MMA Theses and Dissertations (2023)

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    Factors affecting credit access from agricultural finance corporations among smallholder farmers in Lamu County
    (Strathmore University, 2023) Ochanda, D.
    Smallholder production accounts for over 75% of the total agricultural output and over 70% of marketed agricultural produce in Kenya. The rate of agricultural credit access among smallholder farmers in Lamu County has been very low, which is a matter of great concern. Agricultural credit access among smallholder farmers is important in ensuring increased food production for food security, sustainable development, and poverty eradication. Therefore, the main focus of this study was thus to examine the factors affecting the rate of credit access from Agricultural Finance Corporation among smallholder farmers in Lamu County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to examine the effects of loan attributes on agricultural credit access, to assess the effects of borrower attributes on agricultural credit access, and to establish the effects of farm attributes on agricultural credit access. The study was based on the discouraged borrower theory as the main theory to ascertain the extent of the self-selection mechanism among smallholder farmers in Lamu concerning agricultural credit and its impact on credit access. In addition, the study utilized the rational choice theory of demand for financial services because the ultimate decision to borrow or not is a choice to be decided by the borrower, and the ability to pay theory was also used to link with the borrower attributes variable in the study with respect to the ability of the borrower to pay back credit at a specified future date. A sample of 500 smallholder farmer households was obtained from two sub-counties through a multistage sampling technique. The data was analyzed using factor analysis and regression analysis. The findings revealed that loan attributes and borrower attributes had a marginal positive effect while farm attributes had a marginal negative effect on agricultural credit access. The study recommends that AFC management should conduct intensive market sanitization among smallholder farmers in Lamu County on their loan requirements, lending terms, and conditions. Informed smallholder farmers will make lending decisions as a rational choice guided by understanding the costs and benefits of the borrowing decision. Also, county and national governments should work in synergy to develop mechanisms that will encourage agricultural credit access among smallholder farmers to enable the commercialization of smallholder farming and sustainable agriculture. This includes issuing title deeds to smallholder farmers with no deeds of land ownership, discharging title deeds charged to settlement schemes, developing county-specific and agricultural enterprise-specific government guarantee schemes for smallholder farmers who do not have collateral. Smallholder farmers should make proper arrangements to make loan applications within the season so as to avoid loan rejection
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    Factors influencing the adoption of emerging technologies by Micro Small and Medium agribusiness organizations in Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2023) Okumu, B. A.
    In developing countries such as Kenya, the slow adoption of emerging technologies by micro small and medium agribusiness organizations has been a subject of concern. No wonder, the Kenyan Government is putting emphasis on this sector. The available literature reveal that most micro small and medium agribusiness organizations are lagging behind the larger agribusiness firms in adoption of emerging technologies. This study sought to examine the factors that influence the adoption of Emerging Technologies by micro small and medium agribusiness organizations in Kenya with a focus on agribusiness organizations under two agribusiness value chain projects in Kenya. These projects are, Towards Sustainable Clusters in Agribusiness through Learning in Entrepreneurship and the Kenya Crop and Dairy Marketing System. The factors analyzed included, ICT Infrastructure, Cost of Technology, Top management Support and Government policies/regulations. The study employed a descriptive research design. The target population and sample were two senior managers from the thirty-seven micro small and medium agribusiness organizations targeted by the two projectsto make up seventy-four respondents who were surveyed and included in the study. Structured questionnaires were administered to the seventy-four managers to obtain data and data obtained and recorded in the google forms. Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and python were used for data management, data entry, cleaning and analysis. These software’s, were used to conduct descriptive and inferential statistics including logistic regression. Tables, Graphs, Bar-Charts were used to present the study results. The findings reveal the level of ICT Infrastructure was found to have a significant positive influence (p=0.006) on adopting emerging technology, indicating that organizations or individuals with better ICT Infrastructure are more likely to adopt such technologies. However, the cost of emerging technology (p=0.065) and management support (p=0.479) was not found to have a statistically significant impact on adoption. Government policy and regulation were marginally significant at p=0.05, suggesting a moderate effect on technology adoption. Key words: Information Communication and Technology, Micro Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Agribusiness Organizations, Emerging Technologies, Adoption.
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    Factors influencing youth participation in agricultural cooperatives in the semi-arid areas of Kenya a case study of Mwingi, Kitui County
    (Strathmore University, 2023) Mawia, F. K.
    Despite the fact that agriculture has a potential of creating jobs for the youth, few young people position themselves for a future in it. In this regard, this study intended to determine factors that influence participation of the youth in agricultural co-operatives in the semi-arid areas of Kenya. As such, the objectives of this research included identifying socio-demographic, economic and institutional variables that inform the youth’s decision to join or not join cooperatives. This study was based on the collective action theory and the humanistic theories. The scope of the research was in Mwingi, Kitui County and intended to adapt descriptive survey research design. Target population was youth (15-35 years old). The targeted population was 243368 and a sample of 400 youth was selected. Out of these 397 responded. Collected data was from both primary sources using questionnaires as the main tool. Qualitative and quantitative methods were applied in data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse qualitative data and presented in form of percentages, frequencies standard deviations and weighted means. SPSS was the main software used for analysis. Factors under investigation had considerable influences on youth participation in the cooperatives. This was illustrated by positive and statistically significant relationship between participation of youth in agricultural cooperatives (the dependent variable) and youth’s awareness on the existence of agricultural cooperatives in Kitui County; economic factors influencing youth participation in the cooperatives and institutional factors influencing the involvement of youth in the cooperatives. It can this be deduced that the level to which the youth were aware about cooperatives, perceived that they could obtained economic benefits as well as the institutional attributes of cooperatives affected the membership of the youth to cooperatives. This participation was also segmented differently youth of different socio-demographic characteristics. Enhancing the participation of the youth should thus take cognizance of these factors affecting their participation. In this line, the research recommends that there is for agricultural cooperatives to come up with strong marketing interventions that enhance youth awareness of cooperative societies. This research recommended that frameworks and policies should be put in place to continuously reform cooperatives to enhance their appeal to the youth. Key words: Agricultural cooperatives, youth, youth participation
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    The Influence of entrepreneurial competencies on the growth of agribusiness Small and Medium Enterprises in Kiambu County
    (Strathmore University, 2023) Gwada, M. N.
    Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are the foundation of most economies. They provide a source of dynamism, economic growth, and flexibility in developed and developing countries. Despite the rising number of SMEs in these developing nations, gross domestic product (GDP) contribution is below 50%. Moreover, only 70% of SMEs pass the five years milestone. Therefore, this study sought to examine the influence of entrepreneurial competencies on the growth of agribusiness SMEs in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objective: To determine the influence of strategic competencies on the growth of agribusiness SMEs in Kiambu County; To assess the effect of relationship competencies on the growth of agribusiness SMEs in Kiambu County; To determine the influence of leadership competencies on the growth of agribusiness SMEs in the Kiambu County; To determine the influence of innovative competencies on the growth of agribusiness SMEs in the Kiambu County. The study was guided by the entrepreneurial competency theory which emphasizes the necessity for a mix of skills to achieve entrepreneurial objectives. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was adopted. 290 agribusiness SMEs in Kiambu County made up the target population. The study used a census sampling technique where 290 entrepreneurs of agribusiness SMEs in Kiambu County were sampled. Data was collected from 290 SMEs through structured questionnaires, providing insights into the role of entrepreneurial competencies in the Kenyan agribusiness sector. A limitation faced during data collection was that some of the entrepreneurs were not willing to participate in the study, therefore, the researcher educated them on the study objectives and assured them that confidentiality would be maintained. The research employed a quantitative approach, using simple linear regression analysis to investigate the impact of these competencies on the growth of agribusiness SMEs. The results revealed that strategic, leadership, and innovative competencies had a significant positive impact on the growth of agribusiness SMEs in Kiambu County. However, relationship competencies were not found to have a significant influence on business growth. The findings suggested that fostering strategic, leadership, and innovative competencies among entrepreneurs could contribute to the growth and success of agribusiness SMEs in the region. This study contributed to the understanding of entrepreneurial competencies in the context of agribusiness SMEs and provided valuable insights for policymakers, entrepreneurs, and educators to develop targeted interventions and training programs that enhanced the growth potential of SMEs in the agribusiness sector. Additionally, the research identified potential avenues for future investigation such as examining the impact of entrepreneurial competencies in different industries and the use of robust research designs.