| dc.description.abstract | Tobacco is grown in about 120 countries of the world, occupying over 4 million hectares of
land despite its poor returns compared to alternative crops. The main objective of the study
was to examine tobacco farming and its implications on alternative crops in Kuria West Sub
County of Migori County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to < explore the effects of
socioeconomic factors on cultivation of tobacco and alternative crops; examine the
implications of institutional factors on tobacco farmers and alternative crops; and to find out
the attitudes of local farmers towards cultivation of tobacco and alternative crops. The study
was guided by dependency theory developed in the late 1950 by Fernando and Falleto whose
tenets include power, uncertainty, duration and degree. The study design was cross-sectional,
involving both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The study population
comprised 2000 farmers in Kuria West. Yamane (1967) mathematical formula was used to
arrive at a sample size of 320 of which 291 respondents were involved. Simple random
sampling was used to select questionnaires respondents. Purposive Sampling was used to get
key informants and FGDs drawn from various stakeholder categories in tobacco sector. The
findings were analyzed through content analysis and presented in textual descriptions and
illustrations using verbatim quotations. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires
and it was analyzed using descriptive statistics by aid of Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) and presented in tables of frequencies and percentages. The study found that
farming activities taking place in Kuria West Sub-County mainly relies on the family labor
and the production of alternative crops suffered capacity and resource constraints. The study
concluded that adoption of other crops would be necessary to increase the farmers' income..
The study recommended that farmers should allocate more land for alternative crops which
will earn them more cash and use for home purpose. Farmers should practice modem
farming which will yield high food crops and improve their living standards. The findings of
the study will be useful to the Government, policy makers, NGOs and the farmers | en_US |
