Beyond a unitary household measure: Does Gender matter in Legume Seed Systems among Smallholder Farmers?

We employ a non-unitary household model to analyze the main Pigeonpea seed channels in Kenya. The paper is based on a household survey conducted on 500 randomly selected households within three counties of Eastern Kenya. The study sites are based on the distance from the main trading center (county headquarters) which informs agro business infrastructure. We assess the participation in seed channels with regards to joint plots, women plots and male plots for Pigeonpeas legumes. More than half of the Pigeonpea plots (53%) in the sample are managed jointly by men and women; while around 10% are managed entirely by women. There were very few plots (0.2%) managed by men alone. The main legumes seed sources are own saved seeds and cereal stockists. There is very limited sourcing from the certified seed channel (10%), the certified seeds from agrovets were only acquired for the joint plots only. Using a multinomial logistic regression, we analyze the factors influencing the choice of Pigeonpea seed channels, encompassing characteristics of the wife of the household head. More educated wives and wives with high exposure to extension services were more likely to access seed from the agrovets; these variables were however not significant for the male head. Other significant determinants were total livestock unit, distance to the source of seed, amount of seed required, location of the household, and occupation. We conclude that targeting women farmers with knowledge and capacity building on the advantages of using certified seeds for legumes has the potential to enhance adoption of legumes in Eastern Kenya.