Women's income and fertility in rural Kenya

Data collected in two economically contrasting rural communities in Kenya indicate that education is not an important determinant of contraceptive use although it importantly determines the age at marriage. It is observed that women's status (as measured through women's income) is a critical factor for women's contraceptive behavior through the determination of the cost of children to mothers and the direction of flow of social and economic resources from children to mothers. Thus when women earn a high income that permits a fair degree of autonomy, their aspirations for children (especially for their education) rise and consequently they spend more on children. In absence of labour contribution by children when women's income is high, a new mother-child relationship emerges in which the child becomes a cost and not an economic asset to the mother, thus,' encouraging contraceptive use in order to lower the fertility level

Effect of Co-Operatives on the Livelihoods of Rural Sirisia Constituency in Bungoma County, Kenya

The cooperative movement is a key variable in the growth of the Kenyan economy especially in the rural households. Historically, agricultural cooperatives in Kenya have been a successful and common aspect of rural life; especially in as far as social-economic growth is concerned. These cooperatives have allowed for economic stability and provided a framework for local investment that is community based. The latter is particularly important because while complimenting economic development, cooperatives also directly contribute to community development by establishing local channels of communication and enhancing local decision-making (Brennan and Luloff, 2005). Much of the developing world is experiencing rapid economic growth and the cooperatives aim to bring that growth in the rural areas. However, there has been a challenge in the administrative operations and sustainability of most Agrarian cooperative societies that have diversity in terms of membership. It’s for this reason that this study sought to assess the effect of Agrarian Co-operatives in social-economic development in rural areas, specifically Sirisia constituency, Bungoma County, Kenya. Specifically, the study aims to ascertain the effect of cooperative societies on the livelihoods of the rural households in Bungoma County. The study employed descriptive survey research design. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. It targeted 534 members of the cooperative societies from Sirisia Constituency of Bungoma County. A sample of 107 respondents was selected from the target population using stratified random sampling techniques. The study used a standard questionnaire during data collection. Data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). The findings of the study revealed that the current Cooperative Societies have a very little positive impact on the livelihood of the community members. The study concluded that though the Agrarian Cooperative Societies have a significant positive association with the livelihood of the community, their positive impact on the community livelihood is not felt. In this regard therefore, there is need for the government to facilitate the Agrarian Cooperative Societies to save them from collapsing as much as they are much into the idea of devolution. Keywords: Agrarian Co-operatives,   Social-economic,  Development ,  Rural Area

Gender Equality in the Oil Mining Sector: An Interaction with Socio Demographic Factors in Lokichar, Turkana Kenya

The extraction and processing of minerals presents an opportunity for women’s economic empowerment. The paper capitalizes on the authors recent study “Change in Gender Roles as a Factor in Gender Participation and Empowerment in The Oil Mining Industry: A Case of Lokichar, Kenya” whose main objective was to establish the changes in gender roles and participation as influenced by oil mining in Lokichar in Turkana County. The  paper anchors on interaction with Socio Demographic factors. The null hypothesis; there is no relationship between equal hiring and equal  opportunity for men and women to work in mining activities was tested. The target group was the active labour force (direct and indirect) aged  between 15 to 64 years. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection. Cross tabulation was generated on the  responses to show the differences based on the gender and Chi-square used to test the hypotheses and establish whether there were changes in  gender roles and empowerment. Major findings indicate that there is a relationship between equal hiring and gender equality. The socio  demographic indicators findings are discussed in depth. This descriptive study therefore intended to enlighten stakeholders (i.e. government and oil  companies) to craft policies in a bid to respond to challenges in oil mining and adopt gender sensitive policies that can help to enhance  workforce efficiency and enhance gender equality. The paper recommends that issues like compensation, decision making, royalty sharing, power  relations should be well spelt in policies to ensure gender mainstreaming