Agricultural policy in Kenya

Scott Pearson, Eric Monke, and their collaborators spent two years doing field work in Kenya, collecting the data in Agricultural Policy in Kenya. The book provides a microeconomic perspective on opportunities for income and employment growth, especially for small farms. The authors emphasize the impact of government policies on production incentives to show how policy changes might lead to greater incomes. Kenyan agricultural policy targets three kinds of changes in farming practices - increasing the area devoted to cash crop production, improving the efficiency of processing and transportation so that farm-gate prices will rise, and increasing the use of purchased inputs, such as fertilizer. The Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) measures and analyzes interactions among policies influencing agricultural incentives. Research is presented on a regional basis and compares the impact of policy among commodity systems, agro-climatic zones, and technologies. The book ends on a note of guarded optimism by outlining how changes in policy might lead to more rapid agricultural development.