Effect of socio-technical innovation bundles on male and female smallholder farmers’ empowerment in selected counties in Kenya

Smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to systemic barriers, weather variability and climate change has resulted in low farm productivity, derailing farmers’ chances for empowerment. Existing interventions aimed at enhancing smallholder farmers’ empowerment are largely technocentric. They focus on technical and technological innovations, assuming a one-size-fits all approach with little regard for farmers’ unique local contexts. With the over-reliance on technical and technological innovations, social innovations are often ignored, yet they capture the vital dimensions of farmers’ local contexts. Moreover, gender considerations are treated as peripheral, not embedded into the innovation’s layers. Co-designed socio-technical innovation bundles that integrate social, technical and technological innovations can address these limitations. However, their effect on smallholder farmers’ empowerment is less explored. This study sought to determine the effect of co-designed socio-technical innovation bundles on male and female smallholder farmers’ empowerment. Data were collected from 742 respondents, with 371 in the treated group and 371 in the control group. Using an ordered logistic regression model, the study determined that co-designed socio-technical innovation bundles significantly influenced smallholder farmers’ empowerment. Farmers who participated in the co-design and use of socio-technical innovation bundles experienced higher levels of empowerment, demonstrating that context-specific socio-technical innovations effectively mitigate demographic and socio-economic disparities in empowerment. The findings further suggest that co-designed STIBs were associated with enhanced farmers’ social and technical capacities and opportunities, significantly improving their empowerment levels. As a result, smallholder maize and bean farmers achieved higher degrees of decision-making and resource access, underscoring the transformative potential of co-designed STIBs in mitigating demographic disparities, enabling smallholder farmers, particularly female farmers, to act on their choices and influence their own circumstances. Incorporation and scaling co-designed STIBs in the agri-food system is thus a potential strategy to help realize gender-sensitive and sustainable agricultural production and development.