Abstract:
The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana
commercialisation among smallholder farmers in the Meru region,
Kenya. The study sampled 400 farmers from a target population of
288,802 from the Meru region. The Tobit model was used to analyse
the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation.
The results revealed that sources of marketing information (Coef. -0.06)
had a negative influence on farmers commercialising banana
production. The result showed that the reliability of local extension
service providers in enabling farmer’s access to market information
(Coef. 0.04) had a positive influence on farmers commercialising
banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing
information in the commercialisation banana business (Coef. 0.63) had
a positive influence on farmers commercialising banana production.
The study concludes that there was an association between extension
marketing linkages and banana commercialization among smallholder
farmers in Meru region, Kenya. Government should create and
implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to
commercialise bananas. This will help farmers increase their income.
