Evaluation of the effect of farmers’ experience on optimization of coffee yields in Chuka Sub-County, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Abstract

Majority of the farmers in the coffee-growing zones are determined to ensure high production despite the numerous challenges that they face. Though there have been many efforts made by National and County governments with the aim of maximizing coffee production in terms of quality and quantity, farm productivity has remained low and, in some cases, shown a declining trend. The study aimed at assessing the factors affecting farmers’ experience in optimizing coffee production in Chuka Sub-County, Kenya. A sample of 153 respondents was selected from a population of 7,428 coffee farmers using proportional stratified random. The respondents were from ten cooperatives in the Chuka Sub-County, and each cooperative was treated as a stratum. The study used Chi-square test to determine association between the effects of farmers' experience and optimization of coffee yield. The logit model was also used to establish the relationship between farmer’s experience and coffee yield optimization. The study revealed that coffee farming experience and the number of trainings attended positively and significantly affected yield optimization. On the other hand, the number of journals read negatively and significantly influences yield. Therefore, the study findings recommends that coffee farmers should persist in coffee farming for many years to increase they knowledge and increase training attendance to optimize coffee production.