PARTNERSHIPS AND CHOICE OF MARKET OUTLETS AMONG BEANS FARMERS IN KENYA

Research background: Beans form a substantial part of the household diet in East and Central Africa and are consumed by most households. They are alternative low-cost proteins for less endowed people in a society and can contribute towards nutrition, food security, and employment. In Homa Bay County, beans are staple food grown by a vast majority of farmers. Choice of market outlet is the most significant decision for farm households to sell their produce to the different market outlets, which has a more substantial impact on household income. Purpose of the article: Factors influencing the choice of market outlets among smallholder bean farmers in Homa Bay County, Kenya Methods: Data collected were analyzed using a Multivariate Probit. Multi-stage sampling was used to collect data from 362 farmers, which constituted 181 participants and 181 non-participants of Public-private partnerships (PPPs); data was collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Findings & value added & novelty: The market outlet choices available in the study area for sales of beans included consumers, brokers, retailers, and wholesalers; however, retailers and wholesalers constituted more than half of the market outlets. Experience in bean farming, farm size, access to training, credit, and partnership participation positively and significantly influenced selling to these market outlets. Farmers who participated in PPP participated more in bean farming than non-participants; this might be attributed to the benefit acquired from partnerships, such as training farm inputs, among others. Thus, PPP could be an effective way of improving smallholder livelihood; policies that include mechanisms that create or secure markets for smallholder farmers will see to it that they get increased returns.