Socio-Economics and Biometrics Research Programme

Socio-economic research, focuses on methods of participatory research and technology transfer, monitoring and evaluation of technological packages with regard to adoption and impact, and contributions to policies impacting on agricultural production. This research component assists in establishing on-farm commodity input/output price relationships (cost/benefit analysis) as well as input and output marketing information in reference to priority agricultural commodities.

The development, adaptation and adoption of appropriate agricultural technologies are influenced by both biophysical and socio-economic circumstances of the farmers and other stakeholders. Socio-economic circumstances include factors such as output/input prices, domestic and external inputoutput markets, profitability of interventions, existing policies of facilitating institutions and socio-cultural issues. The programme focuses on the following research areas:

Characterisation and diagnosis of farming systems including the description of production systems and identification of biophysical and socio-economic constraints limiting agricultural production·

• Participation in priority setting (ex-ante impact assessment) in order to identify and prioritise areas of intervention in projects and programmes in order to implement those interventions with highest priority and maximum likely impact given limitations of physical, financial and human resources.

• Monitoring and evaluation to determine both the economic viability and social acceptability of the technologies developed at the project level. Socioeconomists, in collaboration with the programme leaders and research managers, also participate in monitoring and evaluation at the programme and institutional levels to assess the allocation and consumption of resources and the level of attainment of various performance indicators set during the planning stage.

• Assessment of levels of adoption of released technologies and the factors influencing adoption, and the impact of the technologies. Impact will be achieved at different stages of the technology generation-adaptation-adoptionwider usage (upscaling) continuum.

• Analysis of input cost data and farm-gate prices of agricultural products to provide accurate input / output ratio to determine profitability of key agricultural enterprises within a cluster of mandate districts.

• Analysis of impacts of agricultural policies, facilitating institutions and inputoutput markets on the adaptation and adoption of technologies and creating linkages with various institutions involved in policy research and advocacy.

• Matters related to biometrics focussing on the statistical design of research experiments and surveys, data analysis and interpretation of results to ensure the various principles of scientific methodologies are adhered to.

Goal

The overall goal of the programme is to contribute to the development, validation and catalyse usage of appropriate technologies and knowledge to sustainably enhance incomes of rural people.

Purposes

The purpose of the programme is to provide appropriate socio-economics information and biometrics support required in the development, adaptation and adoption of agricultural technologies.

Expected Outputs

• Recommendations on improved agricultural policies for PAEs developed in collaboration with national/regional/international institutions.

• Socio-economic information on PAEs/farming systems, potential impact of proposed interventions, economic viability, social acceptability and impacts of adopted technologies and knowledge systems.

• Enhanced use of appropriate participatory and market oriented approaches for the development, validation and dissemination of technologies.

• Strengthened use of appropriate biometrics techniques during design of interventions, data analysis and interpretation of results.

• Establishment of an effective and efficient planning, monitoring and evaluation (PME)..

Future Strategies

During MTP III, the socio-economics programme will focus on the following priority research areas in order to contribute to the attainment of KARI's mission:

• Adoption and impact assessment (ex-post) of technologies.

• Priority setting (ex-ante impact assessment) for the remaining research programmes.

• Monitoring and evaluation of technologies for economic viability and social acceptability.

• Policy analysis and marketing studies, including analysis of credit provision, input supply and costs, processing, farm-gate prices of agricultural products input-output markets and institutional set-ups.

• Characterisation and diagnosis of constraints/opportunities of various farming systems.
  At the institutional level, the following will continue to be priority areas of focus:

• Development of an effective and efficient PM&E system including a functioning MIS.

• Biometrics input to all programmes and projects will be strengthened since this is crucial in all stages of serious scientific investigation.

• The prioritisation of the above focal areas is based on demand of socio-economic and biometric inputs that has been emanating from various research programmes, research managers and other stakehold