Abstract:
The horticultural sector is currently the second largest foreign exchange earner in Kenya after tea. It
employs more than a half a million people in the formal sector and over two million people in the
informal sector. The major export destinations demand some minimum quality levels of the produce
entering their market. There have been technological innovations with regard to seed priming,
treatment, disease and insect resistance and overall quality improvement. However the increased
profitability associated with such technological advancement has not been fully enjoyed in Kenya and
other developing countries due to non-adoption, partial adoption or inappropriate adoption of the
improved technologies. This necessitates the application of the full range of the available technology in
the production process to maximize output and profits. This paper investigates the determinants of
technology adoption in the production of horticultural export produce. Multistage and random sampling
methods were used to select the study areas and horticultural export producers respectively. One
hundred and twelve (112) respondents were interviewed using structured questionnaires. The study
covered Nakuru, Kiambu, Laikipia, Thika and Machakos districts. The data was analyzed using the
omnibus logistic function employing the SPSS software Version 10. Regression results indicated
positive coefficients for levels of education, role of government, funds availability and membership to
professional bodies by the firms alongside other variables. Results further revealed that failure to utilize
technologies was due to financial constraints, inappropriate technologies, technical knowledge, nature
of the businesses, poor infrastructure, access to information as well as the technologies themselves
not being available. This paper concludes that education levels, government involvement, access to
finance and membership to professional bodies positively influence technology adoption.