PHD-Department of Agribusiness Management and Trade (AMT)

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Browsing PHD-Department of Agribusiness Management and Trade (AMT) by Subject "Impact"

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    Impact of Human Capital Development and Fixed Capital Formation on Agriculture Productivity in Uganda
    (Kenyatta University, 2022) Owuor, Charles; Eric K. Bett; Gabriel W. Mwenjeri
    This study was inspired by the fact that Uganda‟s economic development prospect is intertwined with agriculture sector growth. The country has 80% of arable land, but only 35% is under production majorly using subsistence suboptimal methods. This thesis sought to deepen the understanding of agriculture and education nexus and the low transformation of the agriculture sector in Uganda. This work comes from a background that Uganda‟s education sector has been criticised for churning out half-baked graduants at all levels without the necessary skills and capacity to innovate, unlock and exploit critical value chains to spur economic growth. Therefore, this dissertation examines the multiple dimensions of the impact of public spending on education, school enrolment, physical capital formation and labour on agricultural sector output. The study is underpinned by the growing interest in empirical investigations on the effects of public education expenditure and education sector outputs on economic growth in developing countries to inform the education sector policy environment. The study utilised the ARDL framework using annual macroeconomic data from 1982 to 2018. The year 1982 marked the beginning of implementing economic reforms and structural adjustment program after a near economic collapse during the the Idi Amin era in 1970‟s. Theoretically, at sector level, growth in the agriculture sector is positively correlated to a reduction in rural poverty that is still a characteristic of rural households. Results reveal that public expenditure on education has a net positive effect on agriculture sector output. The training of agriculture graduates had a negative long run effect while the short run effects were significant but positive. Similary, phyiscal capital formation and labour force accumulation had short run positive effect on agriculture sector output in a short run, while in the longrun, the effects were negative. This study strongly recommends that the public sector puts in place an incentive system to retain skilled and qualified human resource in the agriculture sector. Further this study puts to the fore the argument that investment in education is still a viable public investment choice that has a positive effect on sectoral output which translates into overall economic growth, and confirms that education expenditure plays a critical role at sectoral level growth.
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    Impact of Improved Sorghum Varieties on Poverty Reduction among Rural Farming Households in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2021) Mwangi, Backson Mutonya; Ibrahim Macharia Ndegwa; Eric Kiprotich Bett
    Poverty alleviation and attainment of food security are among the major concerns facing majority of households in arid and semi-arid land areas of Kenya. The Government of Kenya in partnership with other sector stakeholders have invested heavily in the development and promotion of suitable high yielding improved sorghum varieties that are less susceptible to climate change, pests and diseases. Over the years, sorghum demand has outstripped supply. The deficit supply gap keeps expanding and this trend is unexpected since farmers have been assured of a market and price through forward delivery contracts. The interventions are intended to reduce poverty among adopting households. However, the impact of the interventions is not clear and has not been empirically established. In response, this study formulated three specific objectives where the first aimed to assess the determinants of adoption, intensity of use and speed of uptake of improved sorghum varieties. The second and third attempted to evaluate the profit efficiency and estimate the impact of improved sorghum varieties on poverty reduction respectively. Cross-sectional research design was used and primary data were collected from a sample size of 452 households using a structured questionnaire. Further, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were also conducted. Data were analyzed using Double Hurdle and Duration Analysis models for the first objective. To answer the second objective, Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Profit Frontier was used. Furthermore, 3 models namely; Propensity Score Matching, Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment and Endogenous Switching Regression models were used to answer the third objective related to impact of improved sorghum varieties on poverty reduction. Findings generated by Double Hurdle and Duration Analysis models indicated that determinants of the three adoption decisions are not necessarily the same. While many variable coefficients depicted expected a priori, distance to the nearest agricultural offices and intensity of use of improved sorghum varieties depicted unexpected positive a priori indicating possible use of home saved seeds. Further, access to agricultural credit returned unexpected negative a priori for both intensity of use and speed of adopting improved sorghum varieties’ decisions. On the other hand, results generated by Cobb-Douglas Stochastic Profit Frontier showed a wide range of profit efficiency from 0.12 to 0.96 for the worst and best sorghum farmer, respectively, with a mean of 0.17. Average treatment effects results generated by the 3 impact models indicated a positive significant difference in daily consumption expenditure per adult equivalent of between USD 0.09 to 0.21. Further, counterfactual results generated by Endogenous Switching Regression model showed that, non-adopters would have increased their consumption expenditure per adult equivalent by on average USD 0.96 daily had they decided to adopt. Therefore, adoption-stimulating policies that target to raise resource endowment of households, improve access to extension service and rural infrastructure need to be implemented. Further, this study advocates for incentive-based policies aimed at widening agro-dealer networks mainly directed to County Government to consider reducing certifications such as trade permits. Additionally, policies targeting to reduce credit providers’ cost of doing business and increase their lending appetite such as use of technology, business champions and guarantee schemes should be developed.