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Abstract
The greatest challenge to small holder farmers in Africa is lack of
markets although new developments point to linking them to specific
markets. Since linking farmers to markets in Kenyan agriculture is a
relatively new phenomenon both at the level of government and the
NGO/donor, it has not been established what works and what does
not. Secondly, there is inadequate information and documentation on
the nature of linkages of farmers to markets both in the public and
private sector. The objective of the study was therefore to identify
the different practices through which successful small holder farmers
have gained access to remunerative markets. Based on a FAO
nomenclature on the various approaches that small holder farmers’
access markets globally, a market research was done in 2010 where
a total sample of twenty farmers was selected from eight districts in
Kenya. After further screening, only seven farmers meeting the FAO
criteria were interviewed. The commodities that were considered
were eggs, milk, avocado fruit, meat, horticultural produce, summer
flowers, essential oils and bananas. Results showed that there were
five best practices identified contributing to market access for small
holder farmers: Production (adequate volume), Group’s development
dynamics (organized groups), Marketing (consistent supply),
Marketing institutions (collaboration with marketing institutions),
and Business development services (providing services to producers).
It was concluded that implementing what is perceived as the best
practices built self-confidence, reduced perception of risk and through
the market exposure, farmers acquired a set of new life skills: business,
management, human relations and organization.