Revitalising African agriculture through innovative business models and organisational arrangements : promising developments in the traditional crops sector.

Within the last four years, a number of high profile reports outlining new strategies for pulling African agriculture out of its current impasse have emerged. These include the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme of NEPAD, and the InterAcademy Council Report commissioned by UN Secretary General Koffi Annan. Whilst these strategies are a welcome improvement on those that have characterised African agriculture in the past, it is argued here that like their predecessors, they fail to focus on business-competitive approaches as an integral part of the reform package needed to stimulate African agricultural productivity and development. This paper draws on innovation, business and organisation literature to highlight some of these approaches. It focuses on three concepts : value innovation, lead user focus and organisational value logic

Linking Farmers to Markets through Modern Information and Communication Technologies in Kenya

This paper highlights a market information and linkage system (MILS) developed and tested by the Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange Limited (KACE) that increases the efficiency of agricultural markets to work better for smallholder farmers and other small and medium sized agro-enterprises (SMEs). The MILS involves harnessing modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) to empower farmers with low-cost reliable and timely market information to enhance the bargaining power of the farmer for a better price in the market place, and to link the farmer to markets more efficiently and profitably. The components of the KACE MILS are (www.kacekenya.com): Rural based Market Information Points (MIPs) which are information kiosks located in rural markets, District-level Market Information Centres (MICs), Mobile Phone Short Messaging Service (SMS), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Internet based database system, rural FM radio and the Central Coordinating Hub in Nairobi. KACE has adopted a business approach to the provision of its services: users pay for the services. For instance it charges: placement fees per initial offer or bid (US$1.5-15), commissions on concluded deals (0.5$ 65 for 6 months or US$125 for 12 months), fees to visiting foreign groups (US$ 2,000-5,000/visit) and revenue sharing agreements with SMS and IVR service providers. When the KACE MILS services are scaled out and widely used by many farmers and SMEs across Kenya, the system will generate sufficient revenue to sustain its services without reliance on development partner funding. To enhance the financial sustainability of the MILS services further, KACE has recently initiated two innovations: franchising MIPs and MICs to local entrepreneurs, and establishing a virtual trading floor to improve the matching of offers and bids through a rural-based FM Radio program. A recent study of the impact of the KACE MILS concluded that the proportion of farmers and traders that say their incomes has increased and their bargaining positions have improved is very high (75% farmers and 60% commodity traders). Furthermore, the study concluded that it was clear that during the years in which the KACE MILS has been operational, market integration improved for two commodities studied (i.e. maize and beans). This study also highlights the challenges faced by the KACE MILS, including poor infrastructure that imposes high transport costs to markets, high costs of mobile phone calls and SMS and small quantities of produce of varying quality offered. Keywords: Information and communication technology, innovations, Kenya,Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Relations/Trade, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Perceptions on Application of Internal Corporate Communication Strategies Used in Implementation of Organizational Programmes: a Study of One State Corporation in Kenya

In this paper, we discuss the application of Internal Corporate Communication (ICC) in organizations to implement corporate programmes, specifically performance contracting in one large state corporation in Kenya. The paper is a product of a postgraduate study by one of us (Okong’o, 2015), which was motivated by the fact that performance contracting was heavily resisted by many organizations in the country, yet the corporation under review successfully, implemented it, citing the effective use of Corporate communication strategies. The literature reviewed also revealed that that there is relatively scanty research on this subject, especially in developing countries. The qualitative approach to was applied in this research, taking the case study method in the Western region of Kenya involving 42 participants. Data was generated using interviews and document analysis and was analysed thematically. Some of the perceptions highlighted in the paper are: perceptions on the merits of the ICC strategies used, perceptions on the demerits of the strategies and the perceptions on what can be done differently. The paper highlights the need to educate the internal publics of organizations on the meaning and significance of ICC in deciding the nature of strategies to be used in implementing performance contracts. Keywords: Corporate Communication, Internal Corporate Communication, Communication strategies, Performance Contracting

The Role of Strategic Leadership during Change

The modern business environment is highly dynamic due to numerous forces that interact with each other to affect organizations. Firms respond to these changes resulting in change programs, which affect the whole organization as a system. This study focuses on the role of strategic leadership on successful change management and how strategic leaders ensure effective management of strategic change programs. The study employed survey research design with a sample of 173 respondents drawn from executive directors, senior managers and managers through stratified sampling who were picked by simple random sampling from airlines. Self-administered questionnaires and personal interviews were used as well as data from books, journals, periodicals, company reports, press releases and the internet. Data analysis was done using descriptive analysis  (percentages, frequencies and averages) followed by data presentation on bar graphs and tables. The study concludes strategic leadership is ultimate for success of change programs as it directs all organization resources towards a common goal by effectively motivating employees to achieve a desired common change vision. It is recommended that change leaders and policy makers know the roles they want strategic leadership to play during change and they integrate the numerous resources involved to achieve the change vision.Keywords: Strategic Leadership, strategic change, organization, change leaders, change program

Level of Male Involvement in Home Based Care for People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nyando District, Western Kenya

Kenya’s HIV prevalence is estimated at 7% (KDHS, 2003) and (28.6%) in Nyando District. With the increasing number of PLWHAs, Home Based Care (HBC) has been implemented to relieve the health facilities. This has resulted to great burden of care to family members especially the women in addition to their daily responsibilities in the home. Previous studies have reported low male involvement and high burden of care of the sick at home on women without quantifying the areas of HBC that men are not involved in. This study was conducted to determine the level of male involvement in the provision of HBC services to PLWHAs in Nyando District of Western Kenya.This was a descriptive and exploratory study which employed quantitative methods. Purposive sampling was used to identify the study respondents who were men heads of households living with PLWHAs.This study established the level of male involvement in all the 4 HBC services outlined in the home based care  policy for Kenya.Counselling and psychological care (60.7%), Nursing care 931.4%), Social support (26.4%) and Clinical care (19.3%).Men are not main caregivers of PLWHAs in their households, majority (85%) provide some form of HBC services. Men provide HBC services for the PLWHAs depending on type of care, gender of PLWHAs and familial relationship. Male involvement is important in reducing the burden of women as main caregivers for the PLWHAs. Key words; Male-involvement, Home-based-care, HIV/AIDS, People-living-with-HIV-and AID

A study of performance in chemistry among lower secondary government schools in Zanzibar

Performance in chemistry of form two national examinations among lower secondary government schools in Zanzibar have not been encouraging for couples of subsequent years as from 2009 to date despite several attempts made through additional carefully planned instructional strategies and models to improve the status of teaching and learning chemistry. A total of 31government schools from Unguja regions of Zanzibar Island were sampled. The form two classes of these schools have an average of 48 students with quite a fraction has two streams. This commensurate well with the country’s growing population. The Performance data gotten from the Ministry of Education and Vocational training Zanzibar reveals that the average mean score of this compulsory subject in this grade since then until is 30.16 with a mean standard deviation of 2.1995 while those who passed the chemistry subject are 30 ± 10 %. The percentage pass is set at 35 %. Basing on the average test score data and performance analysis, a large significant number of students fails in the subject and this has been persistent. From this study, enhancement of teachers’ effectiveness, improved economies of education and fewer schools to be set aside for science studies is indeed appreciated. This study recommends the heuristic approach as “modus oparandi” of teaching intertwined with instructional objectives to bring learners into meaningful learning and effective understanding guided by the four domains of Bloom’s taxonomy with more motivational orientation and innovations

Association between the use of biomass fuels on respiratory health of workers in food catering enterprises in Nairobi Kenya

Introduction: Indoor air pollution from biomass fuel use has been found to be responsible for more than 1.6 million annual deaths and 2.7% ofthe global burden of disease. This makes it the second biggest environmental contributor to ill health, behind unsafe water and sanitation.Methods: The main objective of this study was to investigate if there was any association between use of bio-fuels in food catering enterprisesand respiratory health of the workers. A cross-sectional design was employed, and data collected using Qualitative and quantitative techniques.Results: The study found significantly higher prevalence of respiratory health outcomes among respondents in enterprises using biomass fuelscompared to those using processed fuels. Biomass fuels are thus a major public health threat to workers in this sub-sector, and urgent interventionis required. Conclusion: The study recommends a switch from biomass fuels to processed fuels to protect the health of the workers.Key words: Indoor air pollution, biomass fuels, health, respiratory, worker

The Relationship between Distance and Availability of Material Resources for Basic Emergency Obstetric Care in Primary Health Care Facilities in Homabay and Siaya Counties, Kenya

In Kenya, pregnancy and childbirth complications are among the leading causes of mortality among women, with an estimated 488 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births which is well above the millennium development goal (MDG) target of 147 per 100,000 by 2015. The perinatal mortality rate stands at 37/1000 live births. Nyanza region is among the county’s leading with high MMR at 670/100,000 live births (KDHS, 2009) which is higher than the national average. The main objective of this study was to determine the relationship between distance of primary health care facilities from the distribution point and the availability of material resources for basic emergency obstetric care (BEmOC) in Siaya and Homabay counties in Kenya. Various studies have been conducted focusing on distance from the community to the health facility as a contributor to increased rates of maternal mortality and complications. A literature gap exists thus motivating the author to consider other possible causes including relationship between distance and availability of material resources in primary health care facilities from their point of distribution in-order to provide an understanding of the extent to which these factors affect the quality provision of basic emergency obstetric care towards reduction of maternal mortality and disability. The availability of material resources for basic EmOC is important in reducing maternal death and improving women’s health in general. This can be achieved if primary health care facilities have equipment, supplies and drugs available. With the current initiative of beyond zero campaign by the first lady in Kenya on reducing maternal deaths, efforts should be made to ensure that these material resources are adequately available and accessible to women when they need them irrespective of the distance of health facilities from the distribution point. However, adequate drug financing from the government, flexible and supportive drug policies should be in place to achieve this goal. Keywords: Kenya-Maternal Health-Basic Emergency Obstetric Care-Life saving-Primary Health Care

Functionalised natural zeolite and its potential for treating drinking water containing excess amount of nitrate

An excess level of nitrate in drinking water is responsible for methemoglobinemia, or ‘blue baby’ disease. Consequently, management of nitrate in drinking water is universally of public health interest. In this study, clinoptilolite functionalised with cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium (HDTMA) was used for the removal of nitrate from drinking water. The effects of surfactant loading, adsorbent dosage, pH, coexisting ions, temperature and environmental water quality on the adsorption of nitrate were investigated. It was found that adsorption was optimum when the initial concentration of the functionalising surfactant was 3 000 mg∙ℓ-1. An increase in adsorbent dosage raised the percentage removal of nitrate. The valency of the coexisting anion had a major effect on nitrate removal, with the presence of phosphate (a trivalent anion) leading to the lowest removal ability. Temperature and pH had negligible effects on adsorbent performance. Environmental water samples (natural groundwater samples from Limpopo Province, South Africa) were tested and it was found that the World Health Organisation (WHO) regulatory compliance can be achieved even when the initial concentration of nitrate exceeds 300 mg∙ℓ-1. Equilibrium data was modelled using the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms and the data conformed well to the Freundlich isotherm, indicating the heterogeneous nature of the active sites. Kinetically, nitrate adsorption was best described by the pseudo-second rate equation.Keywords: adsorption, zeolite, nitrate, kinetics, equilibriu

Cost Analysis of Community Health Strategy Implementation: Case Study of Butere District, Kenya

Cost analysis of community health strategy is the Identification of current and anticipated costs in operating a community health unit with an examination of the impact of those costs of setting them up. The purpose of the study was to look at the cost of implementing community health strategy in a rural set up in Kenya. The study was a longitudinal and was carried out in Butere District US$2549.9 was used to set up community health unit and US$7532 was spent in operation costs. The total cost of implementing and running a functional community health unit in Kenya’s rural set up is equivalent to US$10,081.9