Farmer Participation in Supermarket Channels, Production Technology, and Efficiency: The Case of Vegetables in Kenya
研究肯尼亚菜农参与超市渠道对生产率和效率的影响，发现参与使生产率提升45%，并显著改善技术效率和规模效率，对非洲小农减贫有启示。
Supermarkets are gaining ground in agrifood systems of many developing countries. While recent research has analyzed income effects in the small farm sector, impacts on productivity and efficiency have hardly been studied. We use a meta‐frontier approach and combine this with propensity score matching to estimate treatment effects among vegetable farmers in Kenya. Participation in supermarket channels increases farm productivity in terms of meta‐technology ratios by 45%. We also find positive and significant impacts on technical efficiency and scale efficiency. Supermarket expansion therefore presents opportunities for agricultural growth in the small farm sector, which is crucial for poverty reduction in Africa.