The overall economic strategy adopted by the Kenya Government since independence in 1963 has been based on an open market system in which profit to individuals or organizations has been an accepted driving force. In the agricultural sector, the involvement of government at both production and processing levels has been rather limited, although involvement in marketing and distribution has been considerable. During the 1960s and 1970s agricultural production as a whole expanded at an overall rate of about 3.5% per annum (Government of Kenya, 1981). However, with an annual population growth rate of over 4% per annum, even this remarkable growth in output has not kept pace with the food needs of the population.