Challenges Affecting the Tea in Nyeri County, Kenya

Aim: To investigate the factors curtailing production of tea in Nyeri and come up with possible mitigating measures. Study Design:  In-depth qualitative survey that involved the interviewing of 28 tea farmers and 4 key informants (Subcounty Agricultural Officers) Place and Duration of Study: Othaya, Tetu and Mathira sub counties of Nyeri County:  July 2014 Methodology: Twenty eight farmers and 4 Key informants were interviewed using 2 structured questionnaires. The interviewees were selected using systematic random sampling.   Data was collected on the challenges that face the tea sector as well as the mitigating measures used to address them. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentages and means) using SPSS statistical program. Results: Low prices, lack of technical know-how on some aspects of tea production, adverse climatic conditions, lack of markets for purple tea were identified as major issues limiting tea sector in the county.  Possible solutions have been discussed in this paper. Conclusion: Challenges that face the tea sector need to be addressed expeditiously in order to maximize tea production and earnings in Kenya

Social Economic Factors Driving Cassava Adoption in Teso South, Busia County, Kenya

Cassava's significance as a food crop is underscored by its ability to thrive in poor soils, withstand drought, and tolerate marginal conditions where other crops might fail. Despite its recognized importance and the introduction of improved cultivars, cassava output in Busia County remains poor, even though it is Africa's most frequently planted staple crop. This study analysed the factors influencing adoption of improved cassava cultivars among 167 smallholder farmers in Busia County, Kenya. The objective was to determine the social and economic factors influencing the adoption of improved cassava cultivars among smallholder farmers in Teso South, Busia County. Data was collected from the sampled farmers using a multistage sampling procedure in six wards. A Binary Logit model was used to investigate the effect of the selected social and economic, factors on the adoption of improved cassava cultivars. The results revealed that the average farm size in Teso South is 2 acres (48.2%), while that set aside for cassava cultivation by households is 0.25 acres (66.4%). Gender, age, marital status and education level did not influence the farm size nor the size set aside for cassava cultivation (p>0.5). Majority 127(76.0%) of the respondents indicated that they had not adopted improved cassava cultivars on their farms (χ2 = 27.04, d.f.=1, p<0.0001). From the study, it was denoted that economic factors such as financial resources, land size and market accessibility positively and significantly influenced the adoption of improved cassava cultivars among smallholder farmers in Teso South, Busia County (β=0.784, t=5.760, p<0.001). Social factors such as age, gender, education and household did not influence the adoption of improved cassava cultivars among smallholder farmers in Teso South, Busia County (β=0.011, t=-0.92, p=0.926). The fitting of the model was significant (F 0.05 (3, 163) =29.303, p< 0.001). It is crucial to develop strategies that make improved cassava cultivars more financially accessible to farmers. Providing detailed cost-benefit analyses and demonstrating the long-term economic advantages of adopting these cultivars can help farmers make informed decisions. Additionally, to achieve effective adoption in a rural setting, the roles of extension agents, along with a solid understanding of adoption theories, constraints to adoption, and the determinants of adoption, should be integrated into the social system of smallholder farmers through improved institutional support

EXTENDING TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL TO PREDICT INNOVATION IN MICRO AND SMALL FOOD MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN KENYA

Food processing is one of the manufacturing sectors that is propagated to feed the steady growing population and other current economic development challenges such as poverty, job supply, healthy lifestyles, globalization and competitive entrepreneurship in food value chain. How food processing innovations are affected by Micro and Small Entrepreneurs’ (MSEs’) perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and attitude towards acceptance behaviour are the research questions this study addresses. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used as a base model to produce a causal model representing a network of relationships among the study constructs. Mixed research methods were used to collect data from 132 MSEs manufacturing food in Busia and Nairobi Counties on Likert Scale questionnaires and interview schedules. The Cronbach’s alpha found an excellent internal consistency of 0.97 reliability. Due to weak information management system of agro-food processors in Busia county, snowballing sampling techniques was used and fisher sampling techniques formula at standard normal deviate of 1.96 on Nairobi County Government given its numerous food manufacturing enterprises. Data analysis by Logit model showed that at wald(1) = 41.475, p= .000, sig < .05, 2 tailed, the three of Davis predictors (“ease of use,” “usefulness” and intention to use) significantly influenced food innovations. Behavioural intention to adopt technology scored highest n=129(97.7%) followed by perceived technology to be useful n=109(82.6%) and ease of use n=102 (77.3%) last. The study recommends that county governments should facilitate technology permeation among MSEs through appropriate policies and programmes and establish agro-industrial “silicon valley,” and agro-export zones that would link MSE products to global agricultural value chains

Promoting Respectful Maternity Care: A training guide for community-based workshops—Community facilitator\u27s guide

This guide was produced as part of the Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) Resource Package. The Resource Package was designed to support health facility managers, health care providers, and communities in confronting disrespect and abuse (D&A) during facility-based childbirth and to promote respectful maternity care. The Resource Package includes a facilitator’s guide (facility-based workshops), facilitator’s guide (community-based workshops), participant’s guide, community flipchart, tools, and program briefs. The Community Facilitator’s Guide, designed to be used by facilitators to promote respectful maternity care at the community level, can be adapted to educate a variety of stakeholders in community settings (i.e., Community Health Extension Workers, Community Health Workers, society leaders, legal aid officers). The Guide highlights key practical points to enable participants to act as resource persons regarding the rights and obligations of childbearing women, and as advocates of respectful maternity care including how to conduct an Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism

Promoting Respectful Maternity Care: A training guide for facility-based workshops—Participant\u27s guide

This guide was produced as part of the Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) Resource Package. The Resource Package was designed to support health facility managers, health care providers, and communities in confronting disrespect and abuse (D&A) during facility-based childbirth and to promote respectful maternity care. The Resource Package includes a facilitator’s guide (facility-based workshops), facilitator’s guide (community-based workshops), participant’s guide, community flipchart, tools, and program briefs. Workshop objectives outlined in the Participant’s Guide: Outline current status of maternal and neonatal health in relation to respectful care. Discuss key RMC concepts, terminology, legal and rights-based approaches related to respectful maternity care and the RMC Resource Package. Demonstrate knowledge and use of VCAT theory and practice. Discuss selected evidence-based strategies that reduce D&A. Discuss participants’ role in promoting RMC. Develop action plans to support the implementation of RMC interventions at various levels of health (e.g., policy, program, regional/county, subcounty, facility, and community)

Global risk assessment of cardiovascular disease in resource constrained settings

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an emerging problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many current guidelines recommend using global risk assessment (GRA) to quantify the risk for developing CVD and to guide treatment and policy. Most GRA tools require lipid measures which are not readily available in resource-constrained settings. Of the 3 most published non-laboratory based tools: Gaziano and Framingham substitute BMI for cholesterol; WHO does not include BMI or cholesterol

Respectful Maternity Care Resource Package

The Respectful Maternity Care Resource Package is a set of manuals, tools, and resources to ensure high-quality, respectful maternal and newborn health services. The resources help program managers, health workers, and technical advisors set up workshops and trainings for facility-based providers and community health workers. The workshops provide practical, low-cost, and easily adaptable strategies to improve respectful care. The Respectful Maternity Care Resource Package was developed by the Heshima project as part of the USAID Translating Research into Action (TRAction) project. ------ Training facility-based health providers Facilitator’s guide Orientation slide deck Participant’s guide Training community health workers Facilitator’s guide Orientation slide deck Flip chart Additional resources Implementing respectful maternity care in Kenya Debriefing sessions: Caring for the carers Alternative dispute resolution: Resolving incidents of disrespect and abuse Maternity open days: Clarifying misconceptions about facility-based birt