Robert M. Mbeche

• PhD
• Lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the interplay between collective action, entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance, with a focus on the mediating role of farmer entrepreneurial orientation in emerging value chains in the context of a lower-middle income economy. The paper also analyses correlates of collective action among vegetable p...

The Government of Kenya acknowledges the importance of the cotton industry in the country's development agenda, particularly under the manufacturing pillar. To revitalize the industry, the government approved Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton for commercial production in 2019. Bt cotton is promoted on the grounds that it is resistant to pests such...

Food insecurity and malnutrition are global challenges and might escalate with the effect of climate change. Whilst transitioning from subsistence to commercial agriculture is seen as a promising strategy to address these issues, the specific pathways remain unclear. This is in light of literature showing mixed effects of crop commercialisation on...

The full text of this publication is available on the following site. https://www.jica.go.jp/english/jica_ri/publication/discussion/1551756_24225.html Farmer Field School (FFS) is an agricultural extension approach designed to empower participants, enabling them to make adaptive decisions in farming practices under diverse and changing conditions....

Seed innovations and performance of African indigenous vegetables producers: Evidence from Kenya Joseph Alulu, Kavoi Muendo, Robert Mbeche, Dagmar Mithöfer Rapidly expanding population, increasing urbanization, climate change and declining arable land pose a threat to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Efficiency in agricultural production...

The Accelerating Circular Economy for Food (ACE4Food) Initiative was convened by WRI Africa in collaboration with Resonance and IKEA Foundation. The co-creation process, and the main co-creation workshop brought together stakeholders interested in transforming circular food systems in the East Africa region. The workshop was designed to co-develop...

Malnutrition continues to be a major problem with negative implications on economic and human development in many parts of the world, including in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Strengthening promising underutilized crops that are nutrient dense, climate resilient, and locally adaptable is an instrumental approach to enhancing dietary diversity. Due to...

Edible insect value chains are expected to contribute to sustainable food and nutrition security, poverty alleviation and job creation in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is little empirical evidence on the strategic business decisions of midstream-actors in edible insect value chain. This study fills this knowledge gap by analysing the factors t...

Purpose Forests support human livelihoods and mitigate against climate change, yet they are at a risk of irreversible loss due to high degradation rates. The success of forest conservation mechanisms depends on involvement and support by forest dependent communities. In this paper, the authors assess forest dependent household's willingness to pay...

Storage of food commodities for some time after harvest can play an important role in alleviating the downside of price fluctuations in developing countries. While storage can offer smallholder farmers substantial inter‐temporal arbitrage opportunities, existing evidence shows that many farmers in developing countries store little of their harvest....

Limited access to good quality, adequate and affordable livestock feed impose a major challenge to livestock production in developing countries. In order to improve access to good quality and adequate livestock feed, policymakers, practitioners, and researchers are promoting the utilization of alternative feed sources. While insects have been promo...

Agricultural commercialization has been promoted as a pathway for enhancing household welfare in developing countries. This paper assesses the extent and determinants of commercialization among smallholder potato farming households in Nyandarua County, Kenya. Data were collected through a survey of 388 potato-producing households and analysed using...

Gender gaps in agrifood value chains are manifested in differential access to and control of productive resources, upgrading activities, market participation, farm productivity and food security among women and men. These gender gaps threaten economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. With low-resource requirements, edible insects have emerged as...

The production of sweet potato has the potential to address food insecurity and malnutrition in the context of climate change. However, sustainable production of sweet potato is hampered by poor access to quality seed. We assess the level and deter-minants of farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for clean seed among smallholder sweet potato farmers an...

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an important strategy for supporting farmers against climate change challenges. However, CSA adoption among smallholder farmers particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains low. This article investigates the factors that influence CSA adoption among smallholder potato farmers in Nyandarua County, Kenya. We spe...

The practice of good forest governance has been associated with reductions in poverty and community empowerment. This study assessed how the implementation of transparency and participation promote forestry practices under the plantation establishment for livelihood improvement scheme (PELIS) in the Mt. Elgon region. A sample size of 288 members of...

This Topic Brief discusses formal evidence available on anti-corruption issues and benefit sharing in Kenya's forestry and wildlife sectors and distills lessons and guidance for conservation and NRM practitioners

Smallholder farmers in Kenya are the majority players in the dairy sector and need consideration in generation of policies to improve economic performance. The problem is smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya have continued practising subsistence farming without transitioning to commercial enterprises, hence the observed poor economic status. The obje...

Kenya's dairy industry is the largest and one of the most successful in Africa. Private sector dominates the sector and milk production is majorly from small-scale farms. Despite the policies in place for the dairy inefficiencies and inadequacies in production and commercialization that differs from farmer to farmer. This study established the smal...

Participation of local communities in forest management decision-making has been promoted as a mechanism of improving livelihoods and forest conditions, yet the level of participation in many programs remains low. Using data from a cross-sectional survey of 924 forest-dependent households in Western Kenya, we examine the factors that support or con...

Purpose To assess the extent to which privatised extension service, which is premised to be demand-driven, delivers downward accountability to smallholder farmers who are both owners and users of agricultural services. Design/methodology/approach The research collected data through focus group discussions with smallholder tea farmers and key infor...

This paper assesses the preferences of yogurt attributes among urban consumers in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected through a survey of 190 urban consumers and analyzed using descriptive statistics and willingness to accept (WTA) regression models. The results show that preference for flavored yogurt was much stronger with fewer consumers (39%) w...

Participatory forestry has been recognized as a tool for improving tropical forest management. The current study assessed the impacts of participatory forest management (PFM) on the structure and regeneration of a mangrove forest at Gazi Bay, Kenya. Data were collected along belt transects perpendicular to the waterline in both co-managed and state...

Payment for ecosystem service (PES) programs are increasingly being promoted as suitable mechanisms for addressing degradation of forest resources in developing countries. While interest in PES has grown over the last decade, empirical research on factors influencing household involvement in PES remains limited. This paper analyses factors influenc...

Forest extraction is an important livelihood activity for millions of low-income households in rural areas of developing countries. Understanding the choices households make to extract forest products can help formulate strategies for preventing livelihood strains associated with forest degradation. This article evaluates the nature, extent and det...

Climate variability and the rise in incidences of pests and diseases continue to undermine production of high value vegetables among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to respond to these challenges, protected farming technologies (PFT) (such as greenhouses) which modify the plant environment and therefore aid in avoiding the harmf...

In the context of climate change and its effects, production and consumption of orphaned crops such as sweet potato has been promoted as alternative food diets in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, sustainable production of these crops is hampered by poor access to seed. This paper assesses seed security among smallholder sweet potato producers in...

Plantation Establishment for Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) is an incentive system anchored in the Kenya's Forest Management and Conservation Act of 2016. It allows local communities to use forestlands for food crop production while supporting forest establishment phase. Mixed tree-crop farming may benefit or harm planted trees. Forest plant...

Background: Mangrove forests worldwide are highly valued for their social, ecological and environmental roles. Participatory forestry has been recognized as a tool for improvement of forest conditions. The current study assessed impacts of PFM implementation on structure and regeneration of mangroves at Gazi Bay, Kenya. Forest data was collected al...

Maize is the most important staple food for 96 percent of Kenya's population. However, maize productivity in Kenya is low averaging 1800kg/ha compared to a yield potential of over 6000kg/ha. Weed management has been attributed as one of the key factors affecting Maize yields. Among the weeds, striga (Striga hermonthica) is perhaps the most critical...

Small-scale farmers dominate Kenya's dairy industry that is among the largest and one of the most successful in Africa. Despite the dairy policies in place, the smallholder dairy farmers are still subsistent and are yet to attain global competitiveness. This study explored socioeconomic characteristics, motivation, perceptions and challenges of sma...

Abstract Small-scale farmers dominate Kenya’s dairy industry that is among the largest and one of the most successful in Africa. Despite the dairy policies in place, the smallholder dairy farmers are still subsistent and are yet to attain global competitiveness. This study explored socioeconomic characteristics, motivation, perceptions and challeng...

Access to affordable nutrients such as protein and minerals is a challenge in East Africa and malnourishment is prevalent in the region. Edible insects are therefore being promoted to address the challenges of the protein malnutrition as well as minimising rural poverty. Consequently, there have been numerous efforts in the last decade by research...

Milk production is one of the major income generating activities for smallholder dairy farmers in Rwanda but the sector is currently facing production and marketing challenges. Contract farming has been introduced as solution. However, low participation has hindered dairy farmers from getting optimum benefits accruing from contract farming not only...

Climate change and variability presents a challenge for rural communities in developing countries. Bridging organizations help align stakeholder and local perspectives and mediate communication that shapes adaptation responses. We argue that a first step for adaptation projects is to determine the nature of the climate norms and how climate is chan...

Edible insects are a potentially less burdensome source of proteins on the environment than livestock for a majority of rural consumers. Hence, edible insects are a timely idea to address the challenges of the supply side to sustainably meet an increasing demand for food. The objective of this paper is twofold. The first is to identify and compare...

Edible insects are being promoted as a sustainable and inexpensive alternative of enhancing nutrition because they can provide proteins, good fats such as the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), calcium, vitamins, and energy. But little is known regarding what drives individuals to consume insect-based foods. The current study seeks to explain the...

Mbeche assesses the rhetoric of representation by focusing on carbon forestry rhetoric versus practice in Uganda. He examines the choice of local institutions selected by carbon forestry projects and programmes for local partnership and the effects of these institutional choices on local representation. In addition to assessing the extent to which...

The paper assesses the disjuncture between the form of stakeholder participation envisaged under REDD+ preparedness and the actual practice of participation. This analysis is necessary to inform more responsive REDD+ policy and implementation.

Studies suggest that consumer's acceptance of edible insects can be enhanced by processing and blending them with familiar food products. This is however, expected to result in changes in some sensory attributes. In this study, we investigated how consumers evaluate the appropriateness of sensory attributes of a common bakery product (buns) that wa...

The United Nations (UN) and World Bank programme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Deforestation (REDD) plus improving forest governance (REDD+) promotes carbon-emission reductions and sustainable forest management. The World Bank and the UN require developing countries to prepare for REDD+ via a consultation process with input f...

Recent research on participatory forest management (PFM) in the global south has highlighted the existence of a widespread “implementation gap” between the ambitious intent enshrined in legislation and the often partial, disappointing rollout of devolved forest governance on the ground. Here, through an ethnographic case study of forest officers (F...

This study used a field experiment and means-end chain analysis to examine the effects of positive and perceived negative nutrition information on the households’ motivations to consume insect-based foods. It used a random sample of households drawn from rural communities in Kenya. The study found that provision of nutrition information on benefits...

The Kenyan coffee industry is a major contributor to Kenya's economy. The industry is a top foreign exchange earner coming fourth after tourism, tea and horticulture. The sector directly and indirectly supports over 6 million people, making it one of the leading sources of livelihood in the country. Despite the immense contribution, the production...

Population growth, urbanization and climate change, are among the factors that have created uncertainties and pressures on current global food and economic systems. Agricultural intensification can no longer support the increasing demand for food, especially of protein origin. Consequently, pressure is mounting on the supply side (private sector) t...

The smallholder tea sub-sector which is part of the larger Kenyan tea industry has enjoyed considerable success since its inception in the early 1960s. The planted area under the smallholder system, expanded from 2,522 hectares in 1962 to over 100,000 hectares in 2015; while annual production rose from 1.3 million kgs of green leaf to over 1 billio...

The objective of this paper is twofold. First, the authors aim to assess acceptance of edible insects for food and as an alternative to conventional meat. Second, they employ a binary logistic regression modelling approach to determine the factors that influence consumer acceptance. The study exploits data from a consumer survey from western Kenya...

Assessment of the Technical Efficiency of smallholder Coffee Farming Enterprises in Muranga, Kenya. Victor Kamau, Josiah Ateka *, Robert Mbeche and Kavoi M. Muendo Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract The Kenyan coffee industry makes a major contributor to Kenya’s economy. The industry is a top foreign ex...

The study conducted an estimate of the mean technical efficiency and the determinants of technical efficiency for the open field tomato farmers in Kiambu, Kenya. A multistage sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 75 respondents who participated in the study. A two stage analysis using a Cobb Douglas stochastic frontier analysis and a Tobi...

Weak institutional development and information flows have constrained the extent to which the smallholder farming sector in developing countries can significantly drive growth and poverty reduction. This is despite widely implemented economic liberalisation policies focussing on market efficiency. Farmer organisations are viewed as a potential mean...