Evaluating the Role of Participation in the Realization of Sustainable Development in Kakamega County: the Case of One-acre Fund Project in Ikolomani Sub-county

Abstract

Participation in community driven projects cannot be understood in isolation without considering the role of project innovators, the aggressiveness of the beneficiary community members, and above all, project sustainability plans. In this study, the puzzle was why it is difficult for beneficiaries of development projects to survive independently upon withdrawal of sponsorships. This study investigated the role of participatory communication in ensuring that there is sustainability in development projects. The model of multiplicity by Servaes (1985) and the Social Penetration theory by Irwin Altman and Dalmas were used to inform the study. A qualitative study design and case study method was used. Stratified sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect data from farmers and interview schedules from employees of the One-Acre Fund project. Questionnaire data was analysed using the SPSS software. Descriptive and frequency analysis were computed and data presented in charts, tables and percentages. The qualitative data collected was analysed using content analysis and the interpretivist approach focussing on common themes. The study found a good attempt by One-Acre Fund to interact with its farmers using a participatory communication model where open discussions and occasional plenary were used to engage farmers. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of farmers felt that their contributions to One-Acre Fund were ignored. Hence, the available interaction opportunities did not entirely translate into an effective public participation platform in agricultural development. It was also found that OAF placed less emphasis on multidisciplinary participation approach, which limited the value of the decisions made towards social change. Ultimately, sustainable development for the program was not realised. In the perception of farmers, the greatest challenge towards realising a sustainable impact was incompatibility with traditional farming systems and methods, inappropriate communication and lack of alternative sources of farming inputs and resources. On its part, OAF noted the biggest challenge as ignorance intimating that farmers were not ready to follow the techniques they received from trainings for reasons such as “negative mind set,” “illiteracy” or “absenteeism.” As a result, there was a discrepancy between skills gained from training and the practice of farming partly because most of the farmers’ opinions did not count in decision-making. The study therefore recommended that it is important to use a variety of tools of communication to ensure that there is consensus in development projects and their outcomes, which then would bring about sustainability naturally.