The Future of Smallholder Farming in Eastern Africa - Uganda ...

5. The influence of social capital on perceptions of soil erosion problems, investments in
terraces, and agricultural productivity
In this chapter, we present and discuss the results of the empirical model. The descriptive
statistics for explanatory variables are given in Table 5.1. They have been disaggregated for
the individual study sites to enable a comparison of the variable mean values, to establish
whether there is a significant difference between the two sites.
Inadequate rural infrastructure, which translates to relatively high access costs to input
and output markets, imposes significant burdens on cost-minimizing smallholders. Farmers
faced with high farm-to-market access costs commit fewer resources to agricultural
production (Obare, Omamo, and Williams 2003), resulting in low productivity. In the study
areas, relatively high access costs prevailed. The mean differential access cost (ACESCOS) of
115 in Machakos and 93 in Taita-Taveta should have a bearing on crop returns in the two
study sites, yet mean crop income is not significantly different between the two districts. This
could be due to the existing output market structures. Machakos District has access to
relatively dense consumption demand sites such as the town of Machakos and even Nairobi,
which is not far. In Taita-Taveta, the supply outlets are thin and the nearest high-demand
market, Mombasa, is relatively far. Therefore, although Taita-Taveta’s access costs may be
lower, that advantage is offset by the reduced prices that farmers receive for their products
due to a relatively thin market and, thus, lower demand.