10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Bamboo has been designated Kenya's 16th scheduled cash crop since 2020, yet enterprise uptake in smallholder farmlands remains constrained despite its potential for climate resilience, livelihood diversification, and contribution to national development goals. Guided by Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, this study investigated factors influencing bamboo enterprise uptake in Busia and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties. Utilizing a cross-sectional research design, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a sampled population of 398 farming households (n=205 in Busia; n=193 in Elgeyo Marakwet) alongside focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. Chi-square and independent t-tests revealed significant inter-county variations across all primary socio-demographic parameters (p<0.05). Education level exhibited the strongest association with bamboo utilization (χ2=71.122, df=3, p<0.001), alongside gender (χ2=14.897), age (χ2=29.604), household size (χ2=59.802), and land ownership (χ2=23.188). Though potential income generation was the primary motivator for planting bamboo across both counties, Busia smallholders exhibited a substantially higher adoption rate (75.6%) despite severe land constraints (54.6% owning less than 1.0 acre). On the contrary, Elgeyo Marakwet displayed lower adoption (33.2%) despite larger mean land endowments (2.71±1.50 acres). This divergence is driven by institutional support structures and market configurations. Busia’s success is mediated by effective public-private-people partnership (P4) models, active NGO interventions and structural market linkages like the Butula Bamboo Cooperative. Elgeyo Marakwet suffers from low awareness of government support (69.4%), and technical capacity gaps regarding commercial propagation. The main challenges across both regions include an inadequate technical understanding of bamboo management (37.7%) and poor market information. The study concludes that land availability is secondary to structural market linkages and localized technical extension. It recommends decentralized processing hubs, specialized county enterprise funds, and targeted, gender-inclusive technical training to fully transition passive resource custodians into active value-chain participants.