Economic analysis of small-scale poultry production in Kenyan medium-sized cities of Kisumu and Thika

Studies have shown conflicting results regarding the importance of urban agricultural production on household food security. This study, while recognizing the importance of food security role of urban agriculture, focuses on the economic and household income aspects of urban agriculture. This is achieved using a sample of indigenous chicken producers in the medium-sized cities of Kisumu and Thika, in Kenya. Urban indigenous chicken production serves a dual role of food provision and income generation. Therefore, this study asserts that the extent of importance of urban agriculture is contingent on the type of urban agricultural activities practiced. Multivariate regression model shows that access to high value markets and market information significantly affects profitability of indigenous chicken farming. To obtain the desired welfare benefits for smallholder poultry farmers, policies should be introduced to facilitate their access to high value markets. Such policies should also include provision of affordable high yielding poultry breeds, facilitation for formation of farmer groups, and training farmers on feed production. Acknowledgement : The author would like to thank Magnus Jirstr m and Mikael Hammarskj ld for their valuable comments on earlier drafts. He is grateful for financial support by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS) [grant number225-2012-609]; and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) [grant number SWE-2011-028].