Maize in Kenya in the literature

Maize papers, journal articles, chapters and books. Below is a list of papers that address various issues pertaining to maize in Kenya.

  • Anjichi P, Muasya R, Gohole L, Rao N, Muui W Genetic biodiversity assessment and local seed systems of maize landraces among smallholder farmers in Western Kenya. In: African Crop Science Conference Proceedings, Uganda, 2005. African Crop Science Society, pp. 1335-1340.

Maize is the staple food in Kenya and adoption rates for improved varieties is high. Smallholder farmers grow over 75% of the maize crop in Kenya. Breeders consider that some local varieties hold potential value for local adaptation and other useful traits. Many farmers in western Kenya use local maize landraces although documentation indicating genetic diversity of these maize types has not been done. The objective of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of these local maize landraces and to document the existing local seed systems of the same in four western Kenya districts. A total of 285 randomly selected farmers from four western Kenya districts were interviewed using a questionnaire. Both primary and secondary data is used. Four maize landraces were found in this region. Eighty percent and sixty five percent of farmers in Siaya and Busia districts respectively planted only these maize types, whereas Bungoma and Kakamega each had 32% and 20% respectively. These local maize types covered more than half of the total maize area in Siaya and Busia districts. The interviewees had a well defined local maize seed system. In conclusion there are four types of indigenous maize types of economic importance in western Kenya with well defined seed conservation systems. It is recommended that communities in the lower potential areas of Siaya and Busia districts be considered as sites for improved on-farm seed conservation programmes. Also, any anticipated introduction of genetically modified maize into this region should be done under carefully considered guidelines to minimize the risk of contaminating these maize types.

  • Brooks S, Thompson J, Odame H, Kibaara B, Nderitu S, Karin F, Millstone Er (2009) Environmental Change and Maize Innovation in Kenya: Exploring Pathways In and Out of Maize vol Working Paper 36. STEPS Centre, Brighton

This paper summarises findings from the STEPS Environmental Change and Maize Innovation in Kenya project. Maize is an important staple crop in Kenya, socially, politically and economically. This project has taken maize as a window through which to explore differential responses to the combined and interrelated effects of climate change, market uncertainties and land use changes over time. It has traced innovations and responses of various actors – public agricultural research institutions, governments, donors, development agencies, private companies and farmers. At issue is the way in which actors in different institutional, geographic and social locations understand and frame resilience – and how these framing assumptions shape agendas and steer solutions and resources in certain directions and not others. The question ‘why maize’ has been a recurring theme throughout the research. Our findings highlight diverse and differentiated ways in which maize finds its way into multiple farming and livelihood systems – leading us to question a technology supply ‘pipeline’ model informing interventions to generate drought tolerant maize varieties and make these available – together with crop advice – through networks of private providers. These strategies share certain core assumptions: firstly, that an extension of the ‘choice’ of varieties available to farmers of their primary crop, maize, will respond to the diversity of local contexts in which farmers attempt to build sustainable livelihoods; and secondly, that this extension of choice is to be facilitated through an extension of the formal ‘maize system’, displacing a diversity of informal systems on which many resource-poor farmers rely. Designed in and for high potential maize growing zones, such technical-institutional arrangements are unlikely to ‘trickle down’ to and meet the needs of resource poor farmers in drought-prone areas of Eastern Kenya. Faced with balancing multiple types of incertitude in their daily lives; farmers in dryland areas chose elements of formal and informal systems in ways that enable them to tap into multiple sources of socio-technical diversity, as a basis for building resilient, robust livelihoods. It is this precarious balance that may be undermined by linear approaches that seek to stabilise one system at the expense of multiple others. This paper argues that interventions that recognise the fragility of maize-dependent livelihoods, and attempt to promote alternative pathways in and out of maize, may hold more promise. However, such approaches face challenges in the context of cross-scale dynamics that keep farmers in even the most drought-prone areas ‘locked in’ to maize, discouraging local innovations that might have led to more sustainable livelihood options.

Columbus’s arrival in the New World triggered an unprecedented movement of people and crops across the Atlantic Ocean. We study a largely overlooked part of this Columbian Exchange: the effects of New World crops in Africa. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that the introduction of maize increased population density and slave exports in precolonial Africa. We find robust empirical support for these predictions. We also find little evidence to suggest maize increased economic growth or reduced conflict. Our results suggest that rather than stimulating development, the introduction of maize simply increased the supply of slaves during the slave trades.

  • de Groote H, Owuor G, Doss C, Ouma J, Muhammad L, Danda M (2005) ‘The maize green revolution in Kenya revisited’, eJADE: electronic Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics 2:32-49.

The maize green revolution, which increased maize yields through the use of improved varieties and fertilizer, has stalled since the mid-eighties in Kenya. This paper examines whether the stagnation of yields continued in the 1990s in spite of the implementation of the maize liberalization policies by the Kenya Government. Analysis of farm level surveys from 1992 and 2002 indicates slight increases in the use of improved maize varieties and fertilizer, but a substantial decrease in the intensity of fertilizer use. The econometric analysis suggests that the intensity of fertilizer use has a major effect on yield. The use of improved maize varieties, however, did not affect yield, suggesting that there are local varieties for some areas that do as well as improved varieties. Research is needed to develop improved varieties for some areas, and also needed for the development of alternative affordable soil fertility measures.

  • de Groote H, Wangare L, Kanampiu F (2007) ‘Evaluating the use of herbicide-coated imidazolinone-resistant (IR) maize seeds to control Striga in farmers’ fields in Kenya’, Crop Protection 26:1496–1506

The performance of imidazolinone-resistant (IR) maize seed, coated with the herbicide, and conventional maize seeds were compared for the control of Striga during on-farm trials. The researcher-managed trials from 2002 (on 3 farms with 2 replications, using conventional hybrid maize as control) showed good Striga control, especially in the early stages, increasing yields by 2.39 tons/ha. Farmer-managed trials from 2004 (on 60 farms in 3 districts, no replications, using farmer’s maize variety as control) showed good control in two districts, increasing average yield by 0.69 tons/ha. In the third district, the IR-maize and control plots showed similar levels of Striga infestation, probably caused by heavy rains and flooding which can wash off the herbicide. The yield response to IR-maize seed was categorized at two levels. The germplasm effect was estimated at 0.37 tons/ha. The herbicide effect was estimated at 0.13 tons/ha (49 kg/ha for each reduction of the Striga numbers/m2). With maize prices at US$202/ton, seed prices at US$34/ha and herbicide cost at US$4/ha, the overall marginal rate of return (MRR) was 2.4 (good), with an MRR of 1.9 (respectable) for the germplasm and an MRR of 5.6 (very good) for the IR-maize technology. Farmers generally appreciated the technology and indicated their willingness to pay (WTP), which was, however, very price-sensitive. The methodology of on-farm work can be improved substantially by including a sufficient number of sites, by measuring compounding factors (soil fertility, Striga seed bank, rainfall), by involving the farmers more (explain the design better, visit more often), by inviting more farmers for the evaluation and by using experimental auctions of IR-maize seed to estimate their WTP for this new technology.

  • Doss C, Mwangi W, Verkuijl H, de Groote H (2003) Adoption of Maize and Wheat Technologies in Eastern Africa: A Synthesis of the Findings of 22 Case Studies. CIMMYT,

The adoption of improved technologies for staple crop production is an important means to increase the productivity of smallholder agriculture in Africa, thereby fostering economic growth and improved well being for millions of poor households. Yet, for much of Africa, basic descriptive data on the technologies used by farmers have not been available. In contrast to many other parts of the world, many African governments do not collect or report such data. Without basic, descriptive information about who is adopting technologies and who is not, it is difficult to formulate policies for increasing agricultural productivity. To compile data and improve the capacity of local institutions to conduct technology adoption studies, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, by its Spanish abbreviation) collaborated with national agricultural research systems in 22 microlevel studies of technology adoption in four countries in Eastern Africa—Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—during 1996-1999. The studies examined the adoption of improved wheat and maize varieties, as well as adoption of chemical fertilizers. This paper synthesizes and analyzes the study results.1 It is organized around four key questions: To what extent have farmers adopted improved technologies for maize and wheat in Eastern Africa? Which farmers are using the improved technologies? What are the main obstacles to farmers adopting improved technologies? Are improved seeds and fertilizer available? The final section discusses policy implications and offers recommendations.

  • Harrison MN (1970) ‘Maize improvement in East Africa’. In: Leaky A (ed) Crop improvement in East Africa. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau, Farnham Royal, pp 21-60
  • Kamweru IN (2018) Genetic diversity of the maize germplasm conserved at the national gene bank of Kenya. University of Delaware

Maize breeders in effort to develop newer lines and hybrids combinations with better yield have been consistently inter-crossing a few elite lines. Farmers have increasingly replaced landraces with a few high yielding varieties. The conclusive overview is that the genetic base of the maize breeding pool is constricting, rendering the maize germplasm vulnerable to future threats such as extirpating crop pests and diseases as well as the adverse effects of a deteriorating global crop environment. The raw material for developing newer varieties that are better yielding and climate resilient includes gene bank accessions. Exploration of this collection for utilization in maize improvement however is impeded by failures in accession documentation, agronomic evaluation and characterization of genetic variability. The objectives of this study were to i) characterize the genetic diversity of the gene bank maize collection ii) investigate level of genetic relatedness among accessions. In the current study, 768 samples were genotyped via high-throughput sequencing of restriction fragments (GBS). Results show that for a period of 16 years, the proportion of polymorphic loci remained constant, alleles at minor frequency decreased significantly (p-value<.001) and heterozygosity increased slightly by 0.1%. Proportion of heterozygotes and alleles at minor frequency were found to be highly correlated (r2=-79, P=0.006), indicating that reduction of alleles at minor frequency caused an increase in the proportion of heterozygotes. Pairwise shared allele distance for most gene bank accessions (≥95%) fell between 0.20 and 0.30. Only 130 out of 147,696 comparisons (0.08%) had a shared allele distance <0.1 which indicated low levels of redundancy and high genetic distances among nearly all pairwise comparisons (99.9%). Potential of Heat-diffusion for Affinity-based Transition Embedding was used to capture local connections between SNP markers and reveal two clear genetic sub-divisions from admixed ancestry, which supported the hypothesis of a genetically narrow based maize germplasm due to the founder effect.

  • Karanja DD (1996) An economic and institutional analysis of maize research in Kenya. Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural Economics, Development Department of Economics

Maize, the most important food crop in Kenya, contributes 44 percent of the per-capita, calorie intake. Increases in maize production over the past three decades have been attributed to the availability and adoption of modern maize techniques, especially fertilizer and hybrid seed. This paper estimates the rate of return to maize research to be 53 to 61 percent, and reveals that his impact was aided by complementary agricultural extension and seed multiplication and distribution programs. The paper describes the institutional framework that may have led to one of Kenya’s agricultural research success stories. It also poses challenges to the future of maize production in Kenya.

  • KARI, C1MMYT (2001) Insect Resistant Maize for Africa Annual Report 2000. KARI/CIMMYT, Nairobi
  • Kilonzi SM (2011) ‘Maize production and its implication on food security for small scale farmers in Bukhayo West-Busia Kenya’, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, Wageningen

Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya’s economy accounting for approximately 25 percent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is the main source of livelihoods for about 85 percent of the population in rural areas. Maize is one of the commodities that form the core of Kenya’s food and agricultural policy. The food security in the country is generally equated with availability of and access to adequate supplies of maize. However, the country normally experiences deficit which is filled by informal cross-border trade from Uganda and Tanzania. In western Kenya, maize is an important crop grown by almost all households. The crop therefore plays a significant role in food security status of the farming households of Busia in western Kenya. The importance of maize crop and the decline in its production has therefore motivated small scale farmers of Bukhayo west in Busia to form a farmer organisation known as Agro-Biodiversity Association (ABA).The organisation which is a registered Community Based Organisation (CBO) aims to improve food security status of the small scale farmers of Bukhayo through engaging various stakeholders. In order to achieve its goals, the CBO commissioned a local non-governmental organisation, Regional Institute for Social Enterprise (RISE) to carry out a research in order to document the factors that affect maize production in Bukhayo west, Busia. The objective of the study was to assess the contribution of maize crop production in food security for the small scale farmers of Bukhayo west so as to identify interventions for improvement for food security. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative approach. Desk study was carried out to help in developing the tools used in the research. A survey was carried out with thirty randomly selected small scale farmers forming the respondents. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents. Interviews with selected key informants were conducted as well as group discussions and observations. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study revealed that majority of the farming households cultivates maize as the main crop for subsistence and cash. Other crops of importance in the area include cassava, beans millet and sorghum. The small scale farmers practice intercropping system with legumes such as beans and groundnuts being the main intercrops for maize and or cassava. The yields of maize were found to be as low as less than a ton per hectare. This is caused by various socio-economic, technical and natural factors. Majority of the farming households use local rather than hybrid varieties of maize and end up with low yields. The farms are constraint by low soil fertility but the use of mineral fertilizers that can boost the soils is low among the farming households due to its cost. The situation is exuberated by pests and diseases such as stemborer, maize streak, weevils, termites and destruction by monkeys. Important is the striga weed which has threatened the food security of these farming households due to the fact that it competes with the host crop for nutrients and requires various methods for combating. Worse still is the low access to agricultural extension services which are only offered by the Ministry of agriculture in the area. Diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS are also important in household labour availability. Since farmers’ own maize production cannot meet the household food needs, members of the farming households engage in non-farm activities to generate income. The income can be used in accessing food from markets and for other household needs. Due to the importance of the maize crop, interventions on provision of subsidised inputs are required to improve the yields. Empowering agricultural extension officers is necessary so that they can provide training in inputs use and methods of combating striga weed among other essential cropping systems. Research and promotion of diseases resistant, early maturing cultivars of indigenous crops such as cassava, millet, sorghum and sweet potatoes will enhance the food security. More also is the need to promote small animal rearing in the area and boosting the non-farm activities for increased income generation. These interventions will require Agro-Biodiversity Association to engagevarious stakeholders since the organisation does not have the funds to undertake the interventions.

  • Kwena, P., “Recurrent Selection for Gray Leaf Spot (GLS) and Phaeosphaeria Leaf Spot (PLS) Resistance in Four Maize Populations and Heterotic Classification of Maize Germplasm from Western Kenya,” University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007. PhD thesis.
  • McCann J (2001) ‘Maize and grace: history, corn, and Africa’s new landscapes, 1500–1999’, Comparative Studies in Society and History 43:246-272

No summary

  • McCann J (2005) Maize and Grace. Africa’s Encounter with a New World Crop, 1500-2000. Harvard University Press, Cambridge Mass.
  • McCann JC (1999) Green land, brown land, black land. An environmental history of Africa, 1800-1900. Heinemann/James Currey, Porthsmouth/Oxford
  • McCann JC (2011) ‘The political ecology of cereal seed development in Africa: A history of selection’, IDS Bulletin 42:24-35

Agricultural history and the history of seeds in sub-Saharan Africa are an aggregate effect of individual day-to-day decisions by farmers. The role of seeds within an agricultural system can be a valuable indicator of both social and natural time since farmers’ seed selections indicate both natural conditions –moisture, pests, soils – and short-term, season by season farm decisions about labour, potential yield vs risk and market potential. In the immediate future, international donors and African governments are planning that African farmers will receive their seeds from a global political structure that anticipates, perhaps wishfully, economic and political stability. Those expectations of development specialists are ones that failed at the end of the twentieth century. Will seed selection by African farmers in the twenty-first century take place in an ideal free market of infinite choice or in real-world conditions fraught with uncertainty of supply, climate fluctuations and unintended consequences within complex local ecologies?

  • Mabaya, E., L. Cramer, V. Mahiga, H. Pham, T. Simpson, and X. Tang, “Supplying Improved Seed to Farmers in Rural Kenya: The Case of Freshco Kenya Ltd.” International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 12 (2009).
  • Midega CA, Murage AW, Pittchar JO, Khan ZR (2016) ‘Managing storage pests of maize: Farmers’ knowledge, perceptions and practices in western Kenya’, Crop Protection 90:142-149

Insect pests are a key constraint to effective utilization of cereal crops in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with damage caused by these pests in the stores of particular concern. Although a number of approaches have been advanced for control of storage pests of maize, uptake remains a challenge, with effectiveness of some approaches being questionable. We conducted a survey in western Kenya among 330 respondents using face to face interviews and focus group discussions to evaluate farmers’ practices, knowledge and perceptions of storage pests of maize, and their current practices in managing such pests as a basis for development of efficient integrated pest management (IPM) approaches for the pests. Majority of the respondents stored maize in traditional granaries, with less than 10% of them using modern improved facilities, mainly due to inability to afford these. Majority of the respondents also cited attack of their stored grains by a number of insect pests, causing about 40% grain losses. The larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), sawtoothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L) (Coleoptera: Silvanidae), and maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), were perceived as the most common and damaging pests. Farmers’ perceptions of pests were positively and significantly influenced by level of education and farming experience, indicating that education and experience build farmers’ understanding of storage pests. Storing maize in unshelled form seemed to result in less pest attack, although majority of the respondents stored their maize in shelled form. Moreover, local maize varieties were perceived to be resistant to pests. The farmers applied various control methods, with sun-drying being the most popular practice. Usage of pesticides was minimal, mainly due to high costs, lack of information, and unavailability of appropriate and effective products. There were also other cultural methods applied, such as use of smoke and insecticidal plants. The respondents decried lack of training and extension services on storage pests and their management, underscoring the need to develop extension services. The underlying mechanisms of the perceived pest resistance in local varieties of maize and cultural pest management methods need to be established for exploitation in development of effective IPM approaches. There is also need to address the challenges hindering uptake of modern storage and control approaches.

  • Midega CAO, Pickett J, Hooper A, Pittchar J, Khan ZR (2017) ‘Maize Landraces are Less Affected by Striga hermonthica Relative to Hybrids in Western Kenya’, Weed Technology30 30:22-28 doi:10.1614/WT-D-15-00055.1

Production of maize in western Kenya is severely constrained by the parasitic weed striga. Although productivity of maize can be improved through adoption of improved varieties, adoption of such varieties remains low in the region, as the majority of smallholder farmers still grow unimproved open-pollinated varieties (landraces). The performance of two improved hybrid varieties was evaluated against six landraces in striga-infested soils in western Kenya. The varieties were planted in plots under natural striga infestation and were supplemented with pot experiments under artificial infestation. Striga emergence was lower in landraces than in the hybrid varieties in both field and pot experiments. Similarly, height of maize plants at harvest and grain yields were higher in the landraces than in the hybrids. After three continuous cropping seasons, in all treatments, striga seedbank density increased two to seven times. Seedbank increase was higher with hybrids and two of the landraces, ‘Rachar’ and ‘Endere’. These results provide an insight into the potential role landraces could play in efforts toward an integrated management approach for striga in smallholder cropping systems. They also highlight the need to develop hybrid maize lines with local adaptation to biotic constraints, specifically striga.

  • Miracle MP (1965) ‘The introduction and spread of maize in Africa’, The Journal of African History 6:39-55

ALTHOUGH maize is often listed as one of many food Africa by the Portuguese, how and when maize was brought cannot yet be established with certainty. This paper respect to African territory south of the Sahara, such found, chiefly in early travel accounts, of the introduction maize. Two important aspects of the problem, however, are not scrutinized here. One is the view that maize is a plant of New World origin; the other is the view that, whether or not there was pre-Columbian contact between Africa and the Americas, maize was unknown outside the New World prior to Columbus’s voyages. Although both views have been challenged, they have been widely accepted by competent scholars and are accepted here pending the appearance of additional convincing evidence to the contrary. Perhaps more is known about the time when maize began to be important in parts of Africa than about the precise points of introduction or the responsible agents. At best only a rough history can be sketched at present, and, considering the size of Africa, that history would presumably vary from region to region. Here we look first at western tropical Africa, next at areas farther inland and southward, and last at the eastern tropical coast.

  • Miracle MP (1966) Maize in tropical Africa. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin
  • Mutundi AN, Muthomi JW, Olubayo FM, Leley PK, Nzuve F (2019) ‘Effect of Farm Saved Maize (Zea mays L.) Seed on Intensity of Foliage Diseases’, Journal of Agricultural Sciences 11:45-58

Majority of farmers in Africa recycle farm saved seed from the previous seasons. Such seed is usually contaminated with disease causing pathogens, has low vigor and result in low yields. This study was, therefore, conducted to determine the effect of recycling maize seeds on incidence of foliage diseases. Maize seeds were collected during 2016 short rain season from farmers, local market and Agrovet shops in Busia County of western Kenya. The seeds were subjected to field evaluation during 2017 long rain season at two sites in Busia and Kakamega Counties. Data was collected on emergence, off types, lodging, ear aspect and abnormalities, incidence and severity of diseases and yield. Seeds from local market had significantly higher emergence of up to 66% while the farm saved seeds and local market resulted in the highest percentage of off-types of up to 18%. Crop from farm saved seed and seeds from the local market showed high susceptibility to stalk lodging, ear abnormalities and high levels of diseases. Diseases detected include northern leaf blight, gray leaf spot, rust, brown spot, downy mildew, and ear rots. The study showed that though informal seeds had high plant establishment, they have high level of off types, are susceptible to lodging, diseases and low yields. Therefore, farmer should be encouraged to use certified or improved seeds to enhance crop productivity.

  • Mwabu G, Mwangi W, Nyangito H Does adoption of improved maize varieties reduce poverty? Evidence from Kenya. In: International Association of Agricultural Economists Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, 2006. Citeseer, pp 12-18
  • Omondi EC, Norton JB, Ashilenje DS (2014) ‘Performance of a local open pollinated maize variety and a common hybrid variety under intensive small-scale farming practices’, African Journal of Agricultural Research 9.

Given that the majority of maize farmers in Kenya are small-scale, improvement in maize production must focus on increased production per unit area. While hybrid maize varieties outperform local open pollinated varieties under conventional farming practices, their relative performance has not been tested under small-scale intensive production practices. A study was conducted in 2013 in Kitale, western Kenya, to evaluate performance of ‘Namba Nane’; a local open pollinated maize variety, alongside a high yielding hybrid, ‘Hybrid 614D’ under a small-scale, intensive farming practice that utilizes deep tillage and compost/manure. Each variety was subjected to conventional and diagonal offset close spacing. The grain yield of the hybrid (12.8 tons ha-1) was not statistically different from that f ‘Namba Nane’ (10.2 tons ha-1), even though the number of rows per cob and number of ears per plant of the former were significantly greater than those of latter. However, yields of both varieties were about twice the published potential yield of improved hybrid maize (6 tons ha-1) grown with conventional practices. Seed kernels of ‘Namba Nane’ weighed 1.6 times more than those of ‘Hybrid 614D’. Diagonal off-set close spacing under this technology increased the maize grain yield of both varieties 1.3 times. The cost of producing ‘Namba Nane’ under the technology was significantly less than producing the hybrid and twice more profitable (gross margin). Growing ‘Namba Nane’ using small-scale, intensive farming practices may be a viable option for most small-scale, resource-challenged farmers to increase economic yields.

  • Ramisch J. (2014) ‘‘They don’t know what they are talking about’: Learning from the dissonances in dialogue about soil fertility knowledge and experimental practice in western Kenya’, Geoforum 55:120-132

Knowledge-based development interventions for improved natural resource management have long advocated for the integration of local and outsiders’ knowledge. Participatory and conventional approaches frame this as a dialogue between ‘‘local’’ and ‘‘scientific’’ knowledges, using the relative strengths of each stakeholder’s experience to reinforce knowledge gaps. While the epistemological and methodological challenges of such dialogue are well-documented, this study uses a community-based learning project for integrated soil fertility management in western Kenya to explore the less understood dynamics of dissonance between and within knowledge systems. While participatory research did build a dynamic expertise for soil fertility management shared by both smallholder farmers and scientists, divergent expectations and understandings emerged after the initial enthusiasm of shared learning. This included scientists assessing farmers as ‘‘not very good’’ researchers and farmers seeing researchers as ‘‘not very good’’ farmers. Dissonances between actors’ different understandings of soil, the research process, and each other had multiple implications, including on the validity of conclusions reached by different actors and on the possibility for scientific support for local experimentation. While many dissonances ultimately fueled learning and improvements to the project, this required both farmers and scientists to move beyond initial critiques of each other’s knowledge and practices. At their worst, dissonant knowledge claims were actually political ones, hiding competition for control of the development process. Recognizing the nature and extent of dissonances is therefore a crucial step in understanding how best to apply limited resources and disciplinary expertise within participatory teams attempting to build hybrid knowledge.

  • Schroeder C, Onyango TKO, Nar RB, Jick N, Parzies H, Gemenet D (2013) ‘Potentials of hybrid maize varieties for small-holder farmers in Kenya: a review based on Swot analysis’, African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 13.

Maize is the primary staple crop in Kenya and plays an important role in the livelihood of the people of Kenya. Its availability and abundance determines the level of welfare and food security in the country. In Kenya, future increases in maize production to meet domestic demand will have to rely on improvements in yield per hectare rather than on the expansion of maize production area. Enhanced maize productivity can be achieved by increased use of modern production techniques such as the adoption of hybrid maize varieties, the use of chemicals and fertilizer application. Small-scale maize prodcution plays a major role in Kenya’s maize economy and adoption of hybrid technology by small-scale farmers would have the potential to address sustainability and supply issues. However, such modern technologies are still rarely used by Kenya’s small-scale farmers, particularly by those in marginal areas. This study, therefore, tries to review the reasons for the low rate of adoption of hybrid maize varieties among small-scale farmers with focus on those smallholders in Kenya’s marginal areas. Lack of awareness of existing or newly released hybrid varieties, lack of hybrid varieties adapted to marginal areas, lack of confidence in the quality of some hybrid maize seeds, poor access to stockists, low profitability due to high seed cost, inadequate access to credit, the need for fertilizer application and low literacy level have been found to be important factors explaining the low adoption rates by smallholder maize producers in marginal areas. In addition, these constraints might also explain the widespread practice of recycling hybrid grain among small-scale farmers once they have adopted hybrid maize varieties. Therefore, it is hoped that by overcoming these constraints, the adoption of hybrid maize varieties among smallholder farmers could be greatly enhanced, which in turn could lead to a significant positive impact on the country’s food security situation.

  • Smale M, Jayne T (2003) Maize in Eastern and Southern Africa: Seeds of success in retrospect vol 97. Environment and Production Technology Division International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC

Abstract: This synthesis revisits the .maize success story. in Sub-Saharan Africa, drawing selectively from an extensive published literature about maize seed technical change and related policies. The review focuses on the countries of Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, where maize is most important in the food economy, and refers to the period when maize became a dominant food crop through the 1990s. The term success is equivocal in this case, both because of the difficult of establishing the appropriate counterfactual and because some of the policies that contributed to success in one period later led to decline. While the seeds themselves were the result of innovative, successful maize breeding, boom periods in maize production were episodic and the public investments in the controlled markets that bolstered them were not fiscally sustainable. Since maize will remain a crucial part of the food security equation even while the agricultural economies of the region diversify, continued investments in both maize research and market institutions, some of which must be public, are essential. The most vital question, however, is where the domestic political pressure to support these investments will originate.an issue related to governance.

  • Smale M, Olwande J (2014) ‘Demand for maize hybrids and hybrid change on smallholder farms in Kenya’, Agricultural Economics 45:409-420

Kenya is a globally recognized maize “success story.” As the overall percentage of maize farmers growing hybrids tops 80% and the seed industry matures, the slow pace of hybrid replacement on farms, and the continued dominance of the seed industry by Kenya Seed Company, may dampen productivity. Our econometric analysis identifies the factors that explain farmer demand for hybrid seed, and the age of hybrids they grow considering hybrid seed ownership. Male-headed households with more education, more assets, and more land plant more hybrid seed. Scale of seed demand per farm is differentiated by agroecology. We find a strong farmer response to the seed-to-grain price ratio, which we interpret as evidence of a commercial orientation even on household farms. However, despite the dramatic increase in the number of hybrids sold and the breadth of seed suppliers as seed markets liberalize, an older hybrid still dominates national demand.

  • Wambugu PW, Mathenge PW, Auma EO, van Rheenen HA (2012) ‘Constraints to On-Farm Maize (Zea mays Seed Production in Western Kenya: Plant Growth and Yield’, ISRN Agronomy 2012:153412 doi:10.5402/2012/153412

Studies have shown that that about 85% of maize farmers in Western Kenya plant local varieties with about 80% using own farm saved seeds. The production system is characterized by late harvesting, heavy striga infestation, use of local varieties, and low-soil fertility. The objective of this study was to test an on-farm seed production system which would help improve yield and quality of farm saved seeds. The trials were set up in a factorial design fitted as random complete block design. There were 3 factors each at 2 levels: time of harvest, variety choice, and fertilizer application. Fertilizer application led to an 88% increase in yield, 54% increase in number of seeds per cob, and 14% increase in 100-seed weight. Fertilizer application also led to an increase in seed vigour and viability. Yield differences between the 2 varieties were not significant. The correlation between 100-seed weight and seed vigour was significant showing that heavy seeds were more vigorous. Nitrogen application was therefore recommended for increasing yields and for producing vigorous seeds but should be done with caution to avoid lodging as witnessed. This study also noted that farmers are rational and their decisions are usually based on strong economic considerations.