Agriculture is the mainstay of the Kenyan Economy. However, agriculture has experienced low productivity over the years. Poor access to agricultural finance has been identified as a contributing factor to low crop productivity. Kenyan agriculture has undergone some fundamental changes which have...

This paper examines the extent to which garment industry in Swaziland has contributed to the economic empowerment of the Swazi people through creation of new jobs and improvement in their overall welfare. In Swaziland as elsewhere in many African countries, unemployment has been and is still a...

The paper estimates the cost of tsetse control and treatment of trypanosomiasis and the benefits involved, using benefit-cost analysis. It also estimates the extent to which socio-economic characteristics of farmers affect the use of tsetse control techniques, using a maximum Likelihood-Binary...

Although microfinance has elicited different reactions from different stakeholders, there seems to be a general agreement that it is useful in reducing poverty. This study is an attempt to contribute in to the debate on the impact of microfinance on household incomes. We use a pooled data set...

Modernization and commercialization of the smallholder agricultural sector provides the stimulus and impetus to reducing food insecurity in developing countries. This study seeks to fill the gaps in the literature particularly by comprehensive conceptualization of the drivers of...

Improving smallholder farmer market participation (agricultural commercialization) has seen the advent of a number of initiatives from collective action, extension service provision and even programs that utilize ICT tools in the provision of market information. Collective action through farmer...

Commercialization is often viewed as an avenue to improve household food security due to its comparative advantages over subsistence production. However, there are arguments for and against smallholder commercialization as a pathway for ensuring household food security. This paper sought to...

Agricultural output commercialization has been found to have positive impacts on the income generating activities of household in sub-Sahara Africa. This paper examines the extent of agricultural produce commercialization and its impact on the household income generation vis-à-vis household...

Farming as a primary source of income has failed to guarantee sufficient livelihood for most farming households in developing countries, and agricultural development policies have largely produced little improvement, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Diversification into off-farm activities has...

Jatropha curcas L. (or physic nut), a previously underutilized tree species in smallholder farming systems, is fast gaining formal recognition as a very important tree crop in improving rural livelihoods. The Government of Zimbabwe is vigorously promoting the growing of Jatropha in marginal...