Determinants Of The Performance Of Community-Based Projects: A Case Of Fish Farming In Bomet County

Abstract

Fish is a popular part of the diet in most countries in the world. It has long been termed 'the poor man's protein'. The overall demand for fish is increasing as populations grow and rising standards of living in urban areas lead to expectations for diets that are richer in animal protein. Fish farming in Kenya was introduced to supplement the food choices of people and to increase the income of the people. This study, therefore, aimed to establish the determinants of the performance of community-based fish farming projects in Bomet County. This study was guided by four objectives; to establish the extent in which economic factors determine performance of community-based fish farming projects, to examine the extent to which skills and knowledge of group leaders determine performance of community-based projects, to establish the extent to which socio-cultural factors determine performance of community-based fish farming projects and to assess the extent to which technological innovation determine the performance of community-based projects. A descriptive survey research design was used to obtain data and to attempt to describe the relationship between the various identified determinants and performance of community-based projects. The study targeted all 403 documented fish farmers, both small and large scale, spread across the County. The study also targeted six ward fishery extension officers and two district fisheries officers. Krejcie and Morgan's sample size calculation was used to get a sample of 170. The research instrument used in collecting primary data was a structured questionnaire while secondary data was collected from books, scholarly journal articles, internet sources, and other relevant literature. Data analysis was done using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were that; technological innovation, socio-cultural factors, economic factors had a significant influence on the performance of fish farming while skills and knowledge of group leaders had low influence. The study concludes that of the three independent variables that had a significant influence on the performance of fish farming, technological innovation had the greatest influence, followed by socio-cultural factors and finally economic factors. The recommendations of the study were that there is a need for the government to step in and help the farmers access subsidized storage facilities and standardized fingerlings. Further, the study recommended that farmers could improve production levels with financial support and increased extensional services. More extension officers should be hired to cater to the shortage of staff. Extension services should be increased to help farmers acquire adequate knowledge and skills for the sustainability of the fish farming project. Keywords: - Economic factors, skills, and knowledge of leaders, socio-cultural factors, technological innovation.