Challenges Facing Small Scale Maize Farmers in Western Province of Kenya in the Agricultural Reform Era

Abstract

The national maize production levels in Kenya have been declining from an all time high of over 34 million bags to about 25 million bags over the years. The situation is made worse by agricultural reforms which have affected small scale farmers in Western Province, which is one of Kenya's food baskets. This paper therefore addresses the challenges facing the small scale maize farmers in Western Province of Kenya in the agricultural reform era. Two hundred small scale farmers were selected through systematic sampling from Lugari, Bungoma, Mt. Elgon and Busia districts which were purposively selected. In addition one hundred extension staff was selected through systematic sampling. The small scale farmers were interviewed with the help of an interview schedule containing open and closed ended questions. While the extension staff filled a self administered questionnaire containing open and closed ended questions. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results revealed that small scale farmers in Western Province lack awareness of improved agricultural practices and technical knowhow because the extension staff to farmer ratio is high. They also lacked finance, experienced high interest rates on credit facilities and uncertainty of the right seed to use due to flooding of the market by many seed companies.