The National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Programme (NAAIAP) established in 2006 was
envisioned as a safety net programme that would address the problem of food insecurity and poverty
among poor farmers. This study using cross-sectional data obtained from 200 farmers employs
Multinomial Logistic analysis and data from the 2009/2010 agricultural season to estimate the subsidy
effects of the NAAIAP program on poor and vulnerable farmers of Tana River Sub-County. To control for
errors of inclusion and exclusion the study focused on those farmers who had actually received
vouchers. Observations point to predominantly aging male farmers with primary level of education and
whose main source of income is farming earning them an average of $1 a day. These farmers owning on
average seven acres, lack titles to their pieces of land of which only half was utilized for production,
had not accessed financial services despite such services being within reach; a factor that could be
attributed to their lack of collateral and low levels of realized annual incomes from sales through
roadside markets and general information asymmetries. Model results show that returns on
investments to various income categories from use of fertilizer is sensitive to residual effects of
previous fertilizer application, timing or use of fertilizer during the right season, and communal financial
support structures such as group saving. These findings therefore avail deeper insight to policy makers
and provide valuable information which has implications on policy, design, targeting and programme
implementation.
Key words: Subsidy, fertilizer, National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Programme (NAAIAP),
smallholder, Kenya.