Structural Analysis of Small-Scale Maize Production in the Nakuru District: Challenges Faced in Achieving Stable and High Maize Productivity in Kenya

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important food crop for almost everyone in Kenya. It accounts for more than 40% of the daily caloric intake and has a per capita consumption of 98 kg/year, which translates to a national annual consumption of 3.32 million tonnes. However, because annual maize production in Kenya is only about 2.7 million tones, far below the national consumption rate Kenya must import maize in most years. A large proportion of the maize grown in Kenya comes from small-scale production by about 3.5 million farmers.
The development of new technologies and farming methods during the 1960s and 1970s (often dubbed Kenya's “green revolution”) saw large improvements in crop production, but this growth has not been sustained. What caused this decline? Here, I attempted to determine the challenges affecting maize production in Kenya by analyzing the effects that the failure of small-scale farmers to adopt integrated technologies has had on productivity. The Nakuru District was selected as the study area because of its accessibility and ecological and cultural diversity.
A survey of a sample of 867 farmers was conducted during the 2007 maize harvesting season. The farmers were interviewed by using a structured questionnaire and their comments recorded. The results indicated that selective adoption of technologies did not result in marginal increases in productivity, as exemplified by farmers who used hybrid maize seeds but no fertilizer. Farmers who used hybrid seeds but planted late did not gain marginal increases in productivity over farmers who planted early but used inferior seed. Delays in land preparation and planting were due mainly to over-reliance on family labor, especially children, who attended school and hence could work on the farm only in the evenings and at weekends. Machinery hire for land preparation was expensive because of equipment scarcity, high fuel costs, and the small, scattered, and irregularly shaped nature of the land being worked. The per-kilogram costs of both fertilizer and hybrid maize seeds were more than 10 times the value of maize grains sold by farmers to the local market; hence, these items were not affordable by many farmers. The high cost of inputs and the lack of adequate information on production technologies were therefore hindrances to maize productivity.
Integration of locally available maize production technologies and resources was identified as one of the options in addressing food insecurity because it would be likely to reduce farmers' over-reliance on external inputs such as fertilizers and seed. Integrated use of available natural resources would also increase the sustainability of maize production. Productivity therefore needs to be analyzed in terms of specific local environments and farmer potential instead of research-station-based results.