Assessment of Options for Meeting Food Security in Mandera County Kenya

Purpose; This study analyses factors affecting access to food for pastoralists living in Mandera County, Kenya. The County is an arid region on the North East most part of Kenya that borders Ethiopia and Somalia to the North and East respectively and face serious challenges of access to food. The community predominantly practice pastoral nomadism. Pastoralism in the Horn region presents unique challenges with accessing food and this calls for special approaches to ensure regular and sustainable access to food.Materials and Methods; The study employed a combination of methods that included secondary data collection from the government and other institutions in the region, literature review, use of household questionnaire, key informant interviews, focus group discussions as well as field observations. Results and Discussions; Food sources in Mandera were found to be based on pastoral nomadism way of life, a practice graviously affected by weather factors and therefore fragile and unreliable. Others factors affecting access to food were identified as high poverty levels, income sources, population growth, insecurity, relief food, poor infrastructure and telecommunication, limited access to credit and extension, crop production factors, food consumption preferences and low levels of education,  The community has adopted a number of coping mechanisms. Some of these mechanisms target short term shocks such as prolonged droughts but have adverse effects on access to food in the long term. Conclusions; Factors affecting food security should be managed properly and in a sustainable way to ensure access to food is predictable and reliable. Access to food should address those fundamental factors and this should be a priority for Mandela County. This should be done through establishing strong and long term strategies for enhancing access to food. Keywords: Food security, pastoral-nomadism, food production, aridit

Determinants of Access to Credit by Individuals in Kenya: A Comparative Analysis of the Kenya National FinAccess Surveys of 2006 and 2009

Access to credit remains a farfetched goal to the vast majority of Kenyans. Kenya's National FinAccess Survey, 2009 revealed that 60.4% of Kenya's adult population is totally excluded from the credit market despite concerted government efforts to deepen access. This however marks a slight improvement from the 63.4% figure recorded in 2006. Using multinomial probit models, the study drew a comparative analysis of the role played by individual characteristics on access to credit from various strands in 2006 and 2009. Results indicate that increase in household size reduced access to bank loans and ASCAs while it promoted access to loans from buyers of harvest. Increase in distance to service provider led to a decline in access to credit even though the impact was marginal. On the other hand, increase in age; education and income tend to enhance access to credit but the probability of access drops as one draws close to retirement age. The study recommends that measures geared towards reduction of information asymmetry like assessing the household characteristics, increased sharing of information, increased income need to be enhanced to help deepen access to credit

Factors affecting insurance penetration in Kenya - an insurance agents’ view

A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Masters of Business Administration at Strathmore University Business SchoolInsurance is a critical component of any country’s economic system. Insurance penetration is one of the measures of relative importance of the insurance sector to the specific country. Insurance penetration in Kenya has been very low at below three percent irrespective of the significant focus by regulators, policymakers and the insurance industry players. The factors impacting insurance penetration in Kenya have been studied over the years. While various studies have been carried out focusing on the corporate insurance industry players, this study sought to investigate the factors affecting insurance penetration in Kenya from the view of insurance agents who intermediate insurance products to the masses. The study conceptualized these factors as national culture, customer service, regulatory environment and public awareness. The specific objectives focused on examining how national culture, customer service, regulatory environment and public awareness impact insurance penetration in Kenya from the view of registered insurance agents. The theoretical perspective of the study was consistent with the Hofstede five dimensions of national culture, the service qualify model of measuring and capturing service quality and the agency model which defines the relationship between principals and agents. The methodology involved a descriptive approach in a cross-sectional study. The population for the study was the insurance agents approved by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). A sample of insurance agents was targeted and data was collected using a questionnaire administered manually at the insurance agents’ meetings at their branches in the respective insurance companies. The data was then presented using tables. The study achieved a response rate of seventy one percent. The study revealed that regulatory environment, public awareness, customer service and national culture impact insurance penetration in Kenya to a marginal extent of just above one percent. Only two of the independent variables (public awareness and customer service) had a significant impact on the dependent variable, insurance penetration. The study concluded that there are other factors which impact the remainder of insurance penetration in Kenya. Other factors should be considered in future research to establish their effects on insurance penetratio

The Study of the Effects of Mau Catchment Degradation on the Flow of the Mara River, Kenya

There is growing concern however, regarding land degradation in the Mara River Basin in Kenya, particularly deforestation in the headwaters; that is affecting the natural resource base and the river flows. Scientific studies are required to advise on policy issues, and to plan appropriate mitigation measures in the basin. This study utilized remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) tools, and hydrological and ground-truth studies to determine the magnitude of the land-use/cover changes in the Mara River Basin, and the effects of these changes on the river flows over the last 30 years. The results of the studies indicate that land-use/cover changes have occurred in the basin. In 1973, for example, rangelands (savannah, grasslands and shrublands) covered 10,989 km2 (79%) of the total basin area. The rangelands have now been reduced to 7,245 km2 (52%) by 2000. The forest areas have been reduced by 32% over the same period. These changes have been attributed to the encroachment of agriculture, which has more than doubled (203%) its land area over the same period. To investigate the effects of land cover change on river flow, stream flow was generated from derived land cover thematic maps of 1973 and 2000 using the same rainfall and evaporation data of 1983 to 1992 period. The  other  model  input  datasets  for  topography  and  soils  were  held  constant during the two runs. The differences in the generated hydrographs could only be associated to the changes in land cover, which was the only variable. The percentage difference between the mean annual stream flows of the two hydrographs was negligible at 0.01%. This study therefore  concludes  that  land  cover  changes  in  the  basin  have changed the day to day flow characteristics of the  Mara river but the annual flow volumes remain unaffected. There is need for urgent action to stem the land degradation of the Mara River Basin, including planning and implementing appropriate mitigation measures. Keywords: SWAT model, Mara River Basin, Hydrological Modelling, River Discharge

Risk of HIV Infection among Men Aged 50 to 75 Years using Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Attending at Kenyatta National Hospital: A Case Control Study, Kenya

Background: Erectile dysfunction drug (EDD) use has gained popularity among older men for enhancement and treatment of erectile dysfunction in recent years. Increased number of sexual partners and sexual activity due to EDD use concerns about the rising rate of HIV infection among older men. Men who use EDD for erectile dysfunction are found to be two to three times more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or chlamydia, than those who did not use the drugs. In Kenya, the prevalence of HIV among men of age 50 to 54 years has increased from 5.7% in 2003 to 9.1% in 2008. Objectives: This study was aimed at determining the association between EDD use and risk of HIV infection among men aged 50 to 75 years. Patients and Methods: A hospital based case-control study was conducted among men aged 50 to 75 years. A total of 274 men (137 cases confirmed as HIV positive and same number of controls confirmed as HIV negative), consented to participate in the study. Pearson’s chi-square test and odds ratio with corresponding 95% confidence interval were computed to establish the association between the dependent variable (HIV status) and independent variables (Key independent variable being EDD use). The level of statistical significance was set at p-value <0.05. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to adjust for confounding factors in the relationship between HIV status and EDD use. Results: Out of 137 cases, 18(13.1%) used EDD before they found out that they were HIV +ve compared to 8(5.8%) of the controls. Even though the use of erectile dysfunction drugs was found to be significantly associated with serum HIV positivity in bivariate analysis (OR= 2.44; 95%CI: 1.04-5.93; p=0.039), it was not significant after adjustment for other factors at the multivariate analysis (AOR= 1.52; 95%CI: 0.43- 5.34; p=0.519). Multiple logistic regression revealed the following factors as independent predictors of HIV: having had sexually transmitted diseases (AOR=5.96; 95%CI: 2.43 – 14.63; p<0.001), taking alcohol/drunkenness (AOR=6.84; 95%CI: 3.22 – 14.56; p<0.001) and having multiple sexual partners (AOR=21.69; 95%CI: 8.82 – 53.33; p<0.001).Conclusion: This study shows that there is an increased risk of HIV infection among older men using EDD. However, this observation is not sustained after controlling for other associated factors. It is therefore recommended that a more robust study design (prospective cohort) with a large sample size to be undertaken to shed more light on this pressing topic. Keywords: Erectile Dysfunction Drugs, HIV infection, Older Men, Ris

Tree Diversity Effects on Litter Decomposition in an Agroforestry System in a Semi Arid Zone in Juja, Kenya

Plant litter decomposition is an important ecosystem function that aid nutrient cycling in agroforestry system, however it is not clear if the diversity of agroforestry tree species affects rate of decomposition of their resultant litters within the early stage of decomposition. This study was conducted in an agroforestry experimental farm that was established in 2011 in Jomo Kenyatta university of Agriculture and Technology, Juja, Kenya. The site contains four treatments involving seven agroforestry tree species from which eleven combinations was grouped for decomposition process. The decomposition process was studied using the standard litter bag technique and the soil moisture content on each treatment plot was measured to determine its confounding effect on litter decomposition.  The percentage mass loss of litter after 90 days of decomposition was highest in Acacia seyal (48.75%) and lowest in Cordia africana (21.65%). The composite litter decomposes faster than the low decomposing monocultures suggesting synergistic interaction but when the observed and predicted litter mass loss was compared a 100% additive effect was observed. The treatment plots with Faidherbia albida had the highest soil moisture content (42.97%) while the treatment plots with C. africana had the lowest (28.96%). However, effect of soil moisture was not significant on the rate of decomposition (r2=0.046). These findings suggest that litter combination increases rate of decomposition in low decomposing litters and soil moisture effect was insignificant on rate of decomposition, suggesting other factors are contribution to decomposition. Farmers should therefore use different agroforestry species to benefit from the synergy of the different ecosystem function of different tree species such as enhanced decomposition rate from the low decomposing species. Keywords: Agroforestry; Decomposition; Nutrients; Soil moisture; Synergistic

The Impacts of Water Abstraction in Tropical Rivers: A Case of South West Upper Tana Basin, Kenya.

The study to determine the impacts of water abstraction in South West Upper Tana Basin which is part of the larger Upper Tana basin was undertaken in four major rivers, Thika, Kimakia, Kiama and Chania. Data for this study was obtained from the Kenya Meteorological department (KMD), Water Resources Management (WRA) and questionnaire surveys. The questionnaires were administered in the period between January 2018 and December 2018 to determine the impacts of water abstraction in both dry and wet seasons. Regression and correlation analysis was used to determine the nature and strength of relationships between different variables. The results of the study indicate that the main impacts of water abstraction are hydrological, environmental and socio-economic. The hydrological impacts include reduced water levels, changes in stream morphology, decreased turbidity and reduced siltation. Socio-economic impacts include increased income from crop production and conflicts while environmental impacts were mainly changes in riparian vegetation. The study established that the best combination of impacts of water abstraction in the South West Upper Tana Basin were changes in water turbidity, decline in water levels, improved crop yields, changes in channel morphology and siltation with a coefficient correlation r of 0.57 and coefficient of determination R2 of 0.52. To mitigate these impacts, there is a need for better enforcement of legislations on water abstraction and the monitoring of the river basins to curb water over-abstraction. Public awareness campaigns and involvement of stakeholders could also minimize these impacts. Keywords: Water abstraction, hydrological impacts, socio-economic impacts, environmental impacts, South West Upper Tana Basin (SWUT). DOI: 10.7176/JEES/9-5-08 Publication date:May 31st 201

The Relationship between Board Structure and Performance of Firms Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange

This study examines the relationship between board structure and performance of firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The study is anchored on agency theory, resource dependency theory, transaction cost theory, political theory and a census approach. A population of the study comprising sixty five companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange between 2002 and 2016 were used. Data was extracted from annual reports of listed firms. This study employed longitudinal descriptive research design to determine the relationship. Panel data regression analysis was conducted using the random effects model. The results revealed that gender diversity and occupational expertise had significant effect on Return on Assets, while board independence and board age had significant effect on Tobin’s Q of listed firms in Kenya. On the other hand, board size had an insignificant effect on both Return on Assets and Tobin’s Q. The overall effect of board structure on Returns on Assets and Tobin’s Q was significant. The study concluded that various board structure mechanisms except board size have significant effect on performance of listed firms in Kenya, and the overall board structure had significant effect on performance of listed firms. The study recommended that management should incorporate board structure mechanisms to enhance performance of firms and regulatory authorities should review the current board structure variables to make them more relevant to improve performance of listed firms in Kenya

The Relationship between Corporate Governance, Financial Characteristics, Macroeconomic Factors and Performance of Firms Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange

This study sought to examine the relationships among corporate governance, financial characteristics, macroeconomic factors and performance of firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. This study used wealth maximisation theory, agency theory, stewardship theory and stakeholders’ theory to explain the relationships among dependent, intervening, moderating and independent variables. This study employed a census approach and a target population of the study comprised of all companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange from 2002 to 2016. A total of sixty five were used. The data on corporate governance, financial characteristics and performance of firms were extracted from annual reports of the individuals firms and additional data on macroeconomic factors in relation to gross domestic product, interest rates and inflation rates were extracted from Central Bank of Kenya and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics economic reports. This study employed longitudinal descriptive research design to determine relationships amongst variables. A panel data regression analysis was conducted using random effects model which allowed the firms to have a common mean value of the intercept to determine whether corporate governance influence firm performance. The study established that most of the corporate governance practices adopted by listed firms in Kenya had significant effect of the performance of firms. The intervening effect of financial characteristics was determined, while macroeconomic factors were found to have moderating effect in the relationship between corporate governance and performance of listed firms. The study finally established that corporate governance, financial characteristics and macroeconomic factors had a significant joint effect on performance of firms listed on Nairobi Securities Exchange. Based on the findings the study made various conclusions. The study concluded that listed firms in Kenya adopted corporate governance practices as part of the requirements of the regulating authority which had impact on Returns of Assets and Tobin’s Q. The study further concluded that some listed firms in Kenya strengthened their corporate governance due to poor performance; some of the corporate governance practices used by listed firms had negative impact on performance of firms. This study contributed to the existing knowledge since it established that the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance heavily relied on the context under study and for this reason, studies conducted in different context have conflicting results

Label-free assaying of testosterone and growth hormones in blood using surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy

This work reports the potential use of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in rapid, label-free assaying of testosterone (TE) and growth hormone (GH) in whole blood. Biomarker SERS spectral bands from the two hormones (TE and GH) in intentionally spiked water for injection and in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat blood are reported. Abuse of the two hormones (TE and GH) singly or simultaneously is widespread and not only has prolonged side effects such as hypertension and liver failure, but their illegal use by athletes is against clean competition. Currently used highly label-dependent doping detection methods involve complex and time-consuming procedures, rendering them unsuitable for rapid analysis. In blood, the most concentration-sensitive bands (in both TE and GH), as deduced through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), were around 684 cm-1 (assigned to C-C stretching) and 1614 cm-1 (assigned to C-C stretching) in GH; and 786 cm-1 (assigned to N-H wagging), 856 cm-1 (assigned to C-C stretching), and 1490 cm-1 (assigned to CH2 bending) in TE. In addition, a characteristic variance was noted in the bands around 1510 cm-1 (attributable to CH2 stretching) in GH and 1636 cm-1 (C-C stretching) in TE, which could be used as biomarker bands for the respective hormones in the blood. This work has shown the capability of SERS for potential hormone concentration level determination when concentration-sensitive or biomarker bands are employed. This discovery opens new possibilities for the use of SERS in fields such as sports science, clinical diagnostics, and biomedical research