Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Women’s Participation in the Beans Value Chain in Kuria West Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

This study examined the association between socioeconomic factors and women’s participation in the beans value chain in Kuria West Sub County, Kenya, focusing on production, processing, distribution, and marketing. A correlational survey design was used. The accessible population comprised 11,714 women bean farmers in Masaba Ward, from whom 169 respondents were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire measuring socioeconomic characteristics and participation across the four value chain activities. A four-item participation scale rated from “Not at all” to “To a large extent” yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.78. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 27 using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression at a 0.05 significance level. Most respondents were aged 36–50 years (40.2%), had primary education (44.4%), cultivated 1–2 acres (38.5%), allocated less than 1 acre to beans (47.3%), had 5–10 years of farming experience (41.4%), lacked agricultural training (61.5%), and reported annual household incomes of KES 25,000 or less (68.0%). The regression model was significant, F(9,159)=20.77, p<.001, explaining 54.0% of the variance in participation (R²=.540; adjusted R²=.523). Significant positive predictors were age, education, farm size, land under beans, farming experience, agricultural training, and main source of income, while household size and annual household income were not significant. Overall, education, land under beans, agricultural training, and farm size showed comparatively stronger associations, highlighting the importance of women’s human capital, productive resources, and agricultural knowledge in enhancing participation in the beans value chain.