Government Support Services and Sustainability of Small Scale Irrigation Farming Projects In, Kisumu County, Kenya
Loading...
Date
2020-11
Authors
Ooro, Charlotte Achieng
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Agriculture is a dominant sector of the Kenyan economy and contributes 25 percent of the GDP.
Being the highest foreign exchange earner Growth is anticipated to propel the fulfillment of the
2030 vision. In line with the GoK initiatives various government agencies have initiated
irrigation projects over the years, in particular small scale irrigation projects with great emphasis
on sustainable development. So that food supply in the country is safe, the government has
advocated for minimal dependence on rain-fed agriculture and embarked on establishing small
holder irrigation projects in the country, under strategy for revitalizing agriculture. Nonetheless,
much of the projects once launched and introduced fail shortly after the execution organization
drops out on investments by way of weak performance, thereby threatening sustainability.
Therefore this study sought to determine the relationship between government support services
and sustainability of Small Scale Irrigation Farming projects in Kisumu County, Kenya. The
specific objectives guiding the study were to find out the effects of subsidy, marketing support,
diversification and extension service on sustainability of small scale irrigation farming projects
in, Kisumu County, Kenya. The study was anchored by Stakeholder Theory, Contingency
Theory and Resource Based Theory. This study employed a descriptive research design. The
target population in the small scale irrigation farming projects in Kisumu county was 4,000
farmers which included project officials that is, the chairman of water users association, project
secretary and block leaders from Nyachoda, Awach, Gem-Rae , Nyakalewa, Kasiru-Kolal,
Sisso,Anyuro,Arombo, Siamy and kotieno small scale irrigation projects, located in Nyando
Sub-county since a large population of most small-scale irrigation farmers are located in this
Sub-county. The study adopted simple random sampling to select sample size of 102
respondents. The study utilized primary data which was collected using questionnaire. Data was
collected using closed ended questions. In administering the questionnaires, a drop and pick later
method was adopted. An overall Cronbach alpha of 0.8088 was obtained which indicated that the
research instrument was reliable. Further, the diagnostic tests were carried out which include;
correlation, multicollinearity, normality and heteroscedasticity. The analysis of research data was
based on descriptive and multiple regression analysis. The research results indicated that a unit
increase in government subsidies leads to a significant and positive increase in sustainability of
small holder irrigation projects by 0.779 times with a p value of 0.003. One unit increase in
marketing support holding other factors constant leads to a significant increase in the
sustainability of small holder irrigation projects by 1.041 times; p value of 0.000. Further,
financial diversification has a significant increase in the sustainability of small holder irrigation
projects by 0.330 times; p value is 0.034. Lastly, one unit change in extension services has a
significant decrease in small holder irrigation projects by 0.572; p value is 0.026. An R2 of 0.706
was obtained which means that government subsidy, marketing support, financial diversification
and extension services explain 70.6% of the variation in changes in the sustainability of small
holder irrigation projects. The study concluded that government support services are key in
enhancing small scale irrigation projects sustainability in Kisumu county Kenya and it also
recommended that government support services should be continuously provided to small scale
irrigation project farmers’ in Kisumu county in order to boost irrigation projects’ sustainability.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Project Management) of Kenyatta University, November, 2020
Keywords
Government Support Services, Sustainability, Small Scale Irrigation, Farming Projects, Kisumu County, Kenya