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The role of technology in development has been discussed in wide and varied literature. Over the course of history, technology has facilitated the process of development by helping individuals transcend some of the problems they face in their daily life. In recent times, the revolution in information and communication technology has come to play a crucial role in development and poverty reduction. This study explored the use of such technology, in this case the mobile phone farming applications, by smallholder farmers in Kenya to facilitate their agricultural production and marketing. The aim of the study was to explore the use of the mobile phone farming applications by the smallholder farmers to access markets and information and to assess the effects of their use on the farmers’ farming and marketing experience as well as their well-being outcomes. The results from the study indicate that the mobile phone faming applications have facilitated the smallholder farmers to access markets and marketing information. These applications have been effective in reducing the information search costs and marketing transaction costs for the smallholder farmers leading to enhanced access to information and markets. The reduced marketing transaction costs have, in turn, led to increased market participation by the smallholder farmers. Evidence from the literature indicates that when smallholder farmers have increased access to market information, their power in the market, in terms of their ability to bargain with traders, increases. In this study, it was also found that the rural farmers had been empowered by their increased access to information and they could, therefore, engage in price negotiation with potential buyers. This, together with access to higher paying markets, led to an increase in the farmers’ income. Furthermore, the use of these applications facilitated the farmers to form networks with other farmers and traders. These networks, eventually became, an important

This thesis was inspired and guided by the question; how have Kenyan smallholder farmers managed to enter and stay in the Kenyan fresh fruits and vegetables export value chain that has high entry and stay barriers? From this question, the study aimed to analyse the structure and nature of vertical coordination and the corresponding regulatory systems in the value chain. Three research questions were then raised in line with the research aim. To explore these questions, Oliver Williamson transaction costs economics and John Braithwaite and Valerie Braithwaite motivational postures theory were applied to respectively analyse the structure and nature of vertical coordination and the regulatory and compliance systems in the value chain. A mixed methods approach was adopted for the study with fieldwork carried out in six counties in Kenya. The study participants included smallholder farmers, non-governmental organisations and public and private organisations. The study found that the structure of vertical coordination of the value chain was nodal whereby two nodes of contracted coordination were identified. The two nodes comprised of European retailers-Kenyan exporters’ node and the exporters-smallholder farmer's nodes. The retailers-exporters node was found to have stable long-term contracts which allowed for transactional relationship to age and mature. Conversely, the exporters-farmers node was found to have unstable and volatile short-termed transactions which inhibited maturity of exchange relationships. Importantly, the study found that the absence of property rights, forced the parties’ to rely on relational contracting anchored on supply reliability. It was for supply reliability reason that the exporters were willing to bear high transaction costs of contracting smallholders, hence enabling smallholders’ entry and stay in the value chain. Regulation was found to be through three pathways including; exporters-farmers, state regulatory and network regulation pathw

This thesis was inspired and guided by the question; how have Kenyan smallholder farmers managed to enter and stay in the Kenyan fresh fruits and vegetables export value chain that has high entry and stay barriers? From this question, the study aimed to analyse the structure and nature of vertical coordination and the corresponding regulatory systems in the value chain. Three research questions were then raised in line with the research aim. To explore these questions, Oliver Williamson transaction costs economics and John Braithwaite and Valerie Braithwaite motivational postures theory were applied to respectively analyse the structure and nature of vertical coordination and the regulatory and compliance systems in the value chain. A mixed methods approach was adopted for the study with fieldwork carried out in six counties in Kenya. The study participants included smallholder farmers, non-governmental organisations and public and private organisations. The study found that the structure of vertical coordination of the value chain was nodal whereby two nodes of contracted coordination were identified. The two nodes comprised of European retailers-Kenyan exporters’ node and the exporters-smallholder farmer's nodes. The retailers-exporters node was found to have stable long-term contracts which allowed for transactional relationship to age and mature. Conversely, the exporters-farmers node was found to have unstable and volatile short-termed transactions which inhibited maturity of exchange relationships. Importantly, the study found that the absence of property rights, forced the parties’ to rely on relational contracting anchored on supply reliability. It was for supply reliability reason that the exporters were willing to bear high transaction costs of contracting smallholders, hence enabling smallholders’ entry and stay in the value chain. Regulation was found to be through three pathways including; exporters-farmers, state regulatory and network regulation pathw