Effects of Population Density on Smallholder Agricultural Production and Commercialization in Rural Kenya

Milu Muyanga and Thomas Jayne ()

No 124993, 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: This study analyzes the implications of increasing population density in Kenya’s rural areas on smallholder production and commercialization. Using data from five panel surveys on 1,146 small-scale farms over the 1997-2010 period, we use econometric techniques to determine how increasing rural population density is affecting farm household behavior and its implication to smallholder commercialization. We find that farm productivity and incomes tend to rise with population density up to 600-650 persons per km2; beyond this threshold, rising population density is associated with sharp declines in farm productivity. Currently 14% of Kenya’s rural population resides in areas exceeding this population density. The study concludes by exploring the nature of institutional and policy reforms needed to address these development problems.

Keywords: Community/Rural/Urban Development; International Relations/Trade; Production Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34
Date: 2012
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-agr, nep-dem and nep-dev
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea12:124993

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.124993

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