Socioeconomic and farm Structure Characteristics of Potato Farmers in Kuresoi North Sub-County, Nakuru County, Kenya

It is vital to understand the socio-economic characteristics of farmers as it aids in solving multiple challenges that farmers undergo. This study analyzed the socio-economic characteristics of potato farmers in Kuresoi North Sub-County. Simple random sampling was used to select 395 smallholder potato farmers who participated in the household survey. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-economic data from the respondents. STATA version 15.0 aided in analyzing data and results presented in the form of frequencies, percentages and charts. The results posited that farmers were middle-aged (a mean of 49 years), experienced in potato farming (11 years on average), and literate with basic secondary education (11 years on average). They possess a household land size of 1.6 hectares with 0.71 hectares dedicated to potato farming. Most farmers (77%) were married. Aside potato production, farmers practiced livestock keeping (67.59%) and production of other crops (4.56%). Only few farmers, 19.24% accessed certified seeds while the rest purchased seeds from open-air markets and neighbors. A large proportion of farmers (72.15%) diversified their agricultural production with 27.85% sticking to potato production. The observed socio-economic profile posit that farmers are literate, experienced and diversified. However, there is need to capacity build farmers to venture into profit-oriented off-farm activities such as value addition which will enhance their earnings.
Moreover, farmers should be encouraged to form cooperatives that will simplify access to high-quality inputs and ready market that will further translate to better productivity and profitability.

Socio-economic characteristics, smallholder farmers, agricultural diversification

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