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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Agricultural and Food Economics
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1462597

Sustainable Livelihoods in Kenya's Tea Industry: Assessing the Microeconomic Effects of Informal Tea Marketing Participation on Household Income

Provisionally accepted
Shadrack Kipkogei Shadrack Kipkogei 1John Kipkorir Tanui John Kipkorir Tanui 2*
  • 1 Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
  • 2 School of Arts and Social Science, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In recent years, the tea sector in Sub-Saharan Africa has faced a competitive marketing environment with dominance by private multinational corporations and intermediaries, leading to market imperfection and informalities. While previous studies have focused on formal participation in large plantations, factors influencing informal market participation and its effects on household income remain unexplored. Using crosssectional data from 512 smallholder tea farmers in Kenya and employing Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR), this study investigates these dynamics. Findings reveal that farming experience, extension services, and education significantly influence informal market participation. Notably, informal market participation is linked to a 3% increase in household income due to reduced regulatory compliance, lower overhead costs, and immediate payments. To enhance tea industry sustainability, interventions by tea boards and policymakers should focus on improving marketing infrastructure that meets green tea quality standards and offers fair prices.

    Keywords: Smallholder tea farmers, informal tea marketing, Endogenous switching regression, Kenya, sustainability

    Received: 10 Jul 2024; Accepted: 27 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kipkogei and Tanui. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: John Kipkorir Tanui, School of Arts and Social Science, Moi University, Eldoret, 00100, Kenya

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.