Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

| Peer-Reviewed |

The Influence of an Entrepreneurial Value Chain on Performance of Smallholder Dairy Farmers

Received: 13 October 2013    Accepted:     Published: 30 October 2013
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

Smallholder activity is the backbone of the agricultural sector and plays an important role in Kenya’s economy. As the Republic of Kenya (R. oK.), donors and development agencies concert their efforts to grow the agricultural sector in Kenya, most of the interventions are designed to adopt the value chain approach and appreciate that the beginning of the value chain is an integral part of its success, the smallholders. There has been a deliberate focus by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to develop the dairy value chain and the agency has designed an entrepreneurial value chain concept to improve the performance of smallholders. This study attempted to understand whether entrepreneurial value chain drivers, namely, access to incentives (finance), training and access to production resource had influenced the performance of smallholders within the dairy value chain .The USAID entrepreneurial value chain projects have a total of 70 smallholder dairy farmers who formed the sampling frame for this study. The researcher used purposive sampling to identify a sample size of 50 smallholder dairy farmers based in Eldoret. A semi-structured questionnaire was the main instrument used to collect primary data from a total of 49 out of 50 respondents; this is a 98% response rate. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20, to test the relationships in the conceptual framework. Data was presented in narratives and tables. The study established that training had to a greater extent improved the performance of smallholders; this was followed by access to incentives and then production resources. In respect to what aspects of their production increased, the smallholders indicated that a larger impact was reflected on improved quantity of milk followed by increased revenue, increased herd and lastly increased milk quality. The recommendations drawn from the study were in two categories, further research and best practice. Further research is recommend to establish whether the entrepreneurial value chain drivers have an impact on other value chain actors higher up the dairy chain. This finding would be used to identify which entrepreneurial drivers can be introduced across the chain and assist in developing a sustainable diary value chain. There is also need for further research to determine whether the entrepreneurial value chain would improve performance of smallholders in other agricultural value chains. As for best practice, the study revealed empirical evidence on the positive implication of entrepreneurial driving opportunities on smallholder performance, hence justification for a widespread adoption of entrepreneurial value chains as interventions that support smallholders especially within the dairy value chain.

DOI 10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13
Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 2, Issue 6, December 2013)
Page(s) 218-224
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Smallholders, Entrepreneurial Value Chain, Production Resources, Incentives, Training, Performance

References
[1] Republic Of Kenya. (2010). Agriculture Sector Development Strategy 2010 -2020. Nairobi: Government printer.
[2] Moran, J. (2008).Key performance indicators for Indonesia’s smallholder dairy farmers. Indonesia: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).
[3] Kanayo, F. N. (2010). Growing businesses of smallholder agriculture. Nairobi: International
[4] Pelrine, J., R (2009). Agriculture Value Chain Financing in Kenya. Report commissioned by Financial Sector Deepening: Nairobi
[5] Kamau, D., Kimani E.,& Obare M. (2012).Performance of Smallholder Dairy Farming in Nakuru County Kenya. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology A 2,481-488.
[6] Roduner, D. (2005).What is the role of development agencies in value chain development in developing countries? Rural development news: East African progress.
[7] Labaste, P.& Webber, M. (2010). Building competitiveness in Africa’s Agriculture and rural development. London: Butterworth Heinemann.
[8] Ponte, S. (2008).Some lessons from global value chain analysis. Chronic poverty research centre: India
[9] Quaedackers, N. P. (2010). Developing market linkages for smallholder farmers. Thesis submitted to Copenhagen Business School.
[10] Choudhary, D. & Choudhury, D. (2010). Integrated value chain development; An analytical and strategic framework. Kathmandu: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.
[11] Porter M. (1985), Competitive Advantage, Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. The Free Press: New York.
[12] Phnom, P. (2011). Agriculture Financing and Services for Smallholder Farmers. Cambodian Economic Association: Cambodia
[13] Kouwenhoven, B,. Lossonczy, M and Nalla, H (2005). A Handbook for Value Chain Research. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex: Brighton.
[14] Mitchell, L. and Shepherd, K. (2006), Agribusiness and innovation systems in Africa: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. New York: The World Bank.
[15] Altenburg, T. (2007). Donor approaches to supporting pro-poor value chains. Report prepared for the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development. Bonn: German Development Institute.
[16] Donovan, J. (2010). Assessing the impacts of certification systems on rural poverty: A case of organic and fair trade certified coffee in Nicaragua. Nicaragua: Fair Trade Association.
[17] Karanja, A. M. (2003). The dairy industry in Kenya: the post-liberalization agenda. Nairobi: USAID-Kenya.
[18] Buxton, A. & Vorley B. (2011). Value Chain Development for Decent Work. International Institute for Environment and Development/Sustainable Food Lab
[19] Minten, B., Randrianarison, L., & Swinnen, J. (2005). Global retail chains and poor farmers: Evidence from Madagascar. LICOS Discussion Papers 16406, K. U. Leuven: LICOS– Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance.
[20] Kim, R., Kurt, L. & Theus, F. (2009).Agribusiness and innovation systems in Africa: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. New York: The World Bank.
[21] Collett, K., & Gale, G. (2009). Training for rural development. London: City & Guilds Centre
Author Information
  • MSC Entrepreneurship, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Donde Titianne. (2013). The Influence of an Entrepreneurial Value Chain on Performance of Smallholder Dairy Farmers. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 2(6), 218-224. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Donde Titianne. The Influence of an Entrepreneurial Value Chain on Performance of Smallholder Dairy Farmers. Agric. For. Fish. 2013, 2(6), 218-224. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Donde Titianne. The Influence of an Entrepreneurial Value Chain on Performance of Smallholder Dairy Farmers. Agric For Fish. 2013;2(6):218-224. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13,
      author = {Donde Titianne},
      title = {The Influence of an Entrepreneurial Value Chain on Performance of Smallholder Dairy Farmers},
      journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
      volume = {2},
      number = {6},
      pages = {218-224},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20130206.13},
      abstract = {Smallholder activity is the backbone of the agricultural sector and plays an important role in Kenya’s economy. As the Republic of Kenya (R. oK.), donors and development agencies concert their efforts to grow the agricultural sector in Kenya, most of the interventions are designed to adopt the value chain approach and appreciate that the beginning of the value chain is an integral part of its success, the smallholders. There has been a deliberate focus by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to develop the dairy value chain and the agency has designed an entrepreneurial value chain concept to improve the performance of smallholders. This study attempted to understand whether entrepreneurial value chain drivers, namely, access to incentives (finance), training and access to production resource had influenced the performance of smallholders within the dairy value chain .The USAID entrepreneurial value chain projects have a total of 70 smallholder dairy farmers who formed the sampling frame for this study. The researcher used purposive sampling to identify a sample size of 50 smallholder dairy farmers based in Eldoret. A semi-structured questionnaire was the main instrument used to collect primary data from a total of 49 out of 50 respondents; this is a 98% response rate. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20, to test the relationships in the conceptual framework. Data was presented in narratives and tables. The study established that training had to a greater extent improved the performance of smallholders; this was followed by access to incentives and then production resources.  In respect to what aspects of their production increased, the smallholders indicated that a larger impact was reflected on improved quantity of milk followed by increased revenue, increased herd and lastly increased milk quality. The recommendations drawn from the study were in two categories, further research and best practice. Further research is recommend to establish whether the entrepreneurial value chain drivers have an impact on other value chain actors higher up the dairy chain.  This finding would be used to identify which entrepreneurial drivers can be introduced across the chain and assist in developing a sustainable diary value chain.  There is also need for further research to determine whether the entrepreneurial value chain would improve performance of smallholders in other agricultural value chains. As for best practice, the study revealed empirical evidence on the positive implication of entrepreneurial driving opportunities on smallholder performance, hence justification for a widespread adoption of entrepreneurial value chains as interventions that support smallholders especially within the dairy value chain.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Influence of an Entrepreneurial Value Chain on Performance of Smallholder Dairy Farmers
    AU  - Donde Titianne
    Y1  - 2013/10/30
    PY  - 2013
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13
    T2  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JF  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JO  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    SP  - 218
    EP  - 224
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5648
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20130206.13
    AB  - Smallholder activity is the backbone of the agricultural sector and plays an important role in Kenya’s economy. As the Republic of Kenya (R. oK.), donors and development agencies concert their efforts to grow the agricultural sector in Kenya, most of the interventions are designed to adopt the value chain approach and appreciate that the beginning of the value chain is an integral part of its success, the smallholders. There has been a deliberate focus by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to develop the dairy value chain and the agency has designed an entrepreneurial value chain concept to improve the performance of smallholders. This study attempted to understand whether entrepreneurial value chain drivers, namely, access to incentives (finance), training and access to production resource had influenced the performance of smallholders within the dairy value chain .The USAID entrepreneurial value chain projects have a total of 70 smallholder dairy farmers who formed the sampling frame for this study. The researcher used purposive sampling to identify a sample size of 50 smallholder dairy farmers based in Eldoret. A semi-structured questionnaire was the main instrument used to collect primary data from a total of 49 out of 50 respondents; this is a 98% response rate. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20, to test the relationships in the conceptual framework. Data was presented in narratives and tables. The study established that training had to a greater extent improved the performance of smallholders; this was followed by access to incentives and then production resources.  In respect to what aspects of their production increased, the smallholders indicated that a larger impact was reflected on improved quantity of milk followed by increased revenue, increased herd and lastly increased milk quality. The recommendations drawn from the study were in two categories, further research and best practice. Further research is recommend to establish whether the entrepreneurial value chain drivers have an impact on other value chain actors higher up the dairy chain.  This finding would be used to identify which entrepreneurial drivers can be introduced across the chain and assist in developing a sustainable diary value chain.  There is also need for further research to determine whether the entrepreneurial value chain would improve performance of smallholders in other agricultural value chains. As for best practice, the study revealed empirical evidence on the positive implication of entrepreneurial driving opportunities on smallholder performance, hence justification for a widespread adoption of entrepreneurial value chains as interventions that support smallholders especially within the dairy value chain.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

  • Sections