Smallholder Farmers' Preference Influence on the Commercialization of Sunflower a Case of Kimilili Sub- County, Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

Sunflower commercialization supports smallholder farmers'' livelihoods and economies to thrive globally. It can potentially increase income generation for smallholder farmers and contribute to household daily needs for human consumption and livestock feeding. However, the smallholder farmers'' rate of income generation remains low and are indifferent in allocating their scarce resources among households demanding needs and potential agricultural enterprises. Intensive research on the household commercialization level and smallholder farmers'' preferences was done to promote sunflower production and commercialization. This study focused on determining the influence of smallholder farmers'' preference on sunflower commercialization. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional research design to determine the relationship between variables. A pilot study was conducted in Kabuchai Sub-County, and actual data was collected in Kimilili Sub-County, Bungoma County, Kenya. A multistage sampling technique drew a sample of 288 sunflower farmers from the target population of 16000 smallholder farmers who were randomly interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using Stata version 17. Descriptive statistics were applied in the representation of sunflower smallholder farmers'' characteristics. The household commercialization index was used to determine the level of commercialization, and a multinomial logit was applied to assess the influence of smallholder farmers'' preference on sunflower commercialization. The study found sunflower smallholder farmers'' rate of commercialization to be 50.81%. Multinomial logit regression findings showed that off-farm income and farmers'' credit access significantly (p<0.05) influenced smallholder farmers'' preference for sunflower commercialization. However, farming experience, household size, and group membership did not significantly influence smallholder farmers'' preference for sunflower commercialization. To increase smallholder farmers'' preference for the commercialization of sunflower, each farmer must take a step in engaging in off-farm income-generating activities, which will help diverse financial resources, meet household needs, and support sunflower commercialization as an agricultural income-generation investment. The study recommends that agricultural commercialization institutions (APRA, COMMASS, KAVES, and RUCOM) support smallholder farmers'' access to credit conveniently as it promotes their preference for commercializing sunflower. Strategies such as a memorandum of understanding between farmers, credit lending institutions, and agricultural organizations can be implemented to ease stringed policies over credit access.