Trading the fruits of the land : horticultural marketing channels in Kenya

This study analyses the structure and development of horticultural marketing channels in Kenya. It is based primarily on a farm survey among some 500 farmers in Nyandarua, Kisii and Taita Taveta Districts, and a trade survey of about 750 horticultural traders in 18 different marketplaces. The surveys were carried out between 1990 and 1992 as part of the Food and Nutrition Studies Programme of the African Studies Centre in Leiden, The Netherlands. The main aim of the study is to identify the factors that determine vertical differentiation in Kenyan horticultural marketing. Special attention is paid to the efficiency of wholesalers and to the development of rural assembly markets. It is concluded that rural assembly markets evolve in production areas with relatively poor farm accessibility and low supply concentrations, because they reduce the transport and/or information costs of suppliers and buyers