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Article Title:
Types of Capacity Building Activities for Improved Market Participation by Farmer Groups in Turbo, Kenya
by Cleophas W. Chesoli

Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to examine the types of activities available to farmer groups and the role that these farmer groups play in improving access to formal markets based on a study of farmers in Turbo Division in Kenya. Building the capacity of the smallholder farmers is important in agriculture commercialization necessary for their participation in Markets. The study targeted members of five farmer groups in Turbo and got response from 62 study participants in population of 187. Descriptive survey design was employed and techniques of both quantitative and qualitative research methods through administration of questionnaires. Data gathered by these methods were subjected to Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software for analysis and descriptive analysis and statistical tests investigated relationships between variables. The findings identified six types of activities, namely group training activities, group management skills provision, access to financial services, market skill provision, technological expertise, production and resource management activities. The study found out that generally most farmer groups undertook general group training activities as the most common type of capacity building activity whereas taking part in technological enhancement activities was the least tyv1pe of capacity building activity undertaken by the farmer groups at the community level. The study recommends that all stakeholders should be geared towards empowering and engaging the smallholder farmer on how to undertake farming as a business. The study makes insightful contribution into the existing field of academia and elicits varied themes that need to be worked on by future researches.

Keywords: types, capacity building activities, improved market participation, farmer groups, turbo, Kenya.

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