Socio-Economic Determinants of Groundnut Production in Ndhiwa Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Groundnut ( Arachis hypogea L.) is a major oilseed crop and has eco­nomic and nutritive benefits for rural farmers. Although the adoption of new technologies and increased contact with extension agents as one way of increas­ing production has improved production, productivity of groundnut remains low. This study used the ex-post facto research design with the aim of analyzing the socio-economic determinants of groundnut production in Kenya. Using pur­posive, multistage and simple random sampling techniques, data on farmer characteristics was obtained from 323 farmers involved in groundnut produc­tion during the 2014 main cropping season. Multiple regression analysis was used to study the behaviour and effects of independent variables on the depend­ent variable and test hypotheses. The results were that gender of household head, number of years a household head had been farming, household head’s previous income from groundnut and land size were significant factors in groundnut production. Based on the findings, the study recommends that inter­ventions that target female headed households and improvement of farmers’ traditional knowledge on production should be put in place to improve produc­tion.