Horticulture Farmers and Domestic Supermarkets in Kenya

Thomas Reardon, Michael M. Odera and David Neven ()

No 11534, Staff Paper Series from Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Abstract: Are the rural poor excluded from the market opportunities created by the rise of supermarkets in developing countries? We analyzed the farm-level impact of supermarket growth in Kenya's produce sub-sector which is dominated by smallholder producers. Two main findings emerged. First, the existence of a threshold capital vector at the entrance of the supermarket channel does hinder the entry of small, rainfed farms. Instead, the main supply response has come from a new group of medium-sized, fast-growing farms managed by well-educated farmers. Second, the heavy reliance on and higher wages paid to hired farm workers on supermarket-channel farms help to alleviate poverty for rural households with little land.

Keywords: Marketing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:midasp:11534

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.11534

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