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Impact of Maize Production on the Welfare of Small-Scale Famers in Uasin Gishu County; a Case Study of Moiben Constituency

Received: 24 November 2022    Accepted: 13 December 2022    Published: 10 May 2023
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Abstract

When a community engages in economic activity, they always expect to use it as a resource to elevate their economic status. Residents of Uasin Gishu county have over the years engaged tremendously in maize farming expecting it to aid in elevating their economic status. However, despite the heavy investment in the farming of maize, the majority of small-scale farmers in the region still languish in poverty despite farming maize every season. As a result, the study aimed at determining the impact of maize farming on the economic welfare of small-scale farmers in the region. The study looked at how maize farming influenced the income, food security, and employment status of the farmers. The study was carried out in the Moiben constituency which had a population of 300 maize farmers and it was able to sample a total of 75 farmers from the constituency who were sampled through a simple random sampling technique. The study used a structured questionnaire to interview the farmers. The study used simple linear, Poisson, and binary logistic regression models to determine the effect of maize production on income, food security, and employment of small-scale farmers in the region. The results of the linear regression model showed that maize production had a positive significant effect on the income of the farmers in the region (p<0.05). An increase in the size of land for maize production by 1 ha was determined to increase the income of the farmer by approximately Kshs 55,945/=. Based on the results of the Poisson regression model, maize production was determined to have a positive significant effect on the food security of the farmer (p<0.05). An increase in land size under maize production by 1 ha was determined to increase the number of bags of maize stored for family consumption by 1 bag. Lastly, the logistic regression model showed that maize production had a significant effect on the employment of small-scale farmers (p<0.05). The results showed that a farmer with 1 ha of land more was 3.942 times more likely to only carry out farming as a source of employment compared to a farmer with 1 ha of land under maize farming. In conclusion, the study was able to determine that maize farming was able to increase the income of the farmers, increase food security and provide employment opportunities for small-scale farmers. Therefore, this showed that maize production was able to improve the welfare of maize farmers in the region.

Published in American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13
Page(s) 13-18
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Welfare, Maize Production, Food Security, Income, Job Opportunity

References
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[9] KSB, (2008) Kenya maize production Strategic Plan, 2010–2014.
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[11] Kothari, C. R (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Delhi: WillyEastern Limited.
[12] Lank host and Veldman (2008); Evidence on the Relationship between low income and poor Health. Working paper volume 21.
[13] Mayo and Peter (2008); Effects of extension services on agricultural productivity and technology adoption.
[14] Mugenda. O. M and Mugenda. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Research methods Africa Center for Technology Studies (Acts) press, Nairobi Kenya.
[15] Nyoro (2002); Relationship between fertilizer and agricultural production.
[16] Oso, Y. W & Owen, D. (2009) A General Guide to Writing a Research Proposal and Report, Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya.
[17] Purseglove and Wrigley (1979) Species, Hybrid, History and disease and pests of maize.
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[25] Paudyal, K. R., Ransom, J. K., Rajbhandari, N. P., Adhikari, K., Gerpacio, R., Pingali, P. L., 2001. Maize in Nepal: Production Systems, Constraint. 3 and Priorities for Research. Nepal Agricul- tural Research Centre (NARC) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Kathmandu, Nepal, p. 48. pp. 1-11.
[26] Pingali, P., & Pandey, S. (2001). Meeting world maize needs: technological opportunities and priorities for the public sector (No. 557-2019-5085).
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[28] El Bouhali, C., & Rwiza, G. J. (2017). Post-millennium development goals in sub-Saharan Africa: Reflections on education and development for all. In Re-thinking postcolonial education in sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st century (pp. 13-31). Brill.
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    Rutto Janet Chelagat, Troon John Benedict. (2023). Impact of Maize Production on the Welfare of Small-Scale Famers in Uasin Gishu County; a Case Study of Moiben Constituency. American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics, 8(1), 13-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13

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    Rutto Janet Chelagat; Troon John Benedict. Impact of Maize Production on the Welfare of Small-Scale Famers in Uasin Gishu County; a Case Study of Moiben Constituency. Am. J. Environ. Resour. Econ. 2023, 8(1), 13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13

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    AMA Style

    Rutto Janet Chelagat, Troon John Benedict. Impact of Maize Production on the Welfare of Small-Scale Famers in Uasin Gishu County; a Case Study of Moiben Constituency. Am J Environ Resour Econ. 2023;8(1):13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13,
      author = {Rutto Janet Chelagat and Troon John Benedict},
      title = {Impact of Maize Production on the Welfare of Small-Scale Famers in Uasin Gishu County; a Case Study of Moiben Constituency},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics},
      volume = {8},
      number = {1},
      pages = {13-18},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajere.20230801.13},
      abstract = {When a community engages in economic activity, they always expect to use it as a resource to elevate their economic status. Residents of Uasin Gishu county have over the years engaged tremendously in maize farming expecting it to aid in elevating their economic status. However, despite the heavy investment in the farming of maize, the majority of small-scale farmers in the region still languish in poverty despite farming maize every season. As a result, the study aimed at determining the impact of maize farming on the economic welfare of small-scale farmers in the region. The study looked at how maize farming influenced the income, food security, and employment status of the farmers. The study was carried out in the Moiben constituency which had a population of 300 maize farmers and it was able to sample a total of 75 farmers from the constituency who were sampled through a simple random sampling technique. The study used a structured questionnaire to interview the farmers. The study used simple linear, Poisson, and binary logistic regression models to determine the effect of maize production on income, food security, and employment of small-scale farmers in the region. The results of the linear regression model showed that maize production had a positive significant effect on the income of the farmers in the region (p<0.05). An increase in the size of land for maize production by 1 ha was determined to increase the income of the farmer by approximately Kshs 55,945/=. Based on the results of the Poisson regression model, maize production was determined to have a positive significant effect on the food security of the farmer (p<0.05). An increase in land size under maize production by 1 ha was determined to increase the number of bags of maize stored for family consumption by 1 bag. Lastly, the logistic regression model showed that maize production had a significant effect on the employment of small-scale farmers (p<0.05). The results showed that a farmer with 1 ha of land more was 3.942 times more likely to only carry out farming as a source of employment compared to a farmer with 1 ha of land under maize farming. In conclusion, the study was able to determine that maize farming was able to increase the income of the farmers, increase food security and provide employment opportunities for small-scale farmers. Therefore, this showed that maize production was able to improve the welfare of maize farmers in the region.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Impact of Maize Production on the Welfare of Small-Scale Famers in Uasin Gishu County; a Case Study of Moiben Constituency
    AU  - Rutto Janet Chelagat
    AU  - Troon John Benedict
    Y1  - 2023/05/10
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13
    T2  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
    JF  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
    JO  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
    SP  - 13
    EP  - 18
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-787X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20230801.13
    AB  - When a community engages in economic activity, they always expect to use it as a resource to elevate their economic status. Residents of Uasin Gishu county have over the years engaged tremendously in maize farming expecting it to aid in elevating their economic status. However, despite the heavy investment in the farming of maize, the majority of small-scale farmers in the region still languish in poverty despite farming maize every season. As a result, the study aimed at determining the impact of maize farming on the economic welfare of small-scale farmers in the region. The study looked at how maize farming influenced the income, food security, and employment status of the farmers. The study was carried out in the Moiben constituency which had a population of 300 maize farmers and it was able to sample a total of 75 farmers from the constituency who were sampled through a simple random sampling technique. The study used a structured questionnaire to interview the farmers. The study used simple linear, Poisson, and binary logistic regression models to determine the effect of maize production on income, food security, and employment of small-scale farmers in the region. The results of the linear regression model showed that maize production had a positive significant effect on the income of the farmers in the region (p<0.05). An increase in the size of land for maize production by 1 ha was determined to increase the income of the farmer by approximately Kshs 55,945/=. Based on the results of the Poisson regression model, maize production was determined to have a positive significant effect on the food security of the farmer (p<0.05). An increase in land size under maize production by 1 ha was determined to increase the number of bags of maize stored for family consumption by 1 bag. Lastly, the logistic regression model showed that maize production had a significant effect on the employment of small-scale farmers (p<0.05). The results showed that a farmer with 1 ha of land more was 3.942 times more likely to only carry out farming as a source of employment compared to a farmer with 1 ha of land under maize farming. In conclusion, the study was able to determine that maize farming was able to increase the income of the farmers, increase food security and provide employment opportunities for small-scale farmers. Therefore, this showed that maize production was able to improve the welfare of maize farmers in the region.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Economics, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya

  • Department of Economics, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya

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