Assessment of Risk Attitudes and Mitigation Strategies Among Arable Crop Farmers in Semi-Arid Makueni County, Kenya

Abstract

This study assessed risk attitudes and mitigation strategies of arable crop farmers in Semi-Arid Makueni County, Kenya. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in the selection of 163 respondents. Data were collected using research questionnaire and analyzed using frequency distribution and percentages, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression, safety first model and a 5-point likert scale. The results revealed that the major types of risk faced by arable crop farmers are production (93.3%) and climatic (89.6%), followed by market (74.2%), financial (66.9%) and institutional (50.9%) risks; about 65.6% of farmers were risk-averse, 23.9% risk-neutral and 10.4% risk-seeking. The OLS model indicated that education, farming experience, farm size and access to credit significantly influenced farmers’ economic performance while risk attitude coefficient had a negative effect. The result also showed that the farmers adopted low-cost, experience-based strategies (crop diversification, intercropping, drought-tolerant varieties and soil and water conservation), however, uptake of formal instruments like crop insurance (11%) remained low. The study concludes that smallholder farmers in semi-arid Kenya are highly risk-averse and rely on adaptive strategies grounded in social capital and indigenous knowledge and recommended strengthening agricultural extension, access to affordable credit and insurance literacy.