Analysing market conduct and performance of honey marketing in West Pokot, Kenya

Abstract

Despite a long tradition of apiary farming in West Pokot, Kenya, records show that farmers in the area are yet to record an improvement in their income generation. This has been attributed to the utilization of outdated and obsolete marketing strategies that don’t take into account the dynamic nature of consumer demands. To address this challenge, a study was undertaken in a bid to identify the market conduct and performance of honey marketing in West Pokot, Kenya. The discussions in this paper are premised on the findings of the study. The study adopted a survey research design and had a target population of 400 farmers and 50 traders who had experience in honey production and marketing of honey. A sample size of 120 farmers and 14 traders was obtained through purposive sampling and systematic sampling, respectively. Primary data collection was done by means of individual interview and group discussions using questionnaires and checklists while secondary data was collected from different documented sources. The honey marketing performance was measured using marketing margins complemented with analysis of costs and gross profits generated by different marketing channel actors. The findings of the study indicated that honey market concentration ratio in the study area was 94.88 percent suggesting a weaker oligopoly market type. This paper calls for a strengthening of marketing through establishing and developing co-operative societies and other honey marketing institutions. It is also essential to integrate bee keeping activities with water harvesting to secure the livelihood of apiary farmers. Keywords: Honey Marketing, Market Conduct, Enterprise Development, Performance, West Pokot