Impact of Maize Production on the Welfare of Small-Scale Famers in Uasin Gishu County; a Case Study of Moiben Constituency

Abstract

When a community engages in economic activity, they always expect to use it as a resource to elevate their economic status. Residents of Uasin Gishu county have over the years engaged tremendously in maize farming expecting it to aid in elevating their economic status. However, despite the heavy investment in the farming of maize, the majority of small-scale farmers in the region still languish in poverty despite farming maize every season. As a result, the study aimed at determining the impact of maize farming on the economic welfare of small-scale farmers in the region. The study looked at how maize farming influenced the income, food security, and employment status of the farmers. The study was carried out in the Moiben constituency which had a population of 300 maize farmers and it was able to sample a total of 75 farmers from the constituency who were sampled through a simple random sampling technique. The study used a structured questionnaire to interview the farmers. The study used simple linear, Poisson, and binary logistic regression models to determine the effect of maize production on income, food security, and employment of small-scale farmers in the region. The results of the linear regression model showed that maize production had a positive significant effect on the income of the farmers in the region (p<0.05). An increase in the size of land for maize production by 1 ha was determined to increase the income of the farmer by approximately Kshs 55,945/=. Based on the results of the Poisson regression model, maize production was determined to have a positive significant effect on the food security of the farmer (p<0.05). An increase in land size under maize production by 1 ha was determined to increase the number of bags of maize stored for family consumption by 1 bag. Lastly, the logistic regression model showed that maize production had a significant effect on the employment of small-scale farmers (p<0.05). The results showed that a farmer with 1 ha of land more was 3.942 times more likely to only carry out farming as a source of employment compared to a farmer with 1 ha of land under maize farming. In conclusion, the study was able to determine that maize farming was able to increase the income of the farmers, increase food security and provide employment opportunities for small-scale farmers. Therefore, this showed that maize production was able to improve the welfare of maize farmers in the region.