This paper evaluates the trends in staple food price volatility in Kenya for maize, wheat and Irish potatoes relative to three other Eastern Africa countries (Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda) using the unconditional and the conditional standard deviation. The paper tests the volatility of food...

This paper investigates the non-linear adjustments between maize and beans markets in the highlands of central Kenya. Results are based on bi-weekly retail price data collected from ten markets in Mbeere and Meru south districts. The error correction model extended by the incorporation of...

Fruits and vegetables are an important source of nutrients for a large number of Kenyans, as well as major earners of foreign exchange, and are commonly grown crop among smallholder farmers, who often sell them for cash. Little is known, however, about the structure of domestic demand for fruits...

In Kenya, trade policy reforms in the cereals sector were initiated as a key component of the economy-wide structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) during the mid 1980s. The SAPs were later strengthened and made irreversible by Kenya’s commitments at the multilateral trade negotiations....

Since the beginning of 1970’s, more than 40 improved maize varieties have been released and disseminated to maize potential areas in Ethiopia. Using cross-sectional survey data collected in 2011 from 39 districts in five Regional States, this paper examines smallholder farmers’ knowledge,...

Zambia’s maize seed industry is one of the strongest in the region, and smallholder farmers grow numerous varieties, with no single variety dominating more than a small share of maize area. Yet, the foremost consumer (purchaser) of maize seed over the past decade has been the Government of...

This paper establishes level of up-take of the business opportunities provided by the metal silos technology among the artisans who were trained on how to make metal silos. It also assesses the factors that determine the practice of the metal silo business among the trained artisans. A third of...

Maize is the staple food crop and source of income for majority of the Kenyan population and many sub-Saharan African countries. The increasing Kenyan population demands an increase in maize production if intermittent food deficits have to be averted. Since the introduction of improved maize...

Market liberalization created a situation where there are no guaranteed grain prices, no central information source and the need for marketing information increased. Unfortunately, most farmers have little or no access to marketing information. This study evaluates farmers’ perceptions of...

Insect Resistant Maize for Africa Project (IRMA) aims at developing and deploying insect resistant maize varieties to reduce grain losses due to insect pests. As part of incorporating farmer’s perceptions and improving the adoption of the developed varieties, participatory approaches are...