Economic impact of fertilizers and improved seeds among smallholder farming systems in Central and Western Kenya

Sammanfattning: In Kenya, many families subsist on agriculture and of the country's around 40 million residents 70% work in the agricultural sector. 50 % of the country's gross domestic production (GDP) comes from farming, and thus the country is largely dependent on income from this sector. Kenya's population has tripled in recent decades, which have led to that food availability is a growing problem. To ensure food security, it is important that the return from crops increases. The aim of this study is to evaluate what impact the use of fertilizers and improved seeds has for farmer’s economic situation and income generation. The study is concerning the production of maize and beans. These two research questions were used to answer the aim: • How do smallholder farmers in Kibugu and Bondo generate income in general? • How does the use of fertilizers and improved seeds contribute to the income generation and economic situation for smallholder farmers in Kibugu and Bondo? This study was carried out during the second period of spring term in 2012. In order to provide the information needed to fulfil the purpose of this project, the study includes two parts of data collection. The first part contains interviews with smallholder farmers in Western and Central Kenya, and the other part is a literature review. The interviews have been conducted to create a general overview of farmers’ financial situation, and to see how fertilizers and improved seeds contribute to the income generation. Literature has been reviewed in order to gain a basic understanding of what kind of inputs farmers in Kenya are using, and the input characteristics. In total, 37 farmers were interviewed in Kibugu and Bondo. Kibugu is located in Central Kenya while Bondo is located in Western Kenya. According to the literature review there would be a clear yield improvement when using fertilizers and improved seeds. The higher yield would in turn allow farmers to sell a larger part of the production, and consequently improve their economic situation. The results from this survey show that the outcome from using fertilizers and/or improved seeds does not always exceed the yield from using non-improved seeds. The study also shows that there is not always a clear advantage with using fertilizers instead of manure.