MST-Department of Community Resource Management and Extension

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Browsing MST-Department of Community Resource Management and Extension by Subject "Kenya"

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    Adoption of Sustainable Bamboo Farming to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Degradation and to Improve Livelihood in Kinale, Kiambu County, Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2023-11) Maina, Joy Wamahiga; Joyce Mwaniki
    Bamboo is a perennial flowering plant with a distinctive life cycle: many bamboo species remain in the vegetative phase for decades, followed by mass synchronous flowering and SUbseql{ent death. Bamboos are grasses (Poaceae) that are widespread In trop ical and Sl,l‘t'troplcal regions with the potential to increase forests cover owing to their 'morphologlcal fast growth. This study aimed at i.) identifying the level of use in sustainable bamboo farming curbing effects of soil degradation, ii.) evaluating the level of COI{HHMI'EY awareness on bamboo farming and its environmental benefits, and iii.) assessing the importance of Bamboo as non-wood plant to sustain and improve community livelihoods. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 192 respondents within Kinale region, Kiambu County during a survey to gather information on bamboo farming and its impacts in curbing soil degradation. The data was analyzed on IBM® Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 21. Results showed that 56.2% of the respondents in Kinale region Kiambu County were involved in bamboo farming whereby the odds were about twice (1.821, 95% CI, Lower limit =1.11; Upper limit=2.997) as great as the odds of their counterparts. Among respondents involved in bamboo farming, the highest variance of 35.8%, 29.4% and 21.33% were from respondents that considered bamboo as a sustainable alternative to trees, aware of deforestation and degradation and bamboo farming for income generation, respectively. A respondent considering bamboo as a suitable alternative to trees was twice more likely to be involved in bamboo farming [Exp (B)= 1.963, 95% CI: 0.179, 7.307, p=0.032] whereas that who considered bamboo for income generation, was thrice [Exp (B)= 3.058, 95% CI: 0.433, 2.005; p=0.025]. Bamboo farming awareness was through Agricultural Extension Officers, Community Based Organizations and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) as reported by 46.9%, 40.1% and 13%, respectively. Majority of 83.4% practice bamboo farming for monetary benefits compared to 16.6% that is for environmental benefits. Notably, 43.2% of the respondents reported environmental improvement associated with bamboo farming. Among the bamboo farming products, posts, chairs and baskets were reported by the majority of 30.9%, 27.2% and 20.2% of the respondents, respectively. A K-mean analysis revealed two clusters based on variables environmental-related and economic sustainability livelihood-related. In the first cluster, both variables: a sustainable alternative to trees and Land improvement or reclamation had a significant impact on its aggregation. However, in the second cluster, variables: bamboo as a source of income, household size and literacy level had a significant impact on its aggregation whereas variable: main source of income has none. The majority of 77.8% of the respondents involved in bamboo farming were in Ksh. > 2,000 - < 8,000 earning categories. Therefore, the study had shown the potential of bamboo farming in mitigating soil degradation, sustain and improve community livelihoods.
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    Utilization of Preconception Care Services among Couples Aged (18-49) Years in Bungoma County, Kenya.
    (Kenyatta University, 2022) Mukhalisi, Audrey Nasenya; Rosebella Iseme; Boniface Musila
    Preconception Care (PCC) is described as health care services for all men and women who may have an intention to conceive so as to point out and alter behavioral, psychological, biomedical, and social risks to the parents' health and their future child's health. The endmost aim being, the improvement of the pregnancy results. The broad objective of the study was to assess the utilization of preconception care services among couples aged (18-49 years) in Kanduyi Sub-County, Bungoma County, Kenya. The study used an analytical cross-sectional study design that made use of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires from the study participants while qualitative data was collected using Focused Group Discussion guides with primary respondents. A pre-test study was carried out in one randomly selected ward in Webuye East sub-county. Four wards in Kanduyi Sub-County were randomly selected for the study, using the Lottery random sampling method. The study participants were sampled proportionately from each ward. Data collection instruments, used by the researcher were a semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire and focused group discussion guide. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 22 was used for the descriptive analysis of the quantitative data. The quantitative results were presented using bar graphs, tables, and pie charts. Chi-square tests were used for testing variable associations at a 95% confidence interval, and p-values of less than 0.05 were considered to be significant. Thematic analysis of qualitative data was carried out, and results presented as narrations or quotes. The findings from this study have; first helped to depict a low-level of knowledge on preconception care services among couples, whereby only 41% (159) of the couples had adequate knowledge on preconception care. Secondly, the utilization of preconception care services among the couples in Kanduyi sub-county in Bungoma county is very low, especially on some services. For instance, the majority 65% (251) of the couples were not screened for any medical condition prior to conception. Socio-demographic factors such as; level of education (p=0.029), age (p=0.042), occupation (p=0.030), place of residence (p=0.002) and gravidity (p=0.001) were significantly associated with the utilization of preconception care services. The sociocultural factors that were significantly associated with the utilization of preconception care services were; partners' support (65%), traditional beliefs (81%), and church attendance (85%). The study concludes that the rate of utilization of preconception care services among couples in Bungoma County was relatively low. The study recommends scaling up and sensitization of preconception care programs to increase utilization rates among the couples. These results will be useful to policy makers, health researchers and other stakeholders to develop action plans to improve the utilization of preconception care services among the couples, which will further lead to improved maternal outcomes as well reduce maternal deaths associated with pregnancy related complications.