Evaluation of the role of global gap standard on smallholders’ income and technical efficiency. A case of French beans production in Kirinyaga and Nyeri Counties, Kenya

Abstract

The study focused on the role of GlobalGAP standard on the income and technical efficiency of small-scale producers growing French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in Kirinyaga and Nyeri Counties in Kenya. The objectives were to determine the amount of income realized from production under a GlobalGAP farming system, establish the factors which predispose farmers into adopting GlobalGAP certification, compare the technical efficiency of production between certified and non-certified farming regimens, and finally, to establish the factors which constrain the efficient production of French beans and productivity gains. A randomly sampling technique was used to select the survey participants and a total of 266 small-scale farmers located in Kirinyaga and Nyeri Counties made up the study‘s sample. The two counties were selected because they had a long history of producing French beans for the export market; prior to, and after the introduction of GlobalGAP standard in Kenya. In the analysis, the propensity score matching method was used to address objectives one and two, while non-parametric data envelopment analysis and a second step tobit analysis was used to address objectives three and four. Results show that age, increasing the contact hours with extension agents through attendance to trainings and seminars, and the distance to local markets influence the chances of a household participating in GlobalGAP certification. Further, non-farm activities do not meet the households‘financial needs and households largely depend on the income from the sale of the farm produce. The results also show that growing French beans under GlobalGAP occasions technical inefficiencies with respect to factor usage. The most technically inefficient farms could increase their efficiency by reducing their input usage by up to 59.8 percent for the same level of output. Productivity would then increase with the improved efficiency. The study recommends that the numbers of public sector extension officers are increased to boost the capacity of smallholders in export focused crop production methods, especially in input usage, and for targeted agricultural trainings that make efficient use of the time available to the farmers in order to encourage the attendance of female farmers. Intervention in the development of the roads and communication systems in the rural areas is also required so as to support the farmers‘efforts in participating in international markets.