Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income

Kenya's Arabica coffee is highly rated in the world and is a major source of income for over half a million smallholder farmers. Production has declined by 50% over the past 25 years despite efforts by initiatives. This study tries to unravel what drives coffee production in Kenya. Data were collect...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wairegi, L.W.I., Bennett, M., Nziguheba, G., Mawanda, A., Ríos, C. de los, Ampaire, E., Jassogne, Laurence T.P., Pali, Pamela N., Mukasa, D., Asten, Piet J.A. van
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108653
_version_ 1855540962071150592
author Wairegi, L.W.I.
Bennett, M.
Nziguheba, G.
Mawanda, A.
Ríos, C. de los
Ampaire, E.
Jassogne, Laurence T.P.
Pali, Pamela N.
Mukasa, D.
Asten, Piet J.A. van
author_browse Ampaire, E.
Asten, Piet J.A. van
Bennett, M.
Jassogne, Laurence T.P.
Mawanda, A.
Mukasa, D.
Nziguheba, G.
Pali, Pamela N.
Ríos, C. de los
Wairegi, L.W.I.
author_facet Wairegi, L.W.I.
Bennett, M.
Nziguheba, G.
Mawanda, A.
Ríos, C. de los
Ampaire, E.
Jassogne, Laurence T.P.
Pali, Pamela N.
Mukasa, D.
Asten, Piet J.A. van
author_sort Wairegi, L.W.I.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Kenya's Arabica coffee is highly rated in the world and is a major source of income for over half a million smallholder farmers. Production has declined by 50% over the past 25 years despite efforts by initiatives. This study tries to unravel what drives coffee production in Kenya. Data were collected on six cooperatives through household interviews and discussions with farmers, cooperative officials, and key informants. Yields ranged from ten to 3889 kg/ha/year, averaged 474 kg/ha/year and were positively correlated with intensity of crop management (r = 0.09, P < 0.05). Coffee represented about 25–50% of total household income. The oldest farmers (average 63 years) were poorer, had less diversified income sources and managed coffee less intensively than younger farmers. Intensity of management differed among cooperatives and was positively correlated with trust in the cooperative (r = 0.209, P < 0.001). Households that received credit from marketers were 30% more likely to use fertilizers than other households. We show that the yield gap can be closed by existing practices, and intensification is influenced by household characteristics and services received. We conclude that increasing the participation of young farmers in coffee production and creating an enabling environment for intensification can have a positive and sustainable effect on national production.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace108653
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2018
publishDateRange 2018
publishDateSort 2018
publisher Elsevier
publisherStr Elsevier
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1086532024-05-01T08:19:48Z Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income Wairegi, L.W.I. Bennett, M. Nziguheba, G. Mawanda, A. Ríos, C. de los Ampaire, E. Jassogne, Laurence T.P. Pali, Pamela N. Mukasa, D. Asten, Piet J.A. van coffee households production yields farmers Kenya's Arabica coffee is highly rated in the world and is a major source of income for over half a million smallholder farmers. Production has declined by 50% over the past 25 years despite efforts by initiatives. This study tries to unravel what drives coffee production in Kenya. Data were collected on six cooperatives through household interviews and discussions with farmers, cooperative officials, and key informants. Yields ranged from ten to 3889 kg/ha/year, averaged 474 kg/ha/year and were positively correlated with intensity of crop management (r = 0.09, P < 0.05). Coffee represented about 25–50% of total household income. The oldest farmers (average 63 years) were poorer, had less diversified income sources and managed coffee less intensively than younger farmers. Intensity of management differed among cooperatives and was positively correlated with trust in the cooperative (r = 0.209, P < 0.001). Households that received credit from marketers were 30% more likely to use fertilizers than other households. We show that the yield gap can be closed by existing practices, and intensification is influenced by household characteristics and services received. We conclude that increasing the participation of young farmers in coffee production and creating an enabling environment for intensification can have a positive and sustainable effect on national production. 2018-10 2020-07-02T13:25:07Z 2020-07-02T13:25:07Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108653 en Limited Access Elsevier Wairegi, L.W., Bennett, M., Nziguheba, G., Mawanda, A., de los Rios, C., Ampaire, E., ... & van Asten, P.J. (2018). Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income. Journal of Rural Studies, 63, 190-199.
spellingShingle coffee
households
production
yields
farmers
Wairegi, L.W.I.
Bennett, M.
Nziguheba, G.
Mawanda, A.
Ríos, C. de los
Ampaire, E.
Jassogne, Laurence T.P.
Pali, Pamela N.
Mukasa, D.
Asten, Piet J.A. van
Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income
title Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income
title_full Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income
title_fullStr Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income
title_full_unstemmed Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income
title_short Sustainably improving Kenya's coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income
title_sort sustainably improving kenya s coffee production needs more participation of younger farmers with diversified income
topic coffee
households
production
yields
farmers
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/108653
work_keys_str_mv AT wairegilwi sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT bennettm sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT nziguhebag sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT mawandaa sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT rioscdelos sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT ampairee sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT jassognelaurencetp sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT palipamelan sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT mukasad sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome
AT astenpietjavan sustainablyimprovingkenyascoffeeproductionneedsmoreparticipationofyoungerfarmerswithdiversifiedincome