Financial performance of cereal production as baseline for upscaling pushpull technology in Eastern Africa

In Eastern African countries, agricultural production is a major contributor to the national economies, with small scale farmers making up for the larger proportion of producers. Despite the importance of cereals, average yield especially for maize, sorghum, millets, remains lower than the potential due to various challenges including pests and diseases which in turn affect financial performance. Push pull technology was developed as a sustainable approach in managing pests in cereal production while providing additional ecosystem services. Efforts to scale up the benefits of the technology are underway. The objective of this study was to determine the levels and factors influencing gross margin of cereal production in Eastern Africa. The analysis was conducted at sub-plot level, with a sample size of 349, 435, 516, 466, 623 subplots in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia respectively. This gave a total of 2,389 subplots under various cereals. Gross margin for maize was highest in Ethiopia (USD.793/ha) and lowest in Uganda (USD.242/ha). Sorghum gross margin was highest in Rwanda (USD.1,098/ha) and lowest in Kenya (USD.90/ha). Variables that significantly influenced level of gross margin included being a member of an agricultural group, age of the household head (negative influence), tropical livestock units, having pushpull technology on the cereal plot, participating in market for cereal produced and presence of stem borer on the sub plot as well as perceived soil fertility of the sub-plot. Participatory approaches that will identify factors influencing the financial performance (high costs, low productivity) will be essential in upscaling pushpull technology.