Monitoring and Evaluation Tools on Performance of Small-scale Dairy Goats Projects in Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

Over the years, practicing dairy goat farming has emerged as a profitable venture, particularly for small-scale farmers. Goat’s milk demand is currently on the upswing and a perfect alternative to cow milk due to its nutritional value. Goat rearing is very beneficial not just for milk production but also for goat meat, acts as a delicacy for many households. For the small-scale farmers to maximize the performance production of dairy goats there is a need to monitor and evaluate the project until it breaks even continually. In this study, tools like logical framework, Gantt charts, routine monitoring, and project indicators were used to evaluate, determine, and establish how such tools influence this project’s performance. This observation brings a gap for further studies on monitoring and evaluation tools by farmers venturing into small dairy goat farming and trying to reduce this gap. Objectives considered in this study are to examine the extent to which the use of Logical Framework influences the performance of small-scale dairy goat farming project, determine how the use of Gantt charts in scheduling influence the performance of small-scale dairy goat farming projects, establish how routine monitoring influence performance of small-scale dairy goat farming project and assess extent at which project performance indicators influence the performance of small-scale dairy goat farming project. A total of 80 dairy goat farmers were recruited from four different areas in Kitui County for this project, which targeted 100 small-scale dairy goat producers. A semi-structured questionnaire was issued directly to small-scale dairy producers to obtain primary data. Secondary data sources included reports, relevant journals, books, the internet, and another literature review. The instruments' reliability was assessed using the test-retest procedure. For each variable, descriptive statistics were calculated. The data was presented using percentages and the mean. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the correlation between the independent variables (SPSS). There was a strong link between logical framework and performance of small-scale dairy farming projects (β=0.182, p<0.05); there was a strong link between Gantt chart and performance of small-scale dairy farming projects (β=0.272, p<0.05); there was a strong link between routine performance monitoring and performance of small-scale dairy farming projects (β=0.229, p<0.05); and there was a strong link between logical framework and performance of small-scale dairy farming projects (β=0.229, p<0.05 According to the findings, the performance of small-scale dairy farming operations is influenced by a logical framework.. The performance of small-scale dairy farming projects is substantially connected with Gantt charts; regular monitoring is significantly correlated with the performance of small-scale dairy farming projects. Finally, the study found that project monitoring indicators had an impact on small-scale dairy farming project performance. According to the study, small-scale dairy farmers should pay attention to how these efforts are planned and implemented, without disregarding the need of using a logical framework approach. Project monitoring and evaluation should be stimulated since it advances performance of a project to the greatest extent feasible.