Drivers of Collective Action and the Welfare Gains of such Initiatives among smallholder farmers: Experiences from Kenya

This study assessed the determinants of participation and intensity of participation in collective action initiatives. It also examined the effect of participation in such initiatives on household commercialization and on household welfare (incomes). It uses a double hurdle approach (a logit regression model to examine the determinants of participation in collective action and a Poisson regression model to assess the factors that determine the intensity of participation). The study then tests the difference in mean incomes and commercialization between participants and non-participants. The study finds that farmer/household specific variables, farm specific variables, endowment variables and regional variables influence the decision to participate as well as the extent of participation in collective action initiatives. Results further indicate that there exist significant differences in output and input market participation (commercialization) and in mean incomes as a result of participation in collective action initiatives influence the decision to participate in collective action initiatives. The implication of these findings is that for collective action initiatives to be to be effective in achieve the desired goals of helping farmers commercialize, capacity of farmers (e.g. through trainings) to operate and manage them should be improved. Stronger linkages with other institutions like public institutions, credit institutions should be encouraged and fostered so as to address the needs of the farmers. The study discusses the implications of these findings for policy.