MDF Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing MDF Theses and Dissertations by Author "Achom, B. E."

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    Drivers of adoption of multiple sustainable aquaculture technologies among smallholder fish farmers in the Lake Victoria basin region, Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2024) Achom, B. E.
    The study was undertaken in the Lake Victoria basin region (Busia, Homabay, Kisumu, and Siaya counties), Kenya, to determine the drivers of adoption of multiple sustainable aquaculture technologies. The global aquaculture sector grew in the recent past to become one of the most vital sectors to aid food security in the world but with constraints in factor inputs, new and better technologies must be developed to cope with the emerging demand for fish. Therefore, the study investigated the influence of socioeconomic factors, fish production, fish marketing and Aquaculture Business Development Programme (ABDP), in determining adoption decisions of fish farmers with regards to hormonal sex reversal, selective breeding and feed regime. The focus population comprised 5332 smallholder fish farmers as outlined in the ABDP report issued in 2022. Through multistage sampling (clustering and random sampling), primary data gathered from 724 fish farmers was analyzed using Multivariate Probit model. The findings revealed that the multiple sustainable aquaculture technologies were jointly adopted by fish farmers as complements. From the results still, the increase in household income, income from other activities, fish income, number of ponds, fish species being tilapia, high initial capital, amount of crops sold in kilograms, membership in fish association group, membership in fish marketing groups, high perishability and farmer being a beneficiary of ABDP were the critical drivers of adoption of multiple sustainable aquaculture technologies. Generally, the MVP model was fit for the test given the rejection of hypothesis that the three technologies were independent. The study concluded that the aquaculture technologies under study were widely practiced by farmers who were keen to see their incomes improve from all aspects as fish production thrives in tandem. From a policy and practice perspective, the study provided recommendations on the interventions of focus to build a business case of the trade to ensure farmers’ income increased. This could be achieved through continual farmer training and engagement with fisheries personnel in the counties; expansion of fish farming facility to at least 3 ponds of 300 square meters and establishment of suitable storage facilities such as temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics, all of which are imperative to the development of aquaculture sector. Key words: Sustainable aquaculture technologies, Multivariate Probit model, socioeconomic factors, fish production, fish marketing, Aquaculture Business Development Programme.