Browsing by Author "Mogaka, Hezron"

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    Decomposition of the Coffee Value Chain Among Smallholder Farmers in Embu and Kirinyaga Counties in Central Kenya
    (UoEm, 2024-10-24) Musau Wambua, Daniel; Ndirangu, Samuel N.; Mogaka, Hezron; Gichimu, Bernard M.
    The coffee value chain is lengthy and complex with numerous actors and this exposes the farmers to inherent financial risks. This study sought to decompose the coffee value chain and its dynamics. The study was undertaken in Embu and Kirinyaga counties in Central Kenya and the target population was smallholder coffee farmers. The study used multistage stratified sampling techniques to draw a sample of 385 respondents. Majority (97%) of the sampled farmers were processing and marketing their coffee through cooperative societies. Socioeconomic analysis of these farmers showed that majority were middle-aged, fairly educated and with adequate coffee farming experience but their cherry production was very low averaging 2.3 kgs per tree for 2022/2023 crop year. The cooperative societies were playing key roles in the coffee value chain including farmers’ training, input and credit provision, coffee processing and marketing. There were numerous coffee marketing challenges, including high middlemen involvement, which lowered the coffee prices and reduced the trade volumes. Value adding activities such as roasting, grinding, and packaging were rare and farmers’ involvement in the upstream value chain was minimal. The local demand for the produced coffee was very low with domestic consumption taking only 2% of the output. The multilevel mixed effect model results revealed that value adding and farmer involvement were found to have a significant positive influence on the traded volumes and coffee prices while middlemen involvement had a negative influence. There is need for enhanced value adding and farmers involvement in the upstream value chain as well as strengthening the cooperative societies’ role in coffee marketing for more accountability and increased incomes.
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    Determinants of smallholders farmers' participation in collective marketing of maize in the central highlands of Kenya
    (African Journal of Rural Development, 2019-06-30) Mogaka, Hezron; Mugwe, Jayne; Ayieko, David, M; Bett, Eric, k
    Collective marketing has been proposed as a solution to the problem of poor access to markets in developing nations. However, smallholders’ market participation is still limited. This study assessed farmers’ perception of the benefits and challenges in collective marketing, and identified the determinants of smallholder farmers’ participation in collective marketing of maize from 126 households in the central highlands of Kenya. Logistic regression model was used to analyze factors explaining farmers’ participation in collective marketing. The key benefits of collective marketing were better prices and low cost of inputs, while the main challenges were poor infrastructure, disagreement among members and lack of credit. Gender of household head, years of farming experience, training on market information search, keeping records, ability to search market information, marketing group size, extension contact frequency and group meeting frequency were significantly associated with farmers participation in collective marketing. Participation in collective marketing could be improved by targeting women already organized in groups, offering training to households on record keeping, enhanced extension contacts, improving marketing group operations and searching for markets.
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    Exploring Socio-Economic Characteristics on Adoption Intensity of Biochar Among Farming Households in Sub-Humid Regions of Western Kenya
    (UoEm, 2025-01-08) Kyalo, Annastacia Maitha; Mogaka, Hezron; Kirimi, Florence Kaumi; Kizito, Kwena; Ndirangu, Samuel Njiri; Onyari, Charles Nyambane; Muriithi, Lydia; Elvin, Otara Nyaboe; Mutungi, Scholastica Katava; Kiprotich, Shadrack; Njiru, Moses Muchangi; Kamau, Ezekiel Areri;
    Agriculture is a cornerstone of Kenya's economy, yet declining soil fertility and low adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies, such as biochar, have hindered productivity among smallholder farmers. Biochar is perceived to be a costeffective technology especially among resource constraint farming households. Despite many smallholder farmers acknowledging the importance of biochar as a soil amendment, most farmers face socio-economic barriers that hinder its adoption at scale. This study focused on how socio-economic factors influence adoption intensity of biochar, with a focus on the farming households in the sub-humid regions of Western Kenya. Employing a multistage stratified sampling procedure and Heckman selection model, the study reveals that awareness of biochar, access to credits, total land used in farming and education level positively and significantly influences adoption of biochar while total land owned in acres negatively and significantly influences adoption of biochar. Similarly, awareness of biochar, access to credits, and education level positively and significantly influences adoption intensity of biochar while terms of land ownership negatively and significantly influence adoption intensity of biochar. The study identifies awareness of biochar, education, credit access, and land ownership as key factors influencing its adoption by smallholder farmers. Promoting biochar as a soil amendment and carbon sequestration technique for farmers should be the main goal of the government, non-governmental organizations, and development organizations. Promoting the advantages of biochar for crop yields and soil fertility should be spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture's Extension Department. While development organizations offer financial assistance and training to promote adoption, policymakers should push farmer cooperatives to reduce the cost of biochar production and implementation
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    Exploring Socio-Economic Characteristics on Adoption Intensity of Biochar Among Farming Households In Sub-Humid Regions of Western Kenya
    (University of Embu, 2025-02-13) Kyalo, Annastacia Maitha; Mogaka, Hezron; Kirimi, Florence Kaumi; Kizito, Kwena; Ndirangu, Samuel Njiri; Onyari, Charles Nyambane; Muriithi, Lydia; Elvin, Otara Nyaboe; Mutungi, Scholastica Katava; Kiprotich, Shadrack; Njiru, Moses Muchangi; Kamau, Ezekiel Areri
    Agriculture is a cornerstone of Kenya's economy, yet declining soil fertility and low adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies, such as biochar, have hindered productivity among smallholder farmers. Biochar is perceived to be a cost- effective technology especially among resource constraint farming households. Despite many smallholder farmers acknowledging the importance of biochar as a soil amendment, most farmers face socio-economic barriers that hinder its adoption at scale. This study focused on how socio-economic factors influence adoption intensity of biochar, with a focus on the farming households in the sub-humid regions of Western Kenya. Employing a multistage stratified sampling procedure and Heckman selection model, the study reveals that awareness of biochar, access to credits, total land used in farming and education level positively and significantly influences adoption of biochar while total land owned in acres negatively and significantly influences adoption of biochar. Similarly, awareness of biochar, access to credits, and education level positively and significantly influences adoption intensity of biochar while terms of land ownership negatively and significantly influence adoption intensity of biochar. The study identifies awareness of biochar, education, credit access, and land ownership as key factors influencing its adoption by smallholder farmers. Promoting biochar as a soil amendment and carbon sequestration technique for farmers should be the main goal of the government, non-governmental organizations, and development organizations. Promoting the advantages of biochar for crop yields and soil fertility should be spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture's Extension Department. While development organizations offer financial assistance and training to promote adoption, policymakers should push farmer cooperatives to reduce the cost of biochar production and implementation
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    Gender-specific determinants of Zai technology use intensity for improved soil water management in the drylands of Upper Eastern Kenya
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2021-06-01) Ndeke, Amos ,M; Ngetich, Felix; Mugwe, Jayne ,N; Mogaka, Hezron; Kiboi, Milka; Nyabuga, George; Mucheru-Muna, Monicah; Sijali, Isaya
    Degraded landscapes and soil water stress are long-standing problems to smallholder agriculture in the drylands. Despite the important roles of zai technology in restoring degraded landscapes and improving agricultural productivity, the technology is yet to be adopted to its fullest extent. This can be attributed to gender-linked disparities in agricultural technology utilization. The study, therefore, sought to determine gender-specific determinants of zai technology choice and use-intensity. A multistage sampling technique was employed in randomly selecting 133 female-headed households and 267 male-headed households in Tharaka South subcounty. Quantitative data were collected in a cross-sectional survey using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Using sex-disaggregated data, Chi-square and t-test statistic were employed to test the statistical significance of dummy and mean value of continuous variables, respectively. Gender specific determinants of zai technology choice and use-intensity were determined using the Heckman-two-step econometric model. The results revealed that, more women farmers (44%) were using zai technology as compared to men (38%). Among women farmers, total cultivated land, access to animal-drawn farm implements, and group membership had an influence on zai technology choice. For men, total cultivated land, group membership and access to extension services positively influenced choice of zai technology. With regard to zai technology use-intensity, total land cultivated, livestock densities, group membership and frequency of trainings on soil and water management were important determinants among women farmers. For men, zai technology use-intensity was determined by total cultivated land and farmers’ perceptions on soil erosion. We recommend that, gender-sensitive farm-level policies oriented towards farmer socioeconomic profiles are important deliberations towards choice and intense application of soil and water conservation strategies such as the zai technology.
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    Household socio-economic factors influencing choice of agro-advisory dissemination pathways for climate change in semi-arid areas of Kenya
    (Sage publishers, 2021-07-02) Onyango, Debra, A; Mogaka, Hezron; Ndirangu, Samuel; Kizito, Kwena
    Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is adversely affected by climate change and variability due to the dependence of its economies and livelihoods primarily on rain-fed agriculture. This creates the need for agro-advisories to enable farming communities make strategic and tactical farm level investment decisions likely to minimize on the impacts of climate change and seasonal variability induced risks. Agro-advisories boost informed decision-making as well as planning of farm activities. Farmers have often failed to get such information where the need is greatest especially in a form they can understand and use. The purpose of this study was to characterize the pathways through which farmers receive usable location-specific agro-advisories as well as to evaluate the effect of the socio-economic environment in the access of such information. Data was collected from 400 randomly selected households in lower eastern Kenya in a cross-sectional survey. Multivariate probit regression was used to determine the factors that are significant in influencing the choice of pathways used in accessing climate change adaptation information. The study recommends that the significant factors be considered in efforts geared towards promoting agro-advisory preparation and dissemination to improve adaptation to climate variability and change in dryland areas.