The economic consequences of Striga hermonthica in maize production in Western Kenya
Kenya is a country of 35 million people and is situated in Eastern Africa. 70% of thepopulation works within the agricultural sector and for many of them food insecurity is amajor problem. Maize and beans are today the staple food for many households. Goodfarming conditions enable two harvests per year and a potential maize yield of 4-5 tons perhectare.A major problem for many farmers in this area is the increase of the weed striga. The weedcauses severe yield losses, and has a major economic impact on smallholders. There areseveral types of maize farming systems used today and they are all more or less affected bystriga. The focus of this study is the economic difference between these systems and is basedon the following aim.The aim of this study is to find the most economically beneficial maize farming system that isused today by smallholders in Western Kenya.To reach this objective a literature review as well as an empirical study was made. Theliterature review revealed facts about striga its impact and methods to combat it. Theempirical study is based on 30 interviews conducted during the spring of 2011 in WesternKenya. It provides general information about the farming situation today, and the type ofmaize farming systems. The data used to calculate the different average gross margins for thesystems respectively.The results of this study reveal that the most economically beneficial maize farming system isthe one where resistant maize is intercropped with legumes. Other farming systems thataccording to the literature are favourable are not included in this study since they were notrepresented in the fields. The reason why farmers do not use these more favourable systemsis a lack of information and insufficient supply of agro commodities.