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Market participation, on-farm crop diversity and household welfare: micro-evidence from Kenya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2012

Solomon Asfaw
Affiliation:
FAO of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA), Viale delle Terme di Caracalla – 00153 Rome, Italy. Tel: +39 06 570 55504. Fax: +39 06 570 55522. Email: solomon.asfaw@fao.org
Leslie Lipper
Affiliation:
FAO of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA), Italy. Email: leslie.lipper@fao.org
Timothy J. Dalton
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, USA. Email: TimothyDalton@agecon.ksu.edu
Patrick Audi
Affiliation:
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Kenya. Email: p.audi@cgiar.org

Abstract

This paper examines determinants of output and input market participation. It employs propensity score matching techniques to evaluate the impact of market participation on pigeonpea diversity and household welfare, using cross-sectional data of 333 households from Kenya. Results show that input and output market participation decisions are quite distinct. Output market participation is influenced by household demographics, farm size and radio ownership, while input market participation is determined by farm size, bicycle ownership and access to a salaried income. The findings reveal a positive and significant impact of output market participation on pigeonpea diversity, while input market participation had a negative and significant impact on diversity. The results indicate that output market participants have significantly higher food security status than non-participants, in line with the general findings of the literature. However, no significant impact is found between indicators of household welfare and input market participation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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