| dc.description.abstract | About 45% of Kisumu East population are absolutely poor. These poor households face the problem of food insecurity which the government of Kenya and other donors seeks to address through sustainable agriculture, by establishing fruit and vegetable production projects. However, most of the projects fail to survive beyond their establishment and the few that survive seem to provide insufficient benefits to the target community. It is on this basis that the study sought to determine the socio-economic factors that affect sustainability of vegetable and fruit production projects in Kadibo division. The specific objectives of the study are to establish the effect of gender difference on resource allocation for vegetable and fruit production projects, determine the effect of farmer education level on the acquisition and utilization of resources for vegetable and fruit production, establish the effect of size of land owned on the allocation of land to fruit and vegetable, and finally to assess the effect of monthly income and investment on farm equipment on allocation of resources to fruit and vegetable production in the study area. This study was based on case study research design. Primary data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions. Secondary data were from government reports, journals and books. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 8 farmers’ groups each representing the 8 locations of the Division. Saturated sampling technique was used to selected120 households. Snowball was used to identify key informants. Focus groups were also gotten from members of the eight groups. Qualitative data was analysed using themes. Quantitative data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive methods include; means and frequencies. Correlation and regression analysis were the inferential statistics used. Findings revealed that males had a positive relationship with land allocated for vegetables and fruits (β= 0.113, p = 0 .037< 0.05). The study revealed that land allocation is biased against females who were the majority at 64%, and that gender of the producer had no significant influence on allocation of resources for fruit and vegetable projects. Household size, education level (β= 0.198, p = 0.011< 0.05) and age (β= .055, p = 0.431> 0.05), all had significant effect on the allocation of land to vegetables and fruits. Size of land owned, average monthly income and investment in farm equipment all had significant positive effects on the allocation of resources. The study concludes that social and economic factors affect resource allocation to fruit and vegetable projects but the magnitude differs. The study recommends emphasis on higher learning particularly to the females who are the major producers and at the same time ensure their financial empowerment so that they may invest more on production equipment and even acquire more land for the farming activities. The few men who are involved in the fruits and vegetables production should also be financially empowered and encouraged to further their education. Land ownership and utilization at the community level should be reviewed to give equal opportunity to the women. Further research using time series data is needed in this area and neighbouring divisions to establish long term effects of these social and economic factors in sustainable fruits and vegetables production projects. | en_US |
