The Effects of Property Rights Security on Agricultural Output in Western Kenya

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The question of how security of property rights affects farming performance is an important element of the policy discussion about food security. This study will test the relationship between the property rights security and agricultural productivity of individual large scale and smallholder farmers in western Kenya. Previous research found that the degree to which smallholder women farmers controlled the fruits of the previous harvest on a given plot was a key determinant of their efforts to ensure high agricultural output on the same plot in the next season. Crop yields were also found to be higher only when guaranteed control over plot-level produce was assigned to individual women farmers, not when assigned to households. Statistical analysis revealed that the correlation between property rights security and yields gets hidden when control over produce is assigned to households. These results are important but we still need to understand whether the pattern exists longitudinally in smallholder and large scale farming contexts. This additional longitudinal research, using multiple quantitative and qualitative methods combining in-depth interviews and surveys, will further test hypotheses linking agricultural productivity to property rights security in produce in two significantly different farming settings located in western Kenya. This study will advance our understanding of the nature and causes of productivity differences among smallholder and large scale farmers and will further evaluate the degree to which property rights theory can be applied in diverse farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The research should be of relevance to a wide range of students and researchers interested in knowing and understanding how property rights structure incentives for economic performance. The findings will also provide insight into yield enhancing input utilization patterns, useful to policy makers for improvement of extension service delivery in order to boost agricultural productivity in Kenya. The broader impacts of this study will be important to policy makers and other social actors concerned about enhancing agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa.