Poverty in Kenya has been on the increase over the last decade. It is estimated that 56% of the total population live in absolute poverty. Most of the poor reside in rural areas where agriculture is the main livelihood activity. Majority of Kenya's farmers are smallholders. They account for 75%...

It is generally agreed that increasing agricultural productivity is critical to stimulating the rate of economic growth in Africa. There are many important and often complementary determinants of agricultural productivity. In this brief and the full paper it draws from, the focus is on...

This study was funded jointly by the Regional Strategic Agricultural Knowledge Support System (Re-SAKSS) for Southern Africa, based at International Water Management Institute, Pretoria, South Africa, and by the United States Agency for International Development's Africa Bureau. Much of the data...

Productivity gaps of 321 groundnut farmers from Uganda and Kenya were analyzed based on data from the 2009 growing seasons, using the stochastic production frontier model of Battese and Coelli (1995). Productivity gaps associated with the use of improved versus local seed varieties, with the...

Modernization and commercialization of the smallholder agricultural sector provides the stimulus and impetus to reducing food insecurity in developing countries. This study seeks to fill the gaps in the literature particularly by comprehensive conceptualization of the drivers of...

We explore households coping and adaptation strategies to climate change and variability in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) using data collected from 500 households across Samburu District; Kenya. We hypothesised that as we move from wet to dry areas, households’ accumulate livestock wealth,...

Paper investigates the determinants of pesticide related Cost of Illness (COI), and acute symptoms, using a balanced panel of 363 farmers interviewed in 2005 and 2008. Finding shows that the incidences of pesticide-related health impairments have increased. Variation in number of symptoms and...

The study assesses the impact of shocks on livestock and the role of adaptation to climate change in protecting assets from weather shocks. Data collection relied on a mixed-method approach, including household surveys and participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) in each site. The study uses panel...

This study assessed the determinants of participation and intensity of participation in collective action initiatives. It also examined the effect of participation in such initiatives on household commercialization and on household welfare (incomes). It uses a double hurdle approach (a logit...

Preserving, managing and improving the health of forest ecosystems worldwide will require equitable leadership and participation from both women and men. Understanding gendered motivations to conserve forest ecosystems may contribute to the design of programs that enable sustainable management...