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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Modern Maize Technology, Yield Variations, and Efficiency Differences: A Case of Small Farms in Western Kenya |
Author: | Ongaro, Wilfred A. |
Year: | 1990 |
Periodical: | Eastern Africa Economic Review |
Volume: | 6 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 11-30 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs., ills. |
Geographic terms: | Kenya East Africa |
Subjects: | small farms maize Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Development and Technology Agriculture, Agronomy, Forestry crop yields Zea mays L. technology Farms, Small |
Abstract: | Results from a field survey of 257 smallholder farmers conducted in 1983-1984 in Kisii and Nandi districts of western Kenya in order to evaluate the factors influencing maize yield variations and efficiency differentials are presented. Special attention is paid to the estimated value of marginal productivities of various inputs compared with their cost. Credit availability and extension contacts were found to be positive and significantly related to maize yields. Off-farm work, although positive in most cases, was not always significant. These variables also explain the efficiency differentials among farmers. The findings attest to the claim that allowance be made for the structural characteristics and other socioeconomic variables associated with inputs used when designing modern farming technologies and other agricultural policies in Kenya. App., bibliogr., notes, ref. |