Extension-Market Linkages on Banana Commercialisation Among Smallholder Farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

Abstract

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design, sampling 370 and 30 farmers proportionately from 269,499 and 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties of Kenya, respectively. The Tobit model was used to analyze the effect of extension-Market linkages on banana commercialization. The results revealed that sources of the Marketing information (Coef. -.0676939) had a negative influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The result showed that the Reliability of local extension service provider in enabling farmers access to market information (Coef. 0.037) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in commercializing banana business (Coef. 0.636157) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. It is recommended that the government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialize banana. This will help farmers increase their income.