Factors influencing the choice of marketing strategies among cassava microenterprises in Kenya

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta L.) production and utilisation in Kenya face stiff competition from other major starchy food crops mainly maize, potatoes and wheat. This is due to the cyanide content in cassava which is lethal when roots are mishandled, leading to avoidance of the crop by potential consumers. This has affected the marketing of the crop and its products.The objective of this study was to analyse factors that influence the choice of marketing strategies among agripreneurs in cassava microenterprises in Kenya. A studywas conducted in Migori County (Kuria West, Suna East, Suna West and Uriri Sub-counties) in Kenya, using a semi-structured questionnaire, administered to a sample of 267 cassava micro enterprises. Results showed that the most used marketing strategies were pricing, product promotion, value addition and formation of a marketing alliance mostly in their combination. Multivariate Probit results showed that age, gender, education level, household size, major occupation (trading), marketing experience, seed money, entrepreneurial training, marketing information, market distance, group membership, farm gate and open-air marketing outlets significantly (P<0.05) influenced the choice of marketing strategies among cassava microenterprises. Therefore, cassava agripreneurs of microenterprises need to combine viable product lines and the marketing strategies that give maximum performance in order to increase their marketing shares and profits.