in Kenya. There is need to assist farmers link with organized and formal markets to
bolster their incomes. The study recommends that interventions aimed at providing market
information, as well as training and extension to farmers should be reinforced. Producer
marketing groups can fill the gaps left by marketing boards through linking farmers with buyers,
and assisting farmers attain quality and safety requirements of especially export market. These
quality and safety requirements are a major impediment to access to niche markets. In addition, it
is more effective and cheaper to offer training and extension services to farmers through the
groups. The study recommends further research on the marketing side, to determine the
constraints and challenges faced by marketers would also be beneficial for policy and/or practice.
Keywords: Mango farmers, Market channels, Multinomial logit, Makueni County
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Description
Thesis