Determinants of Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum) commercialization and market participation by farmers in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Agricultural commercialization has been promoted as a pathway for enhancing household welfare in developing countries. This paper assesses the extent and determinants of commercialization among smallholder potato farming households in Nyandarua County, Kenya. Data were collected through a survey of 388 potato-producing households and analysed using a crop commercialization index (calculated as a share of the value of produced potato that is marketed) and the Tobit regression model. The average commercialization index was 0.4, implying that only a smaller share of the produced potato is marketed. The extent of potato commercialization varied across gender, education level, productivity, size of potato plots, and farmers' knowledge of production and marketing. The findings also show that household characteristics (such as gender (being male), age, education of the household head, household income) and transaction costs (such as distance to the market) negatively influenced potato commercialization. Conversely, the scale of potato production, knowledge of potato production and marketing, participation in Farmer Field Business School (FFBS) and group membership were positively associated with potato commercialization. Based on the findings, interventions to strengthen women's empowerment and the institutional arrangements for collective action and extension are encouraged.