An Assessment of the Impact of Kilimo Plus Subsidy Program on Smallholder Farmers' Food Security and Income in Nakuru North District, Kenya

Poverty and food insecurity still plague the world today despite an effort by world leaders to address these two major problems through initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals. Majority of the world‘s population who suffer from poverty and food insecurity live in rural areas and rely on agriculture and agricultural related activities for their livelihood. Increasing productivity has been cited as a way of increasing farmers‘ incomes and reducing their food insecurity at the household level. Stakeholders have thus advocated for the use of subsidies through such programs as Kilimo Plus in an attempt to provide the farmers with the essential inputs that are necessary to increase production. The program aims to increase smallholders‘ productivity by providing fertilizer and certified seeds. This study sought to determine the perception of farmers towards this program, the factors that influence the farmers‘ perception towards the program and the program‘s impact on food security and incomes of the smallholder farmers‘ households. A sample of 400 smallholder households, comprising of both the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the Kilimo Plus program were selected. Data was collected with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire. The first objective was analysed using descriptive statistics, the second objective using an ordered probit model and the third and fourth objectives using propensity score matching technique. The descriptive analysis showed that the farmers‘ perception of the Kilimo Plus program was good. The ordered probit regression results showed that the factors that significantly influenced the farmers perception were the gender of the household head, farm size, being in the Kilimo Plus program, being the household head, having an incomplete primary school education and learning of the Kilimo Plus program through a friend or neighbour, farmer group or radio, production increase and training on farming and inputs use. The propensity score matching model analysis showed that the program had a positive impact on food security and income. The government should however aim at improving the program by giving the right kind of inputs to the farmers and at the right time. Furthermore, the program should be extended in order to have a long-term impact on the smallholder farmers‘ food security and income

Clinical teaching of student nurses by unit managers of selected hospitals in Limpopo Province

The comprehensive nature of nurse training needs the involvement of almost all health team personnel, including unit managers to gain practical experience and learn to correlate theory and practice. The overall aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of unit managers regarding teaching of student nurses in the clinical area and to develop recommendations that will enhance clinical teaching, for the production of competent future nurse practitioners who will render quality care to patients. A qualitative design, which is explorative, descriptive and contextual in nature, was employed, utilizing a phenomenological approach to capture the experiences of unit managers regarding teaching of student nurses at selected hospitals, where students are allocated for their clinical exposure. Ethical measures as well as measures to ensure trustworthiness were adhered to. In-depth phenomenological interviews were conducted with unit managers who shared their experiences regarding clinical teaching of student nurses. Data analysis was done according to Tesch’s (1990) open coding method. One major theme emerged, namely that unit managers experienced problems when doing clinical teaching of student nurses. Based on the findings the following recommendations were made: Colleges should open a two-way communication with unit managers, involvement of unit managers in the activities that take place at the college like courses, seminars and workshops on clinical teaching, learning contracts should be developed for the students and issues of clinical learning should be addressed and unit managers should be included in both summative and formative evaluations

Irrigation-nutrition linkages under farmer-led and public irrigation schemes in Kenya

Though the suggested pathways of achieving nutrition through irrigation are production, income, water sanitation and hygiene and women’s empowerment, the linkages to nutritional outcomes are not understood well and often, nutritional measurement approaches neglect the households’ most vulnerable members; women and children. This study took the standpoint that irrigation is diverse and different irrigation arrangements (i.e. socio-technical set-ups in which irrigation takes place) affect household nutritional outcomes through different pathways. Using a simultaneous equation model and data from Kenya, the results showed that the different irrigation arrangements have different nutrition outcome pathways. The results revealed that overall irrigation affects production diversity, farm income and women empowerment and nutrition-outcomes were improved through production diversity and income pathways. The farm households in the public irrigation scheme arrangements attained better nutritional outcomes through the production diversity pathway even though this irrigation arrangement positively affects production diversity, income and women empowerment. The farmer-led irrigation arrangement was found to positively affect farm income and women empowerment and these two pathways were found to lead to improved household nutritional outcomes. Consequently, there is need for specific policy interventions based on irrigation arrangements as opposed to a unilateral policy encompassing irrigation

Determinants of smallholder farmers’ perception towards smart subsidies; a case of Nakuru Noth district, Kenya

The behaviour of farmers towards an intervention largely depends upon their perception. Consequentially, their perception will further influence their participation in such interventions. This study used data collected from four hundred smallholder farmers using a structured questionnaire to examine their perception and the determinants of perception towards a smart subsidy program. The Ordered Probit model was used in analysing the determinants of perception. Results showed that the farmers had a positive perception towards the program and that their perception was influenced by factors such as the gender of the household head, farm size, participation in the program, being the household head, education level, training and source of information