Value Chain Support Activities and Performance of Sheep Production Projects in Nyandarua County, Kenya
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Date
2021
Authors
Chuchu, Simon Mwangi
Maina, James Rugami
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IJCAB
Abstract
As Kenya grapples with meat deficit and reduced livestock productivity in the ASALs, sheep
production in the high rainfall areas offers an opportunity to bridge the gap. Sheep and goats have
many advantages over large ruminants for most farmers, including lower capital investment
requirement for flock establishment, lower feed consumptions and thus lower food-related costs,
high fecundity and thus faster flock building, and are easier to manage. However, sheep
production still faces a myriad of challenges that result in low productivity and ultimately low
returns to farmers. Projects have been designed and implemented to improve sheep productivity
but with little impact. The performance of such projects in terms of timeliness, cost, budget
compliance, and quality has been questioned. This research aims to assess how various value
chain support activities influence the performance of sheep production projects in Nyandarua
County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to examine the influence of firm infrastructure assess
the influence of human resource management, explore the influence of technology development,
and evaluate the influence of procurement on the performance of sheep production projects in
Nyandarua County, Kenya. Value chain support activities are the independent variable while the
dependent variable is the performance of sheep production projects. The theories that support this
study are Capability-Based View, Knowledge-Based View, Resource-based view, and MarketBased View. Descriptive design was used to conduct the study whose population was drawn from
sheep production value chain stakeholders in the county, whose population is estimated at 596,
268. A sample size of 271 stakeholders were reached. Qualitative data was analyzed using content
analysis while descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. Descriptive and
inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data. Results were presented in form of tables,
percentages, bar charts, and graphs. The study found that effective leadership styles has a positive
influence on employees’ motivation and morale and contribute positively to organizational and
sheep production projects performance. At the same time, human capital planning, acquisition,
and development strategies have a more positive influence on organizational and sheep production
projects performance than traditional strategies. Further, information technology contributes to
the successful introduction of new products or services, improved operational processes and
provides guidance to decision making on project implementation and thus affect positively project
performance. Moreover, respondents approved that, procurement is a strategic function in that it
not only contributes to costs reduction but also to the achievement of budgetary compliance in
sheep production projects. It can, therefore, be concluded that firm infrastructure, human resource
management, technological development, and procurement are all key success factors in the
increased performance of sheep production projects. As part of the recommendation, players in
the sheep production value chain should consider adequately investing in firm infrastructure,
human resource management, technological development, and procurement. They should also be
guided by effective leadership styles that will yield the desired outcome through a positive influence on employees' motivation and morale while exercising human capital planning,
acquisition, and development strategies to enhance organizational performance
Description
An Article Published in International Journal of Business Management, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Keywords
Value Chain Support Activities, Performance, Sheep Production Projects, Nyandarua County, Kenya
Citation
Chuchu, S., & Maina, J. (2021). Value Chain Support Activities and Performance of Sheep Production Projects in Nyandarua County, Kenya. International Journal of Business Management, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 3(1), 91-103. https://doi.org/10.35942/jbmed.v3i1.167