dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
Sugar industry in Kenya supports livelihood of 25% of the population both directly and indirectly. The
industry accounts for about 15% of Agricultural Gross Domestic Product and is a major employer for
most households in Western Kenya. Sugarcane outputs in Kenya have been on the decline from a modest
73 tons to 55 tons per hectare between the years 2009 and 2014. This decline has attracted researchers to
this area of study; however, most studies have mainly focused on agricultural determinants without regard
to the socio and economic determinants of cane production. This study therefore sought to establish the
socio-economic determinants of sugarcane production among small scale farmers within the Nyando
Sugar Belt. Specifically, the study sought to examine the effect of cost of variable inputs, farmer
educational level, land ownership and gender on cane output. The study was anchored on Production
Theory and was guided by correlation design. The target population was 12,057 small scale cane farmers
within the Nyando Sugar Belt, 384 cane farmers were randomly sampled out of which 375 responded to
the questionnaire. The data for this study was both primary and secondary. Questionnaires were used to
collect primary data and secondary data obtained from farmers records. Reliability of the research
instruments was ascertained and Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.868 obtained confirming the reliability
of the research instrument. Data analysis was done through descriptive and inferential statistics, measures
of central tendencies was used to summarize responses in numerical forms, multiple regression to
ascertain the direction and magnitude of influences of the study variables on cane output and Pearson
correlation to ascertain the bi-variate association between the study variables and significance of the
variables. Coefficient of determination R2 was 0.758 which indicated that 75.8% variation in cane output
was explained by all explanatory variables. The F value was 164.641 and was significant indicating that
the regression model was well fitted. The study revealed that variable input costs (land preparation cost
β=0.455 at p-value=0.000, fertilizer application cost β =0.168 at p-value=0.000, weeding and weed
control cost β=0.398 at p-value=0.000 and seed cane and planting cost β=0.479 at p-value=0.000) had
significant positive effect on cane output. Land ownership and Gender was also found to have a
significant effect on cane output at β= -0.064 and p-value=0.049 and at β=0.093 and p-value=0.010
respectively. It is recommended that more investments be made on land preparation, fertilizer application,
weeding and weed control and seed cane and planting to improve cane output. The study also
recommends for interventions targeting landowners and female headed households to enhance cane
output. | en_US |