This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts not only for the effects of fixed and variable transactions costs but also for the role of assets,...

Striga hermonthica (del) Benth is threatening rural livelihoods in western Kenya where maize is the major food and cash crop. Vulnerability analysis was conducted on a sample of 802 households in eight districts of Nyanza and Western provinces. Farmers perceived Striga as the major cause of...

This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts not only for the effects of fixed and variable transactions costs but also for the role of assets,...

During participatory rural appraisals, farmers at the Lake Victoria basin of Kenya and Uganda identified Striga, stemborer and declining soil fertility as three major constraints to maize production To reduce food insecurity, several innovative integrated technologies to address these...

The major biotic constraints to the production of maize, the major staple food in Western Kenya, are field pests such as "Striga" and stem borers, and low soil fertility. To counter these constraints, new cropping systems have been developed, including "push-pull," rotations with promiscuous...

Summary This paper assessed the relative economic efficiency and output supply and input demand responses of women farmers in western Kenya. The results showed that women are as technically and allocatively efficient as men. However, neither men nor women have absolute allocative efficiency....