Conversion and hedonic price analysis of agricultural land due to urbanization in Njoro sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Over the years, Njoro Sub-County in Kenya has become increasingly urbanized, transforming from a transcendently rustic, horticultural territory, to dominatingly urban non-agrarian locale; driven mainly by growth of population. Agriculture being the main source of livelihood for the rural and semi-urban residents is being acutely jeopardized by rapid urbanization. Despite extensive studies on agricultural land conversion, there exists a knowledge gap on the extent of agricultural land conversion as a result of urbanization in Njoro Sub-County. This study aimed at contributing towards improved livelihood through sustainable agricultural land conversion as a result of urbanization among small-scale farmer production systems in Njoro Sub-County, Kenya. Specifically, this study intended to; characterize the current land use practices by small scale farmers, analyze the extent of agricultural land conversion and identify the role of land and socio-economic attributes in influencing the prices of agricultural land in Njoro Sub-County, Kenya. Multistage sampling technique was employed in sampling 384 farmers in Njoro Sub-County. Primary data was collected from 384 randomly selected smallholder farmers, by the use of semi-structured questionnaires and key witness interviews. Descriptive statistics were employed to characterize the current land use practices and Craggit estimator was used to identify the extent of agricultural land converted. Hedonic price model was used to analyze determinants of land prices. Results revealed that 57.60% of the respondents had converted agricultural land to non-agricultural practices. Furthermore, 67% of the total initial agricultural land owned by households had been converted to non-agricultural purposes whilst (33%) of the initial size of total initial agricultural land was still being utilized for agricultural purposes. The results also show socio-economic and institutional factors significantly affected the decision to convert and extent of land conversion. Risk attitude, contacts with extension agents and soil fertility had a positive influence on prices of agricultural land. This study recommends coherent policies that take into consideration farmer socio-economic and bio-physical characteristics that could stimulate behavioral change towards land conversion. The government could also adopt strategies that align all stakeholders from different sectors, provide secure rights to land and incentivize solutions for sustainable agriculture by making agriculture more competitive. This study concluded that agricultural land is being converted to non-agricultural purposes in the face of growing urbanization hence need to for policies that encourage farmers to retain agricultural land. This study also concluded that socio-economic and land attributes play an important role in determining prices of agricultural land.