| dc.description.abstract | Coffee is Kenya's forth source of foreign exchange after tourism, tea and horticulture, and
significantly contributes to farm income and employment. The different marketing systems in the
producer and marketing cooperatives (P&MCs), which ensure unsatisfying returns, poses a great
challenge to the coffee industry, which comprises majority of small-scale producers (SSPs). The
study sought to determine the factors influencing coffee marketing by small-scale producers and
to assess the influence of smallholder coffee marketing systems to the coffee value chain. The
study employed descriptive design. The establishment under study features small-scale coffee
producers in Kangundo Sub-County, Machakos County. Questionnaires were used to gather
Primary data. Stratified Sampling technique was used to compare the views of SSPs and top
management of P&MCs on the target objectives. Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS)
aided analysis of quantitative data, while content analysis helped analyze qualitative data. Key
challenges facing coffee marketing were low and delayed pay to SSPs, poor management of
P&MCs, and low education levels of top management of P&MCs and SSPs. Smallholder coffee
marketing systems in turn affects coffee value chain through financial constraints, reduced returns
and reduced production. Policy implications of these findings through complementary education
programs for SSPs and P&MCs and intervention of cooperatives' management through the relevant
government institutions is the need for creating awareness of suitable and affordable measures
towards an enhanced sustainable system in the Coffee Industry. | en_US |
