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An Analysis of the Current Production Trends of Farm
Enterprises in Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya

-ary N. .ichu/i -anana
#h0 candidate at the 1ni2ersity of South 3ales
0*4 AA, 5i2ingStone International 1ni2ersity, #.) Bo6 ''4, -7ale 1ganda
89ail: 9anana9ary2,;yahoo.co9

Abstract
An econo9ic analysis of s9all-scale far9ing enter$rises in <enya was carried out in =rans-N>oia district. It
focused on growing of 7eans, 9ai>e and goat rearing, to a less e6tent. =he study ai9ed at esta7lishing current
$roduction trends of the far9ing $ractices. =he study ado$ted a sur2ey research design in which inter2iews and
?uestionnaires were used to collect data fro9 the Agricultural )fficer at the =rans-N>oia district head?uarters,
the e6tension staff and selected far9ers. A total of 3&@ res$ondents were selected using si9$le cluster sa9$ling
techni?ue. =he findings of the study indicated that the current $roduction le2els of 7eans, 9ai>e in the district
ha2e 7een declining o2er the years. 0es$ite continued $lanting, the $eo$le ha2e re9ained $oor. Analysis and
co9$arison of the econo9ic returns $er acre re2ealed that 9ore 9ai>e is $roduced $er acre than 7eans. =he
study reco99ends that the go2ern9ent of <enya and the res$ecti2e de$art9ents should gi2e the necessary
attention to agricultural issues 7y $ro2iding su$$ort ser2ices for s9all scale far9ers. In2ol2ing the s9all scale
far9ers in self-hel$ reha7ilitation 9easures, greater reliance on 9o7ili>ation of grass root resources $articularly
a9ong the $oor and wo9en would go a long way to enhance and increase $roduction le2els.
Keywords 4urrent #roduction =rends, Aar9 8nter$rises, =rans-N>oia 4ounty, <enya

!" #ntroduction
Becent econo9ic studies suggest that de2elo$ing countries can 9a/e strides in catching u$ with the richer
econo9ies if they decide to syste9atically in2est 9ore in 9eaningful agriculture and 2alue addition to the
$roducts fro9 this sector "1IBI, 24%. At the sa9e ti9e, /nowledge-7ased co9$etition within the glo7ali>ed
econo9y has $ro9$ted consideration of the role of far9ing in sustaina7le de2elo$9ent that enco9$asses 7oth
i9$ro2e9ent in li2elihoods and en2iron9ental $rotection.
5i/e 9any African countries, <enya is 9ainly an agricultural country. -aCority of the $eo$le in <enya and
$articularly those in =rans-N>oia 4ounty, rely on s9all scale far9 enter$rises for their li2elihood. Aor a long
ti9e, $eo$le of =rans-N>oia ha2e grown 9ai>e, 7eans and reared goats. -ai>e, which is often referred to as corn
"in 1SA, 4anada, New Dealand and Australia% is a cereal cro$ that was do9esticated in -eso-A9erica and then
s$read throughout the A9erican continents. According to II=A "2@%, 9ai>e is now the 9ost i9$ortant cereal
cro$ in the su7-Saharan Africa 7ecause it is a sta$le food to an esti9ated &E of the total $o$ulation of Su7-
Saharan Africa. It is high yielding "!., tons in de2elo$ed countries and +.3 tons in de2elo$ing countries%F a
2ersatile cro$ that grows across a range of agro ecological >ones. 82ery $art of the cro$ has an econo9ic 2alueF
the grain, lea2es, stal/, tassel and co7 can all 7e used to $roduce a 2ariety of food and non food $roducts.
=hroughout the tro$ics and e2en within the su7 tro$ics, 9ai>e is grown 9ostly for su7sistence as $art of the
agricultural syste9s that feature se2eral cro$s and so9eti9es li2estoc/ $roduction. In <enya, 9ai>e is a sta$le
food for a large $ro$ortion of the $o$ulation in 7oth ur7an and rural areas. By 2+, 9ai>e accounted for roughly
2!E of the gross far9 out$ut fro9 the s9all scale far9ing sector "Jayne et al., 2+% of <enyaGs cro$ $roduction.
Howe2er, 7etween 2+ and 2@, 9ai>e $roduction greatly declined and currently a lot of 9ai>e is 7ought
across 7orders "Sua9, -ala7a, Busia% fro9 1ganda "<ABI, 2!%.
Another cro$ that has 7een $redo9inantly grown on s9all scale far9s in <enya and es$ecially in =rans-N>oia
4ounty is 7eans. #roduction of 7eans 7y the s9all scale far9ers in <enya and in =rans-N>oia 4ounty has
deteriorated in the recent $ast. =a7le + $resents figures on 9ai>e and 7eans $roduction fro9 <enyaGs s9all scale
far9ing sector fro9 2+ to 2@.
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Aigure +: Beans $roduction fro9 <enyaGs s9all scale far9ing sector "2+-2@%
Source: Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kitale, 2008
Aro9 =a7le +, it can 7e noted that 7eans $roduction fro9 <enyaGs s9all scale far9ing sector greatly declined
after 22 and the situation has not i9$ro2ed to date. According to the re$ort of <ABI "2!%, the $roduction
le2els of 7eans which used to 7e high in =rans-N>oia than in any other district in <enya, is now 9uch lower than
that of other districts. =his situation deser2es attention of researchers, acade9icians and $olicy 9a/ers ali/e in
order to ade?uately res$ond to the li2elihood of the $eo$le of =rans-N>oia 4ounty in $articular and <enya in
general.
=he scenario a7o2e is the sa9e for 9ai>e. =he decline in 9ai>e $roduction fro9 s9all scale far9s 9ay 7e a
result of the insta7ility "$olitical, social% that roc/ed <enya 7etween 22 and 2! 7ut there could still 7e other
factors of en2iron9ental or econo9ic nature "cli9atic changes, disease and $ests, lac/ of drugs, deterioration in
soil fertility, econo9ic li7erali>ation, costs of $roduction and $ri2ati>ation%. =hese need to 7e e9$irically
ascertained.
beans production
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2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
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beans production
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Aigure 2: -ai>e $roduction fro9 <enyaGs s9all scale far9ing sector "2+-2@%
Source: Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kitale, 2008
.oat rearing is another far9ing $ractice that has 7een ty$ical of the s9all scale far9ing sector in <enya and
=rans-N>oia 4ounty in $articular. .enerally, goat rearing in <enya is found a9ong $astoralist co99unities
li2ing in arid and se9i-arid areas characteri>ed 7y low rainfall and relati2ely high te9$erature throughout the
year leading to seasonality in feed su$$ly and 9o2e9ent of co99unities fro9 ti9e to ti9e in search of $asture
and water. .oats are 2alued and $referred to cattle and shee$ 7ecause of their a7ility to sur2i2e $eriods of
drought 7etter and their high $roduction "#eacoc/, +'',%.
Although <enya is esti9ated to ha2e +2.442 9illion goats "<enyaGs -inistry of 5i2estoc/ Be$ort, 2,%, which
is a7out 2E of the total $o$ulation of goats in the world, the econo9ic contri7ution of goats has 7een eluded for
so long. =his is $erha$s due to the fact that goats and goat $roducts seldo9 enter the for9al 9ar/eting syste9
leading to underesti9ation of their contri7ution in 7oth the rural and national econo9ic trends and ulti9ately in
the countryGs .0#. Howe2er, according to #eacoc/ "+'',%, goat rearing has a higher econo9ic 2alue if it is done
on a larger scale. In this res$ect therefore, it 9ay not 7e cost effecti2e for $eo$le $racticing s9all scale far9ing
to rear goats. =his, howe2er, has to 7e e9$irically $ro2en in order to ade?uately and a$$ro$riately ad2ise
far9ers in =rans-N>oia 4ounty and throughout <enya.
1.1 Production rends !or "arious #ar$ %nter&rises
=hroughout the tro$ics and su7tro$ics, s9all-scale far9ers grow 9ai>e, 9ostly for su7sistence as $art of
agricultural syste9s that feature se2eral cro$s and so9eti9es li2estoc/ $roduction. 1nli/e the de2elo$ed
countries where hy7rid 9ai>e 2arieties are co99only grown with high in$uts using 9echani>ed o$erations, the
$roduction syste9s in the su7-Saharan Africa often lac/ in$uts such as fertili>er, i9$ro2ed seed, irrigation and
$ro2ision of e6tension ser2ices. At the sa9e ti9e, an array of diseases $lagues cro$-growing "es$ecially 9ai>e,
7eans% areas in Su7-Saharan Africa "I/isan, 2'%. Aor 9ai>e, these include downy 9ildew, rust, leaf 7light,
stal/ and ear rots, leaf s$ot, and 9ai>e strea/ 2irus "Burns, 2!%. Insect $ests, including ste9 and ear 7orers,
ar9ywor9s, cutwor9s, grain 9oths, 7eetles, wee2ils, grain 7orers, rootwor9s, and white gru7s are also a great
threat to the sur2i2al of 9ai>e in Africa ")nyango et al., 2+%. All these factors affect not only the growing of
cro$s 7ut the yields and the soil co9$osition. =herefore, e6ce$t for those countries which $ro2ide su$$ort
ser2ices for the far9ers, the $roduction trends in de2elo$ed countries differ su7stantially fro9 those in
de2elo$ing "and the su7-Saharan% countries li/e <enya.
In the Nigerian sa2annah, for e6a9$le, weed-related yield losses ranging fro9 ,&E to '2E ha2e 7een recorded.
=he $arasitic weed, /nown as witch weed "Striga%, is a 9aCor $est in the su7-Saharan Africa and causes
esti9ated cereal grain losses of u$ to 1SH@ 7illion. =his ad2ersely affects the li2es of a7out 3 9illion $eo$le
"=a9i/a, 2!%. )n the other hand, the li9ited use of nitrogenous fertili>ers and the declining soil fertility are
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$ro7le9s for 9ai>e $roduction in Su7-Saharan Africa "-artin, 2+%. In addition, $eriodic drought caused 7y
irregular rainfall distri7ution reduces 9ai>e yields 7y an a2erage of +&E each year. =his is e?ui2alent to at least
1SH2 9illion in foregone grain "<ABI, 2&%. =he effects of $rolonged droughts, such as those that ha2e
struc/ 8astern and Southern Africa in recent years, ha2e 7een disastrous. =his is also true of the situation in
<enya where =rans-N>oia 4ounty was e?ually affected 7y $rolonged drought and $erha$s this $artly e6$lains
the decline in $roduction trends of the far9 enter$rises.
.oat rearing in 9any de2elo$ing countries and <enya in $articular, has not recei2ed 9uch attention as it should
des$ite the country ha2ing thousands of these ani9als "II=A, 2@%. -any goats die fro9 2arious diseases that
can easily 7e cured. A sur2ey of the co99on concerns of s9all scale far9ers regarding goat rearing is re?uired
if ste$s can 7e ta/en to hel$ the9 i9$ro2e on the $roduction trends. )nce this infor9ation is attained,
go2ern9ent and $articularly the -inistry of Agriculture and 5i2estoc/ ha2e to in2ol2e e6tension officers in
$ro2iding su$$ort ser2ices such as /nowledge on disease $re2ention and feeding to far9ers. =his can hel$ in
identifying, $re2enting and treating co99on goat $ro7le9s. 0isease $re2ention through good nutrition, /id
rearing, and ade?uate housingF teaching far9ers how to identify diseases through $hysical and $ost-9orte9
e6a9inationF $ro9otion of goat health and o$ti9al $roduction through selecti2e 7reeding can significantly
i9$ro2e on the $roduction trends in goat rearing "-artin, 2+%.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
.i2en the a7o2e 7ac/ground, it is e2ident that li/e in 9any $arts of <enya, the li2elihood of the $eo$le in =rans-
N>oia 4ounty de$ends 9ainly on s9all scale far9ing. Aor a good li2elihood, $roducti2ity fro9 the s9all scale
far9 enter$rises needs to 7e sustaina7le. Howe2er, there are a nu97er of factors that under9ine agricultural
$roducti2ity in =rans-N>oia 4ounty. So9e of these include far9 9anage9ent s/ills, en2iron9ental changes,
fluctuating in$ut $rices, inade?uate technical su$$ortF 7ut 9ore i9$ortantly lac/ of accurate econo9ic analyses
as a 7asis for selecting far9 enter$rises.
In as far as $roducti2ity of s9all scale far9ing enter$rises in the =rans-N>oia 4ounty is concerned, there are
se2eral ?uestions that need to 7e answered and these includeF why has $roducti2ity fro9 the s9all scale far9
enter$rises re9ained lowI How 9uch has the go2ern9ent done to su$$ort s9all scale far9ers in 9anage9ent of
far9 enter$risesI 3hat challenges do the s9all scale far9ers face in the $roduction $rocess, es$ecially in ter9s
of costsI 3hat are the current $roduction trends of the far9 enter$risesI 3hich far9 enter$rise would 7e
suita7le for s9all scale far9ers in the =rans-N>oia 4ountyI =hese and 9any other issues need to 7e ascertained
so as to $ro2ide a $lausi7le e6$lanation to the situation in =rans-N>oia 4ounty. =he s9all scale far9ers also
need to increase agricultural $roducti2ity and $rofita7ility 7y shifting fro9 low-2alue to higher-2alued
enter$rises. =he increase in agricultural $roducti2ity and the shift fro9 low-2alue to high-2alue enter$rises has to
7e guided. =he analysis of the current $roduction trends of the s9all scale far9 enter$rises was carried out in
order to secure e9$irical data that would for9 the 7asis for guidance to the s9all scale far9ers.

$" %aterials and %ethods
=he study was conducted in =rans-N>oia 4ounty, for9erly one of the districts that constituted the Bift *alley
#ro2ince of the Be$u7lic of <enya. =he study ado$ted a descri$ti2e sur2ey research design. =his design was
selected 7ecause it is con2enient in collecting su7stantial a9ount of 2iews fro9 res$ondents o2er a large area
"<oul, +''@%. =rans-N>oia 4ounty is ?uite 7ig in ter9s of land area "2,4!@.3 S?.<9% and so, this design was
con2enient in soliciting 2iews fro9 res$ondents on s9all scale far9 enter$rises in the 4ounty.
=he study $o$ulation constituted of officers fro9 the 0istrict Agriculture and 5i2estoc/ )ffice, e6tension staff
and selected s9all scale far9ers in the district. Agriculture and 5i2estoc/ )fficers were selected to $artici$ate
7ecause they are the ones who direct go2ern9ent $olicy and 9onitor i9$le9entation. =he e6tension staff
for9ed $art of the res$ondents 7ecause they are the ones who liaise and wor/ closely with far9ers and $ro2ide
e6tension ser2ices. =he $o$ulation of s9all scale far9ers in =rans-N>oia 4ounty was esti9ated at & ".o<,
2,% and the 0istrict Agricultural )fficer who is the i9$le9enter of go2ern9ent $olicy and is directly in2ol2ed
in the far9ing $ractices also constituted the $o$ulation of study. =hus, all the categories of res$ondents in the
study $o$ulation were carefully selected 7ecause they had the /ind of data that the study sought to find.
=he $ro$ortion of the target $o$ulation that 9et the inclusion criteria was esti9ated at &. =hese included the
Agricultural )fficer "+%, eight e6tension staff "one fro9 each di2ision, two fro9 4herangany and <i9inini due
to their large nu97er of s9all scale far9ers% and 34! s9all scale far9ers "&! fro9 each di2ision. =he di2isions
of 8nde7ess and <a$la9ai were co97ined due to the $resence of the Agricultural 0e2elo$9ent 4or$oration-
A04 far9s%. =his cluster sa9$ling techni?ue was ado$ted to ensure that data collected was re$resentati2e of the
di2isions of =rans-N>oia 4ounty.
=he e6tension staffs and the Agricultural )fficer were $ur$osi2ely selected 7ecause, 7y 2irtue of their $ositions
and res$onsi7ility, they are e6$ected to ha2e the /ind of data that the study sought to find. Howe2er, the research
used si9$le cluster rando9 sa9$ling $rocedure to select the s9all scale far9ers fro9 each di2ision, each
di2ision for9ed a cluster. =his techni?ue was used 7ecause it $ro2ided for e?ual chances for each far9er to 7e
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selected. =he author o7tained lists of the s9all scale far9ers in each di2ision so that s9all 7allot $a$ers were
9ade to ena7le the rando9 sa9$ling. Aor each di2ision, the 7allot $a$ers were $laced in a 7o6 and after
carefully sha/ing it, one 7allot was $ic/ed at a ti9e and the na9e of the far9er on that 7allot was recorded. After
that the 7allot was re$laced and the 7o6 sha/en again and the $rocess continued until all the &! far9ers were
identified. In case a na9e was $ic/ed a second ti9e, the 7allot would 7e re$laced to gi2e a chance to another
far9er. =his $rocedure was re$eated for all the di2isions.
=he author used ?uestionnaires and inter2iews techni?ues to collect data. =he study ado$ted a descri$ti2e
analysis 7ecause the data collected was 9ainly ?ualitati2e in nature. =his was done the9atically and $resented in
ta7les and gra$hs so as to inter$ret the data analy>ed. So9e of the data fro9 inter2iews has 7een re$orted
2er7ati9 to ca$ture the actual o$inion of the res$ondents. Howe2er, since the study sought to analy>e the current
$roduction trends for each far9 enter$rise, the author ado$ted the regression analysis in order to $redict the
relationshi$s 7etween the 2aria7les.

&" 'esults and (iscussion
3.1 Current Production Trends of farm Enterprises in Trans-Nzoia County
0ata collected fro9 the 2arious categories of res$ondents indicated a 2ariation in their o$inion on $roduction
le2els for each of these far9 enter$rises. Aor instance, $reli9inary data collected fro9 the res$ondent "e6tension
staffs% through the face to face inter2iews re2ealed facts a7out $roduction le2els. 0ata analy>ed re2ealed that
&@E of the res$onses fro9 the e6tension staff indicated that current $roduction le2el of the far9 enter$rises in
=rans-N>oia district is low while 33E of the9 indicated that $roduction le2el is 2ery low. )nly +E of the
res$onses indicated that $roduction le2els are 9oderate. .enerally, it was found out that the current $roduction
le2els for the far9 enter$rises in =rans-N>oia 4ounty are low. Howe2er, the study used three categories of
res$ondents and it is i9$ortant to co9$are the 2iews of all these categories in order to co9$rehensi2ely
deter9ine the current $roduction le2els of the far9 $ractices in =rans-N>oia 4ounty.
0ata collected fro9 the s9all scale far9ers in the district re2ealed that the current $roduction le2els for all the
three far9 $ractices actually range fro9 9oderate low to 2ery low. =a7le + $resents the 2iews of the res$ondent
s9all scale far9ers on the current $roduction le2els of 7eans, 9ai>e and goats in =rans-N>oia 4ounty.
Table ! )mall )cale Farmers* +iews on Current Production ,e+els
Farm enterprise %oderate ,ow -ery ,ow
Beans !4 2 ,4
-ai>e +& 2+@ 2,
.oats 3! + 2+
Source: Author's household sur"ey, 2008
Aro9 =a7le +, it can 7e noted that the s9all scale far9ers indicated that the current $roduction le2els for the
three categories of far9 $ractices in =rans-N>oia 4ounty are 9oderate, low or 2ery low. )ut of the 34!
res$ondent s9all scale far9ers, 24.+E of the9 indicated that current $roduction le2el of 7eans is 9oderate,
&@.&E of the9 indicated that current 7eans $roduction is low and +!.4E of the9 indicated that the current 7eans
$roduction in =rans-N>oia 4ounty is 2ery low.
=he data in =a7le + further re2eals that although 9aCority ",2.4E% of the res$ondent s9all scale far9ers
indicated that the current 9ai>e $roduction le2el in =rans-N>oia 4ounty is lowF 3.2E of the9 indicated that
current 9ai>e $roduction le2el is 9oderate while @.4E of the9 felt that current 9ai>e $roduction le2el is 2ery
low. As far as the current goat $roduction le2els in =rans-N>oia 4ounty are concerned, the data in =a7le +
re2eals that at least ++E of the s9all scale far9ers indicated that the current goat $roduction le2el in =rans-
N>oia 4ounty is 9oderate while 2!.@E of the9 indicated that the goat $roduction le2el is low. Howe2er,
9aCority ",.3E% of the9 were of the o$inion that the current goat $roduction le2els are 2ery low.
=he 2iews of the res$ondent e6tension staffs and s9all scale far9ers were triangulated with those of the officer
in charge of Agriculture during a face to face inter2iew at the =rans-N>oia 4ounty head?uarters. 0ata collected
during the face to face inter2iew with this officer 7ears a close si9ilarity with the 2iews of the res$ondent s9all
scale far9ers and the e6tension staffs. Aurther analysis of docu9ents secured fro9 the Agriculture and 5i2estoc/
officer at the district head?uarters indicated that the a2erage national $roduction le2els for the far9 enter$rises
stood at 32E for 7eans, 4@E for 9ai>e and +2.,E for goats. =his was for the $eriod fro9 2& to 2!. In a face
to face inter2iew, the Agricultural and 5i2estoc/ )fficer at =rans-N>oia district head?uarters re9ar/ed that:
It has to 7e noted that these figures 9ay not 7e 2ery accurate 7ecause not all $roduction is
re$orted and docu9ented 7y the res$onsi7le officers. Also so9e of the $roduction is consu9ed
locally and therefore not reflected in these figures. Howe2er, these figures $resent a su7stantial
le2el of accuracy of the $roduction le2els and according to 9e, the $roduction le2els in =rans-
N>oia ha2e greatly reduced in the $ast fi2e years. =his is 7ecause =rans-N>oia district has 7een
the highest $roducer of 9ai>e in the country with 9ore than &E of the national $roduction
"#ersonal 4o99unication, Agricultural and 5i2estoc/ )fficer, =rans-N>oia, 2!%.
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=he re9ar/s of the Agriculture )fficer are not 2ery different fro9 the ratings of the e6tension staff and the s9all
scale far9ers. 4o9$aring the 2iews of all the res$ondents and rating the9 against the national $roduction le2els
$resents the res$ondentsG o2erall 2iew of the current $roduction le2els of the three far9 acti2ities in =rans-N>oia
district. Aigure 3 $resents the o2erall res$ondentsG 2iew of the current $roduction le2els in =rans-N>oia district
against national $roduction le2els.


























Aigure 3: 4o9$arison of $roduction le2els in =rans-N>oia with national figures
Aro9 Aigure 3, 9ai>e $roduction where the =rans-N>oia 4ounty was $roducing 9ore than &E of the national
$roductionF is now well 7elow &E. =his is an a$$ro$riate indicator of decline in $roduction. =his is an
indication that there could 7e challenges that far9ers encounter in the $roduction $rocess.
3.2 !era"e Production Cost per cre of each #arm Enterprise
In 9a/ing a critical analysis to find out the $roduction cost $er acre of each far9 enter$rise, it was i9$ortant to
ha2e sufficient infor9ation on the in$uts, $rocess and out$uts for each acti2ity. =he study used infor9ation
o7tained fro9 the s9all scale far9ers to 9a/e the analysis for each far9 acti2ity. In this analysis, the study first
considered the costs of $urchasa7le in$uts in $roduction of each enter$rise. =hese included hire of land, hire of
9achinery and e?ui$9ent, hy7rid seed, inorganic fertili>ers, gunny 7ags and $esticides. =he la7our costs were
o7tained through inter2iew with the s9all scale far9ers in order to get the cost of $roduction for each far9
enter$rise. =he a7o2e were analy>ed using the linear regression 9odel.
J K L

M L
+
(
+
M L
2
(
2
M NNNN. ML
!
(
!
M O "for each far9 enter$rise%
3here:
J K is the total 2alue of far9 $roduction for each enter$rise
P
+
K is the total cost of hiring land
6
2
K is the cost of $loughing
6
3
K is the cost of seeds
6
4
K is the cost of $lanting
6
&
K is the cost of weeding
6
,
K is the cost of fertili>ers
6
@
K is the cost of har2estingQshellingQdrying
6
!
K is the cost of $esticides and gunny 7ags
)n the 7asis of these results, =a7le 2 $resents the 9ean 2alues for the costs of $roduction and fro9 sale of
$roduce for each of the far9 enter$rises selected in =rans-N>oia 4ounty.
,!
&3
'!
32
4@
+2

2
4
,
!
+
+2
Beans -ai>e .oats
P
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

o
f

f
a
r
m

e
n
t
e
r
p
r
i
s
e
s

.
/
0
0
0

t
o
n
s
1
Farm enterprises
National =rans-N>oia
Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org
ISSN 2224-32! "#a$er% ISSN 222&-'3( ")nline%
*ol.4, No.+,, 2+4

+2
Table $ The %ean -alues of %aize and 2eans Production per acre in Trans-Nzoia County
A+era3e mean +alues (ifference
-ariable 2eans %aize
=otal 2alue fro9 the sale of $roduce 2',32.,&' 4@,,3.32 -+!3.3@3
4ost of hiring land 3&32.+,3@ ,43!.!2'! -2',.,,,+
4ost of $loughing +3'!.+@,3 2,+4.,2@@ -+2+,.4&+4
4ost of seed !'&.&@4@ 22+& -+3+'.42&3
4ost of $lanting 3'@.'@2& !3.&&3 -432.&32!
4ost of weeding &!&.@+ ++34.'4,! -&4'.23,!
4ost of fertili>er 2@!'., ,++.2,, -332+.2,
4ost of har2estingQshellingQdrying ,4+.2+ +@&.+&', -+,4.+3!,
4ost of $esticidesQgunny 7ags @34.,!3' +!4!.244@ -+++3.&,!
Source: Author's household sur"ey, 2008
Aro9 =a7le 2, it is o7ser2ed that the cost of hiring land is highest for 7oth 9ai>e and 7eans at <sh ,43!.!2'!
and <sh 3&32.+,3@ res$ecti2ely against a total return of <sh. 4@,,3.32 and <sh. 2',32.,&' res$ecti2ely
followed 7y the cost of fertili>er at <sh. ,++.2,, and <sh. 2@!'., for 9ai>e and 7eans res$ecti2ely. =he two
2aria7les 9entioned a7o2e contri7uted to 9ore than &E of the total cost of $roducing 7oth 9ai>e and 7eans.
=he high cost of $esticides and gunny 7ags for 9ai>e indicates that storing of the $roduce is costly. =his could
e6$lain the reason why the s9all scale far9ers $refer to sell the $roduce at a lower $rice to the 9iddle9en than
incur the costs of storage. =his needs to 7e e9$irically loo/ed into to find out the cause and suggest solutions if
the s9all scale far9ers are to 9a6i9i>e their returns. =he difference 7etween the 9eans for 9ai>e and 7eans for
each cost shows that the o2erall cost of $roducing 7eans is lower than that of $roducing 9ai>e thus the negati2e
sign. =he higher $rofit 9argin for 9ai>e can 7e e6$lained 7y the larger far9 si>es under 9ai>e culti2ation.

4" Conclusion and 'ecommendations
=he $roduction le2els of 7eans and 9ai>e in =rans-N>oia 4ounty are declining. Analysis of the costs of
$roduction shows that they are higher for 9ai>e than for 7eans. A greater $ercentage of the 2ariation in the total
re2enue fro9 the sale of $roduce "9ai>e and 7eans% is e6$lained 7y the 2aria7les used in the 9odel.
=he go2ern9ent of <enya and the res$ecti2e de$art9ents should gi2e the necessary attention to agricultural
issues 7y for9ulating food security strategies and $ro2iding su$$ort ser2ices for the far9ers. In2ol2ing the s9all
scale far9ers in self-hel$ reha7ilitation 9easures, greater reliance on 9o7ili>ation of grass root resources
$articularly a9ong the $oor and wo9en would go a long way to enhance and increase $roduction le2els.
=he -inistry of Agriculture should consider increasing the e6tension ser2ices to the s9all scale far9ers so as to
change the thin/ing of the far9ers and ulti9ately their far9ing $ractices. =his could lead to i9$ro2e9ent in the
$roduction le2els of the far9 $roduce and sound en2iron9ental conser2ation 9easures.

'EFE'ENCE)
.o2ern9ent of <enya "2,%. (istrict Status Re&ort 200). =rans-N>oia district. Nairo7i: .o2ern9ent #rinters.
II=A "2@%. *onser"ation o! +eneric Resources. Nairo7i: 4.IAB.
Jayne, 0. <., 3angia, 4., R 3angia, S. "2+%. Re"ie, o! -ai.e -ar/eting in Kenya. Nairo7i: 8SAB-4.
<enya Agricultural Besearch Institute "<ABI% "2&%. *o$$unity01ased -ai.e Seed Production in *oastal
2o,lands o! Kenya. 4entral Bureau of Statistics. Nairo7i: <ABI
<enya Agricultural Besearch Institute "<ABI% "2&%. Statistical A7stracts. 4entral Bureau of Statistics, Nairo7i:
<ABI.
<enya Agricultural Besearch Institute "<ABI% "2!%. Re"ie, o! Policies on the -ai.e su3 sector in Kenya.
Nairo7i: I#AB.
<oul, 5. 5. "+''@%. -ethodology o! %ducational Research "3
rd
ed.%. New 0elhi: *i/as #u7lishing House.
-artin, B. "2+%. Seed Pro"isions and Agricultural (e"elo&$ent: he Institutions o! Rural *hange. 5ondon:
)2erseas 0e2elo$9ent Institute.
-inistry of 5i2estoc/ and Aisheries "2,%. he S&atial Sa$&ling #ra$e and (esign !or #ar$er and 4illage
Sur"eys. Nairo7i: 4BS.
)nyango, B. -. A. et al. "2+%. %!!ect o! Relaying +reen -anure 2egu$es on 5ields o! Intercro&&ed -ai.e in
S$allholder #ar$s o! ransn.oia (istrict, Kenya. <itale: <ABIQNational Agriculture Besearch 4entre.
#eacoc/, S. 3. "+'',%. #ertili.er rade under -ar/et 2i3erali.ation: Preli$inary %"idence !ro$ Kenya.
Nairo7i: <ABI.
=a9i/a, 5. "2!%. I$&ro"ing +oat Rearing in Rural areas. 5usa/a: 4)-A4).
1IBI "24%. 6orld -ai.e #acts and rends: -eeting 6orld -ai.e 7eeds: echnological 8&&ortunities and
Priorities !or the Pu3lic Sector. Nairo7i: 1IBI.

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