Improving Kenya's Domestic Horticultural Production and Marketing System: Current Competitiveness, Forces of Change, and Challenges for the Future (Volume I: Horticultural Production)

The specific objectives of this Volume are to: estimate the share of domestic FFV production going to international and domestic markets; determine the share of imports from Tanzania and Uganda in Kenya’s horticultural markets; investigate the competitiveness of Kenya’s horticultural produce in local and regional markets; determine the current and likely future share of key marketing channels in Kenya’s domestic FFV marketing system, especially “modern” channels such as supermarkets and more traditional channels such as open air markets and kiosks; and recommend steps that should be taken to place Kenya’s domestic horticulture in a position to compete favorably in local and regional markets.Food Security, Food Policy, Horticultural Production, Kenya, Crop Production/Industries, Q18,

Preventing Iron Deficiency and Anaemia

No Abstrac

The role of Sunday schools in Christian socialisation of children in Africa: a case study of Africa inland church in Kenya

Since the advent of modern changes in Africa, the African society just like other global societies has been beset with a myriad of moral challenges such as corruption, sexual abuse and immorality, nepotism, theft, drug abuse, violence and lack of positive work ethic. The traditional institutions which used to instill discipline, character, purpose of human life and social co-existence have been undermined and rendered ineffective. This paper contends that Sunday Schools which were founded by Robert Raikes in the eighteenth century can be adapted to religiously socialise children and the youth in Africa. Since Sunday Schools were introduced in Africa from nineteenth century they have been accepted and adopted in most Christian denominations in Africa. Research for the paper was conducted in Africa inland Church Machakos in Kenya where questionnaires were administered to both teachers and officials of Christian education department. Key informants who included Sunday school superintendents and leaders of district church councils were personally interviewed. Participant observation was conducted in eight selected churches. The study found out that Sunday schools lacked basic facilities such as class rooms, reading materials and adequately trained teachers. It was also found that Sunday schools have been neglected by church leaders. The study recommends that improved and well equipped Sunday schools would be attractive and effective in religiously educating African children and youth hence positively influencing them and enhancing their quality of life.Keywords: Sunday schools, Church, indigenous education, Mass media, Christian educatio

Improving Kenya's Domestic Horticultural Production and Marketing System: Current Competitiveness, Forces of Change, and Challenges for the Future (Volume II: Horticultural Marketing)

The specific objectives of this Volume are to: estimate the share of domestic FFV production going to international and domestic markets; determine the share of imports from Tanzania and Uganda in Kenya’s horticultural markets; investigate the competitiveness of Kenya’s horticultural produce in local and regional markets; determine the current and likely future share of key marketing channels in Kenya’s domestic FFV marketing system, especially “modern” channels such as supermarkets and more traditional channels such as open air markets and kiosks; and recommend steps that should be taken to place Kenya’s domestic horticulture in a position to compete favorably in local and regional markets.Food Security, Food Policy, Horticultural Marketing, Kenya, Crop Production/Industries, Q18,

Economic performance of exotic dairy cattle under smallholder conditions in the marginal zones of Kenya using three analytical approaches

Smallholder exotic dairy cattle have been adopted in the dry marginal zones of Kenya from the high potential areas over the last two decades contrary to the opinion of experts. The objective of this study therefore was to evaluate the economic performance of this dairy establishment in the marginal zones. Three approaches were used for the evaluation: the stochastic cost frontier to determine inefficiencies and the causative institutional and socio-economic factors; cost-factor demand systems; and the supply response analyses to determine the elasticity estimates of policy variables. The results from these approaches are supplementary and seem to support the need for government interventions in institutional and socio-economic factors that have a high public good component in order to expand dairy establishment in the marginal zones.Marginal zones, stochastic frontier, systems analysis, institutional and socio-economic factors, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

The Influence of Stakeholders’ Participation in Implementation of Projects in Informal Settlements in Kenya

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of stakeholders’ participation in implementation of projects in the informal settlements in Kenya. The basic question was to determine the effects of stakeholders’ participation in implementation of projects in informal settlement. The study was carried out in the Kisumu Ndogo informal settlement in Mombasa County. To achieve the study objective, a descriptive survey research design was used on a sample of 80 respondents from projects officers, local administrators, village elders and Group/CBO leaders. The study provides empirical evidence on effects of stakeholders’ participation and its positive and significant predictive impact on community participation and local leaders’ engagement in projects. A clarion call to project implementers is to focus their attention on development obtained from implementation of projects. Keywords: Implementation, Informal settlement, Project, Stakeholders

Strategic Planning in the Higher Educational Sector of Kenya

This paper provides an overview of the strategic planning process, the dynamics involved in university-based strategic planning and the need for strategic thinking in the higher education sector of Kenya. The paper challenges current planning systems that do not appear to be changing with the times. The paper relies mostly on secondary data but also used primary data. Primary data was collected through interviews of knowledgeable individuals. The paper recommends that strategic planning in universities could be improved through incorporation of strategic thinking and acting in the process, and through incorporation of key stakeholders such as industry, faculty, and students in the process of planning. It also makes recommendations on how current planning systems could be improved in Kenyan universities. The paper suggests a model of strategic planning that could prove useful if applied in strategic planning in Kenyan universities

Cross-sectional study of the burden of vector-borne and soil-transmitted polyparasitism in rural communities of Coast Province, Kenya.

BACKGROUND: In coastal Kenya, infection of human populations by a variety of parasites often results in co-infection or poly-parasitism. These parasitic infections, separately and in conjunction, are a major cause of chronic clinical and sub-clinical human disease and exert a long-term toll on economic welfare of affected populations. Risk factors for these infections are often shared and overlap in space, resulting in interrelated patterns of transmission that need to be considered at different spatial scales. Integration of novel quantitative tools and qualitative approaches is needed to analyze transmission dynamics and design effective interventions. METHODOLOGY: Our study was focused on detecting spatial and demographic patterns of single- and co-infection in six villages in coastal Kenya. Individual and household level data were acquired using cross-sectional, socio-economic, and entomological surveys. Generalized additive models (GAMs and GAMMs) were applied to determine risk factors for infection and co-infections. Spatial analysis techniques were used to detect local clusters of single and multiple infections. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Of the 5,713 tested individuals, more than 50% were infected with at least one parasite and nearly 20% showed co-infections. Infections with Schistosoma haematobium (26.0%) and hookworm (21.4%) were most common, as was co-infection by both (6.3%). Single and co-infections shared similar environmental and socio-demographic risk factors. The prevalence of single and multiple infections was heterogeneous among and within communities. Clusters of single and co-infections were detected in each village, often spatially overlapped, and were associated with lower SES and household crowding. CONCLUSION: Parasitic infections and co-infections are widespread in coastal Kenya, and their distributions are heterogeneous across landscapes, but inter-related. We highlighted how shared risk factors are associated with high prevalence of single infections and can result in spatial clustering of co-infections. Spatial heterogeneity and synergistic risk factors for polyparasitism need to be considered when designing surveillance and intervention strategies

Role of Relational Trust on Customer Behavioural Intentions: Evidence from Kenya's Banking Sector

Increasing competiveness among service firms fueled by globalization have made it increasingly imperative for service firms to place emphasis on relationship marketing activities that enhance long-term relationships with profitable customers at the expense of attracting of new customers. The challenge is even bigger for Kenya's financial services sector where bank products remain thinly differentiated, shifting competition to other areas that target to cultivate customer loyalty. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of relational trust, considered as an antecedent of relationship marketing quality on customer behavioural intentions in Kenya's banking sector. Utilizing a descriptive survey research design and adapted measures of relational trust and behavioural intentions on a sample of 334 bank account holders from 43 commercial bank branches in Mombasa, Kenya, the study establishes the most important dimension of trust in the study's context is customer's trust in the bank. Trust in the bank as a brand is a most significant factor in driving their loyalty to the bank, re-purchase intention, willingness to pay a higher price for the bank's services over others and a tendency to recommend it to surrounding people. Thus, strategies for building trustworthiness, supported by customer loyalty as a desirable outcome, can be seen as a method for creating a competitive advantage for service organisations. Keywords: Relational Trust, Bank, Trust Employee Trust, Behavioural Intentions

Microcontroller-based data logging instrumentation system for wind speed and direction measurements

In this study, a microcontroller based data logger for measuring wind speed and wind direction has been designed. The designed system uses the Atmel microcontroller family which consists of sensor inputs, a microcontroller and a data storage device. The system was designed and developed to measure the wind speed and direction with the help of anemometer and wind vane sensors respectively. The results were stored in an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) for post process analysis. The collected data were transmitted to a PC through an RS-232 serial interface, and were processed using the 208W Data logger support software. Wind speed and direction measured by the microcontroller-based data logging system were analyzed using line graphs, scatter correlation charts and wind roses. Wind speeds were measured at 9.00 a.m, 12.00 noon and 5.00 p.m using fabricated sensors and also at JKUAT meteorological station. The correlation indices of microcontroller–based data logger instrumentation system data and JKUAT meteorological data were determined. The correlation indices for the corresponding three times were calculated as 0.997, 0,997 and 0.999 respectively. Thus the wind speed measured by the fabricated sensor was found to correlate strongly to the to the JKUAT Meteorological datasheet. Wind rose analysis revealed that the wind direction was fairly consistent from between 180° and 170° which is generally from South to South-east for the months of August and September.Key words: Microcontroller, anemometer and wind vane sensors, data logge