The Role of Social Learning in Linking Knowledge and Practice for Rehabilitation of Degraded Drylands in Njemps Flats, Baringo County, Kenya
Land degradation is a major cause of decreasing yields and loss of dryland ecosystems resilience in the Kenyan drylands. One of the solutions to land degradation is the application of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) technologies. However, adoption of SLM practices in Kenyan drylands is low. This study sought to enhance adoption of SLM practices by improving farmers capacity through social learning in a Community of Practice (CoP). The study employed Participatory Action Research (PAR) desig...
Smallholder French Beans Farmers Global-Gap Standards Risk Attitudes, and their Effects on Welfare in Kirinyaga County, Kenya
Despite the importance of Global-GAP standards in promoting production and marketing of quality French beans in Kenya, compliance is still low. Using data from randomly selected 492 French beans, farmers, the study sought to determine the link between risk preferences, Global-GAP certification, observed poverty, and vulnerability to future poverty. The study used social experiment and 5-point Likert scale to solicit risk attitudes parameters, binary Logit model to determine the effect of risk...
Reduction of Anti-Nutritive Compounds in Ground Mature Prosopis Juliflora Pods in Rabbit Diets using Fermentation Technology
Scarcity and seasonality of supply of cereals (for human and livestock feed) causes fluctuation in quantity, quality and increase in feed cost. This results in poor livestock growth, low reproductive performance and high production cost. Prosopis juliflora pods have been used to mitigate this, but success has been hampered by their high content of anti-nutritive compounds (ANC); tannins, crude fibre (CF) phytic acid and aflatoxins. Fermentation has been reported to reduce ANC concentrations. ...
Reproductive Performance and Genetic Response to Selection of Dairy Goats in Kenya Following Incorporation of Reproductive Technologies and Genomic Selection
The goat industry plays a key role in provision of economic and social benefits to a significant population in Kenya. Therefore improving their performances would contribute to food security, poverty reduction and economic empowerment of resource poor rural households. Reproductive performances and estimation f response to selection are considered among the essential pillars of economic viability of dairy operations. This thesis evaluated reproductive performance and response to selection of ...
Optimization of Biogas Production using Some Process Parameters in a Fixed Dome Laboratory Bioreactor
Biogas is a renewable energy that has many applications including cooking, lighting households among others. It is produced through the breakdown of organic matter in an air tight compartment through a biochemical process which is generally termed digestion. This technology involves various techniques through use of digesters or bioreactors and operational parameters which could be predicted and must be optimised. A 0.15m3 capacity fixed dome laboratory bioreactor was used to determine the ef...
Analysis of Factors Influencing Productivity and extent of Smallholder Commercialization of Green Grams and Pigeon Peas in Machakos County, Kenya
Small farmer commercialization was an indispensable pathway towards sustainable food security based on production specialization of food crops. The common staple food crops in Mwala and Yatta sub-counties which are the main semi-arid areas in Machakos County were green grams and pigeon peas. However, the factors affecting productivity and the resultant output for commercialization are not fully understood. The main objectives were therefore to assess the extent and determinants of the levels ...
Impact of Agripreneurial Orientations on Resilience and Performance of Dairy Agripreneurs in Murang’a County, Kenya The Mediating Effect Agribusiness Support Services
The performance of rural smallholder dairy agrienterprises in Kenya is very critical as it contributes to welfare improvement of rural people especially the youth and women. Despite this acknowledgement, the farm productivity of rural dairy agripreneurs is persistently low. Entrepreneurial orientations and utilization of agribusiness support services have been viewed as a catalyst for improvement of agrienterprises performance. This study sought to determine impact of agripreneurial orientati...
Effect of Entrepreneurial Behaviour on Competitive Advantage and Performance of Small Scale Potato Enterprises in Molo Sub County, Kenya
Small scale potato enterprises play a central role in creation of jobs and wealth creation for 3.8 million potato farmers along the potato value chain in Kenya. Although, potato roduction and marketing emerges as a promising farm enterprise that can contribute to increased incomes fosmallholder potato farmers. There is little or lack of mpetitiveness among potato farmers.This study intended to fill this knowledge gap by determining the effect of entrepreneurial behaviour on the competitive ad...
Articulation and Phonological Impairments in the Speech of Second Language Learners in Primary School With Cerebral Palsy: A Case of St Martins Deporre’s Primaryschool, Kisumu County
The study sought to identify and describe the articulation and phonological impairments in the speech of 6-14 year old learners of English as a second language in primary school with cerebral palsy. Further the study also established the linguistic interventions employed by the teachers to assist the learners affected by articulation and phonological impairments as a result of cerebral palsy. Optimality theory was used to account for the impairments through mapping of competence and performan...
The Contributions of Councils of Elders to the Resilience of African Traditional Religion: A Case of Njuri Ncheke in Meru County, Kenya
Among the peoples of Kenya, there has been a cultural and religious revival and all means are being sought to propagate it. In certain circles, there is even a revival of ethnic rites, religious rituals and customs, and there are national efforts to preserve and take pride in ethnic cultures. Councils of elders are being treated with respect and honour as custodians of these cultures and religious beliefs. Generally, there has been a resilience of African Traditional Religion (ATR) and tradit...
Kenya defense forces and militarization of internal disputes, 1963 – 2013
Military intervention has attracted a lot of scholarly attention in the recent past, with many scholars interested in interrogating the motives and justifications for the practice. Many of these studies have mainly focused on military intervention externally rather than the involvement of the military in internal security operations. By examining the rationale and dynamics of Kenya Defence Forces’ (KDF) interventions, this study sought to put forward a prism for internal military interventi...
Analysis of county government expenditure and county economic growth in kenya
e modern devolution development across the globe has been in part driven by assertions of a supposed ‘economic dividend’ linked with the devolved expenditure. There is however, little empirical evidence to validate these assertions in Kenya. Most empirical studies across different countries have used different methods of analysis, different time periods and diverse techniques of measuring variable which have generated mixed conclusions and others are inconclusive. More so, in Kenya these ...
Gender and political transformation in Kenya: a case study of women in Luoland, 1895-2002
The impact of colonialism on African women and the transformation of their roles in the social, economic and political spheres has been the focus of many Africanist scholars. However, most of the works focus on African women generally. The current study specifically, focuses on Luo women in Kenya. It is an inquiry into the gendered political transformation the Luo have undergone from 1895 – 2002. It specifically analyses the role of women in pre-colonial Luo society. It also examines how th...
Challenges facing implementation of witness protection program in Kenya
Witnesses in highly sensitive cases are often intimated and physically harmed by people they are witnessing against or their associated. Kenyan government has enacted witness protection laws as results of pressure from International Criminal Court as part of conditions in prosecution of Post-Election Violence (PEV). This study sought to identify and document challenges facing implementation of witness protection program in Kenya. Specifically, this current study sought to achieve following ob...
An examination of the implementation and prioritization of the three-pronged anti-corruption strategy in Nairobi County, Kenya (2003-2011)
This study examined the factors which influenced the implementation and prioritization of the three-pronged strategy which the Government of Kenya adopted in 2003 to fight corruption. Despite its adoption, the prevalence of corruption in the country remained high as reported in the anti-corruption commission reports, corruption perception surveys, parliamentary reports and in the media. The widespread corruption was an indication that the strategy faced challenges in reducing it and this situ...
