Evaluating the Effects of Agricultural Financing on Maize Production

Agricultural sector is the leading sector in Kenya and majority of the rural population derive their livelihood from it. Most of them are engaged in maize production. In 2009, Uasin Gishu District produced 3.29 million bags of maize, which is 14.3% of the national output of 23 million bags. With increasing cost of production, there is need for farmers to access and use credit financing. Despite availability of credit meant to boost maize production, production in the area has stagnated;hence the need to establish why this is so and determine what needs to be done to reverse the situation. The results from the study show that the average maize yield in the district is 31.83 bags per hectare and that only 30.56% of the farmers used credit financing in the last 10 years. Regression analysis relating maize output to cost of production showed a good fit, though chi-square analysis of farmers perceptions on usage of credit financing, showed that there was no relationship between credit financing and maize production. The study evaluated the effects of agricultural financing on maize production and it is hoped that the findings would be useful to policy makers and further research.