IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v37y2009i11p1802-1811.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Kenyan Supermarkets, Emerging Middle-Class Horticultural Farmers, and Employment Impacts on the Rural Poor

Author

Listed:
  • Neven, David
  • Odera, Michael Makokha
  • Reardon, Thomas
  • Wang, Honglin

Abstract

Summary Are the rural poor excluded from supermarket channels in developing countries? We analyzed the farm-level impact of supermarket growth on Kenya's horticulture sector, which is dominated by smallholders. The analysis reveals a threshold capital vector for entrance in the supermarket channel, which hinders small, rainfed farms. Most of the growers participating as direct suppliers to that channel are a new group of medium-sized, fast-growing commercial farms managed by well-educated farmers and focused on the domestic supermarket market. Their heavy reliance on hired workers benefits small farmers via the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Neven, David & Odera, Michael Makokha & Reardon, Thomas & Wang, Honglin, 2009. "Kenyan Supermarkets, Emerging Middle-Class Horticultural Farmers, and Employment Impacts on the Rural Poor," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 1802-1811, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:37:y:2009:i:11:p:1802-1811
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(09)00140-5
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefan Dercon & Pramila Krishnan, 1996. "Income portfolios in rural Ethiopia and Tanzania: Choices and constraints," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(6), pages 850-875.
    2. Jarvis, Lovell & Vera-Toscano, Esperanza, 2004. "The impact of Chilean fruit sector development on female employment and household income," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3263, The World Bank.
    3. Michael R. Carter & Keith D. Wiebe, 1990. "Access to Capital and Its Impact on Agrarian Structure and Productivity in Kenya," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 72(5), pages 1146-1150.
    4. C. Dolan & J. Humphrey, 2000. "Governance and Trade in Fresh Vegetables: The Impact of UK Supermarkets on the African Horticulture Industry," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 147-176.
    5. Oriana Bandiera & Imran Rasul, 2006. "Social Networks and Technology Adoption in Northern Mozambique," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(514), pages 869-902, October.
    6. Banerjee, Abhijit V & Newman, Andrew F, 1993. "Occupational Choice and the Process of Development," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(2), pages 274-298, April.
    7. Gabre-Madhin, Eleni Z. & Haggblade, Steven, 2003. "Successes in African agriculture," MSSD discussion papers 53, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Feder, Gershon & Just, Richard E & Zilberman, David, 1985. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries: A Survey," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 255-298, January.
    9. Berdegue, Julio A. & Balsevich, Fernando & Flores, Luis & Reardon, Thomas, 2005. "Central American supermarkets' private standards of quality and safety in procurement of fresh fruits and vegetables," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 254-269, June.
    10. Besley, Timothy & Case, Anne, 1993. "Modeling Technology Adoption in Developing Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(2), pages 396-402, May.
    11. Carter, Michael R. & Mesbah, Dina, 1993. "Can land market reform mitigate the exclusionary aspects of rapid agro-export growth?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 21(7), pages 1085-1100, July.
    12. Michael Carter & Christopher Barrett, 2006. "The economics of poverty traps and persistent poverty: An asset-based approach," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 178-199.
    13. Udry, Christopher R. & Conley, Timothy G., 2004. "Social Networks in Ghana," Center Discussion Papers 28488, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    14. Munshi, Kaivan, 2004. "Social learning in a heterogeneous population: technology diffusion in the Indian Green Revolution," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 185-213, February.
    15. Christine M. Moser & Christopher B. Barrett, 2006. "The complex dynamics of smallholder technology adoption: the case of SRI in Madagascar," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 35(3), pages 373-388, November.
    16. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    17. Thomas Reardon & C. Peter Timmer & Christopher B. Barrett & Julio Berdegué, 2003. "The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1140-1146.
    18. repec:lic:licosd:17706 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Tjalling Dijkstra & Matthew Meulenberg & Aad van Tilburg, 2001. "Applying marketing channel theory to food marketing in developing countries: Vertical disintegration model for horticultural marketing channels in kenya," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(2), pages 227-241.
    20. repec:bla:devpol:v:22:y:2004:i:6:p:669-699 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    22. Costas Azariadis & Allan Drazen, 1990. "Threshold Externalities in Economic Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(2), pages 501-526.
    23. C. Dolan, 2001. "The 'Good Wife': Struggles over Resources in the Kenyan Horticultural Sector," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 39-70.
    24. von Braun, Joachim & Hotchkiss, David & Immink, Maarten D. C., 1989. "Nontraditional export crops in Guatemala: effects on production, consumption, and nutrition," Research reports 73, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    25. Henson, Spencer & Masakure, Oliver & Boselie, David, 2005. "Private food safety and quality standards for fresh produce exporters: The case of Hortico Agrisystems, Zimbabwe," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 371-384, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Reardon, Thomas & Odera, Michael M. & Neven, David, 2006. "Horticulture Farmers and Domestic Supermarkets in Kenya," Staff Paper Series 11534, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    2. Reardon, Thomas & Barrett, Christopher B. & Berdegué, Julio A. & Swinnen, Johan F.M., 2009. "Agrifood Industry Transformation and Small Farmers in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 1717-1727, November.
    3. Sommarat Chantarat & Christopher Barrett, 2012. "Social network capital, economic mobility and poverty traps," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 10(3), pages 299-342, September.
    4. Chatzimichael, Konstantinos & Genius, Margarita & Tzouvelekas, Vangelis, 2014. "Informational cascades and technology adoption: Evidence from Greek and German organic growers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P1), pages 186-195.
    5. Janssen, Emma & Swinnen, Johan, 2019. "Technology adoption and value chains in developing countries: Evidence from dairy in India," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 327-336.
    6. Handschuch, Christina & Wollni, Meike & Villalobos, Pablo, 2013. "Adoption of food safety and quality standards among Chilean raspberry producers – Do smallholders benefit?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 64-73.
    7. Anna Folke Larsen, 2015. "The network at work: Diffusion of banana cultivation in Tanzania," CAM Working Papers camwp2015_01, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Centre for Applied Microeconometrics.
    8. Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O. & Winter-Nelson, Alex, 2009. "Poverty status and the impact of social networks on smallholder technology adoption in rural Ethiopia," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49357, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Khushbu Mishra & Abdoul G. Sam & Gracious M. Diiro & Mario J. Miranda, 2020. "Gender and the dynamics of technology adoption: Empirical evidence from a household‐level panel data," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(6), pages 857-870, November.
    10. Schipmann, Christin & Qaim, Matin, 2009. "Modern Supply Chains and Product Innovation: How Can Smallholder Farmers Benefit?," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51046, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Christopher B. Barrett, 2005. "Rural poverty dynamics: development policy implications," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 32(s1), pages 45-60, January.
    12. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    13. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Besley, Timothy, 1995. "Savings, credit and insurance," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 36, pages 2123-2207, Elsevier.
    15. Tavneet Suri, 2006. "Selection and Comparative Advantage in Technology Adoption," Working Papers 944, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    16. Nava Ashraf & Xavier Giné & Dean Karlan, 2009. "Finding Missing Markets (and a Disturbing Epilogue): Evidence from an Export Crop Adoption and Marketing Intervention in Kenya," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 973-990.
    17. repec:lic:licosd:41019 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Seneshaw Tamru & Bart Minten & Dawit Alemu & Fantu Bachewe, 2017. "The Rapid Expansion of Herbicide Use in Smallholder Agriculture in Ethiopia: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(3), pages 628-647, July.
    19. Cristina Romero Granja & Meike Wollni, 2018. "Dynamics of smallholder participation in horticultural export chains: evidence from Ecuador," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(2), pages 225-235, March.
    20. Meilin Ma & Richard J. Sexton, 2021. "Modern agricultural value chains and the future of smallholder farming systems," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(4), pages 591-606, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:37:y:2009:i:11:p:1802-1811. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.