Analysis of Factors Enhancing Credit Utilization Among Lowly Endowed Women Farmers

Credit is an important aspect in farming. The problem is the restricted accessibility to farm credit by the Lowly Endowed Women (LEW) farmers. The banks and other formal lending institutions consider LEW farmers a risk and/ or not credit worth. To be unveiled yet are the strategies and interventions that ought to be put in place so as to enhance credit use by Lowly Endowed Women farmers. The research was done on women farmers in Funyula Sub County, Busia County, Kenya. A sociological inquiry, in form of a survey was used to collected field data based on the views of the LEW farmers on the various credit  arrangements to determine which ones were acceptable and could lead to both  effective use of credit and high.  In addition to the field survey, case studies were carried out for additional data and to strengthen the findings of the field survey. The target population was the women farmers. All the 15,000 households Funyula Sub County (Ministry of Agriculture, 1997) constituted the accessible population. The study assumed every household had a woman.  For case studies, the study population was chosen from the on-going or immediate past rural programmes with an informal credit component for lowly endowed people, particularly the women. Sampling of the household was undertaken using a proportionate, stratified random sampling technique on sub locational basis. The sub county had 28 sub locations. All the Sub Locations were represented in the study. A sample of 210 LEW farmers was taken. For the case studies, agencies that had a credit component for the lowly endowed people were selected. Three credit programmes run by two agencies with fairly successful record of credit support to the poor were studied. These agencies included an NGO, Kenya Rural Enterprise Programme (K-REP) and a government/ bilateral donor assisted agency, the DANIDA which supported Kitui Agricultural Project (KAP). Field data was collected by the researcher. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to aid the  analysis of the data.  Chi-square  was used to test the relationship between the variables. The level of significance for the relationship between variables was rejected or accepted at p ≤ 0.05 significant level. The findings of the study were: There is no significant relationship between conditional credit and effective use of credit.  However, there is a positive relationship between unconditional credit but with strict supervision by the credit agency and effective use of credit. The result of relationship between pre-training and use of credit indicated is a positive relationship between pre-training and effectiveness of credit use. On credit in-kind, it was found to be positive relationship implying credit in-kind is put to effective use by the LEW farmers. Keywords: Credit utilization, Lowly Endowed Women, Farmers DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-4-08 Publication date: February 29th 202

Analysis of Factors Enhancing Credit Repayment Among Lowly Endowed Women Farmers

While credit support is an important factor in enhancing agricultural production, the problem is the restricted accessibility to farm credit by the Lowly Endowed Women (LEW) farmers. The banks and other formal lending institutions consider LEW farmers a risk and/ or not credit worth. To be unveiled yet are the strategies and interventions that ought to be put in place so as to enhance credit repayment by Lowly Endowed Women farmers. The research was done on women farmers in Funyula Sub County, Busia County, Kenya. A sociological inquiry, in form of a survey was used to collected field data based on the views of the LEW farmers on the various credit  arrangements to determine which ones were acceptable and could lead to both  effective use of credit and high credit repayment rate.  In addition to the field survey, case studies were carried out for additional data and to strengthen the findings of the field survey. The target population was the women farmers. All the 15,000 households Funyula Sub County (Ministry of Agriculture, 1997) constituted the accessible population. The study assumed every household had a woman.  For case studies, the population was chosen from the on-going or immediate past rural programmes with an informal credit component for lowly endowed people, particularly the women. Sampling of the household was undertaken using a proportionate, stratified random sampling technique on sub locational basis. The sub county had 28 sub locations. All the Sub Locations were represented in the study. A sample of 210 LEW farmers was taken. For the case study, agencies that had a credit component for the lowly endowed people were selected. Three credit programmes run by two agencies with fairly successful record of credit support to the poor were studied. These agencies included an NGO, Kenya Rural Enterprise Programme (K-REP) and a government/ bilateral donor assisted agency, the DANIDA which supported Kitui Agricultural Project (KAP). Field data was collected by the researcher. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to aid the analysis of the data.  Chi-square was used to test the relationship between the variables. The level of significance for the relationship between variables was rejected or accepted at p ≤ 0.05 significant level. The findings of the study were: credit rating appeared unpopular method of assessing the credit worth of the respondents   and was rejected.   On peer pressure, the finding showed a positive relationship between peer pressure and credit repayment among the LEW farmers. The relationship between savings and credit repayment   was found to be, statistically not significant. Lastly, the study findings indicated a positive relationship between assurance of continued credit support on completion of the ongoing one and credit repayment. Keywords: Credit Repayment, Lowly Endowed Women Farmers DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-4-05 Publication date: February 29th 202

Contribution of Microfinance Credit on Poverty Reduction among the Agricultural Rural Women in Keiyo North District, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya

Microfinance institutions provide small loans to rural women to improve their living standards. The main purpose of microfinance credit programme is to break the vicious cycle of poverty among the rural women by providing them with capital. Poverty is a global problem; more than 1.3 billion people worldwide live below the poverty line, 70% of them being women. In Keiyo North district, 48% of the population lives below the poverty line with women constituting 65% of those living below the poverty line. However, less rural women in Keiyo North district participate in the microfinance credit programme despite the fact that Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) operates in all the 13 sub-locations in the district. This study sought to investigate the contribution of microfinance credit on poverty reduction among the rural women in Keiyo North district. The study used a descriptive survey design to collect data. The target population was 220 of the rural women participating in groups in microfinance credit programme from which a sample of 130 rural women was drawn. An open and close-ended questionnaire was used. A pilot study was conducted among the 30 KWFT rural women participants and a Cronbach’s Apha coefficient reliability of 0.71 was attained. The validity of the instrument was ascertained by experts from Agricultural Education and Extension in the Faculty of Education and Community studies and supervisors of Egerton University. Data was analyzed using chi-square α=0.05 significance level. Results indicated that microfinance credit programme has improved household level of income and acquisition of assets among the rural women in Keiyo North district. In addition, the rural women can also afford health care services for their families as a result of participating in microfinance credit programme. The study recommends that microfinance institutions (MFIs) should encourage more rural women to participate in microfinance credit programme to increase their levels of income and raise their household assets ownership. The county government should sensitize more rural women on the need to join the microfinance credit programme in order to boost their ability to afford health care services for their families. Keywords: Microfinance credit, poverty, Income, Asset acquisition, Health care, Agricultural rural women

Status report on a natural laminar-flow nacelle flight experiment

The natural laminar flow (NLF) nacelle experiment is part of a drag reduction production program, and has the dual objectives of studying the extent of NLF on full scale nacelles in a flight environment and the effect of acoustic disturbance on the location of transition on the nacelle surface. The experiment is being conducted in two phases: (1) an NLF fairing was flown on a full scale Citation nacelle to develop the experiment technique and establish feasibility; (2) full scale, flow through, NLF nacelles located below the right wing of an experimental NASA OV-1 aircraft are evaluated. The measurements of most interest are the static pressure distribution and transition location on the nacelle surface, and the fluctuating pressure levels associated with the noise sources. Data are collected in combinations of acoustic frequencies and sound pressure levels. The results of phase 2 tests to date indicate that on shape GE2, natural laminar flow was maintained as far aft as the afterbody joint at 50 percent of the nacelle length. An aft facing step at this joint caused premature transition at this station. No change was observed in the transition pattern when the noise sources were operated

The Relationships between Farmers’ Perceptions of Relevance and Quality of Services Provided at Plant Clinics, and Farmers’ Demand for Services from the Plant Clinics in Nakuru-North Sub-County, Kenya

Plant Clinics were introduced in Nakuru North Sub-County in 2010 with an objective of improving farmers’ access to crop protection extension services subsequently reducing incidences of crop pests and diseases. The services are provided to the farmers on demand. Since their introduction, farmers’ demand for the services has been low. Many farmers are therefore not benefiting from the services. In order to understand the scenario and adopt policies that will ensure many farmers benefit from plant clinics services, it is crucial to establish the factors which determine Farmers’ Demand for Plant Clinics Services. The objective of this study was to establish relationships between selected factors which are likely to determine farmers’ demand for services from plant clinics and farmers’ demand for services from plant clinics in Nakuru-North Sub-County. The selected factors were farmers’ perception of relevance, and farmers’ perception of quality of services provided at the plant clinics. A Correlation study was conducted on 152 small scale farmers randomly selected from 6,000 small scale farmers in 4 out of the 12 locations of the Sub-County.A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the farmers. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for windows. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the sample of the study in the form of frequency distribution, percentages and means. The relationship between independent and dependent variables was analyzed using Chi-square statistics and interpreted at α=0.05 level of significance. The study established that there is a statistically significant relationship between Farmers’ Perceptions of the Quality of Services Provided at the Plant Clinics and the Farmers Demand for Services from Plant Clinics in Nakuru North Sub-County. The study concluded that Farmers’ Perceptions of Quality of Services Provided at the Plant Clinics determines the Farmers Demand for Plant Clinics Services and improving on it would improve Farmers Demand for Plant Clinics Services and subsequently reducing crop losses from pests and diseases. It recommends that more resources should be allocated to improve the Quality of Services Provided at the Plant Clinics

Effectiveness of Farmer Field School Training in Promoting Adoption of Best Agricultural Practices by Smallholder Coffee Farmers in Kenya

In Kenya, there are gaps on the availability of studies of the specific extension approaches and their effectiveness on the adoption of technologies. This study sought to investigate and document the effectiveness of farmer field school training in promoting adoption of best agricultural practices (BAP) by smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya. The target population were the smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya. A descriptive survey research design was used. Data was collected using an interview schedule comprising of both closed and open ended items. The instrument was validated by experts from the Egerton University’s department of Agricultural Education and Extension and the chief executive officers in the study coffee societies. The research instrument was pilot tested to determine its reliability. Using Cronbach's alpha, an index of 0.936 was obtained. Descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics technique were used to analyze data with the help of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS)version 22 for windows. Chi-square and correlation analysis were used to determine whether Farmer Field School training had statistically significant effect on enhancing uptake of best agricultural practices amongst smallholder coffee farmers in Kenya. To make reliable inferences from the data, all statistical tests were verified at α ≤ 0.05 level of significance.The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between extent of uptake of BAP and belonging to FFS classes. This study recommends that coffee industry stakeholders should encourage smallholder farmers to belong to FFS classes in order to enhance the uptake of BAP in coffee farming in Kenya

Influence of Family Characteristics on Academic Performance of Students in Secondary Agriculture, in Rachuonyo North Sub County, Kenya

Abstract A high number of students in Rachuonyo North Introduction A high number of students in Rachuonyo North Sub County, Kenya continue to perform poorly in the Kenya Certificate Secondary Examinations (KCSE), the national examination. The performance continues to show downward trend particularly in the Agriculture Subject. There are many interacting factors likely to cause the poor performance of students in Rachuonyo, socioeconomic status of the parents being one of the factors. Socio-economic status of a family is usually linked with the family's income, parents' educational level, parents' occupation and family size among the kith's and kin. Ford and Harris (1997) followed this logic while examining parental influences on African American students' school achievement by focusing on specific sociodemographic factors, including parents' level of education, marital status, and family income. The researchers observed that children from high and middle socio-economic status, parents are better exposed to a learning environment at home because of provision and availability of extra learning facilities. While investigating the determinants of international students' academic performance, Jing-Lin (2009) compared performance between Chinese and other international students. The results found that the perceived importance of learning success to family, English writing ability and social communication with their compatriots were significant predictors for all international students. Akanle (2007) studied socio-economic factors influencing students' academic performance in Nigeria, he found that insufficient parental income, family type and lack of funding by governments were factors influencing students' academic performance. The achievement of students was negatively correlated with the low socio-economics status level of parents because it hindered the individual in gaining access to sources and resources of learnin

Selected Factors Affecting Adoption of Improved Finger Millet Varieties by Small- Scale Farmers in the Semi-Arid Mogotio District, Kenya

Finger millet is one of the important traditional, nutritious and drought tolerant food crop grown by small scale farmers in most arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of the world. In the ASALs of Kenya, the small scale farmers mainly grow unimproved finger millet varieties of low yields. Despite availability of improved high yielding and recommended varieties, the farmer

Influence of Seed Cotton Marketing on Cotton Production among Smallholder Farmers in Bura Irrigation and Settlement Scheme, Kenya

Kenyan smallholder cotton production has remained low despite the spirited effort to revive the sector. Several factors combined seem to be responsible for this perpetual low production. Among the factors are constraints ranging from, inadequate extension services, limited access to information on production and poor marketing systems. The purpose of this study was to investigate how seed cotton marketing influence cotton production among smallholder farmers in Bura Irrigation and Settlement Scheme. The study utilized descriptive survey research design to collect data from farm households, while secondary data was collected from government agencies in the Scheme. The study population was all smallholder cotton farmers in Bura Irrigation Scheme. Proportionate simple random sampling method was used to select 120 farmers who were included in the study.Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data using Statistical Package for Social Science version 20.0. The findings showed that on channels of marketing, all the respondents sell their seed cotton individually. All of the respondents admitted that seed cotton brokers exist within the scheme and 67% indicated that they have sold seed cotton to brokers. 63% indicated that they do so since brokers are usually available to buy.80% of the respondents indicated that they do encounter several challenges during marketing. 61% of the respondents recommended that a ginnery should be established within the Scheme. 98% of the respondents stated that the current price of seed cotton offered in the market has led to the decline in cotton production. Analysis of secondary data revealed that an increase in the price of seed cotton would result into an increase in cotton production. The study revealed that the selling price of seed cotton had a significant impact on cotton production. Lack of storage and ginning facilities enhanced the activities of brokers

Influence of Source of Information on Cotton Production among Smallholder Farmers in Bura Irrigation and Settlement Scheme, Kenya

Kenyan smallholder cotton production has remained low despite the spirited effort by the government and the private sector to revive the sector. Several factors combined seem to be responsible for this perpetual low production. Among the factors are constraints ranging from, inadequate extension services, limited access to information on production and poor marketing systems. The purpose of this study was to investigate how source of information on cotton production influence cotton production among smallholder farmers in Bura Irrigation and Settlement Scheme. The study utilized descriptive survey research design to collect primary data from farm households on the influence of selected factors on cotton production, while secondary data was collected from Cotton Development Authority and National Irrigation Board offices in Bura Irrigation and Settlement Scheme. The study population was all smallholder cotton farmers in Bura Irrigation Scheme. Proportionate simple random sampling method was used to select 120 farmers from 1022 cotton farmers in 11 villages within the scheme, who were included in the study. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data