| dc.description.abstract | The main objective of this study was to examine the influence of socia-economic factors on food crop production in Irianyi division of Kisii district. The study was guided by a theoretical ne r-ane c t i v e purporting that socia-economic factors influence food crop yields. This geographical investigation was mot i v at.ed by the desire to under- stand the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the area with an intention of giving suggestions on how to improve productivity on the basis of what could be observed. The study therefore revolves around an attempt to test the major hypothesis that "socio-economic factors do not significantly influence food crop yields" and to verify this hypothesis. several lines of investigation have been nursed. Data to be used in the study was gathered through a recording schedule which involved farms randomly selected from the Division. Correlation analysis done on the data was used to show the kind of relationships which exist between the selected social-economic factors and food crop yields. This analysis indicated some strong and significant relationships between the dependent and independent variables while other relationships were found to be insignificant. These results led to the conclusion that some of the factors under study have a more significant influence on food crop yields than others. Principal components analysis was used to select those factors closely associated with food production. A total of 10 factors (social-economic dimensions were selected which explained u total of 78.6% variation in food crop yields. It was felt that these factors provided sufficient explanations for spatial variations in food crop yields and here therefore used for further analysis. Step-wise multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the significance of the ten socio-economic factors in influencing yields of maize. Beans, finger millet and banana crops. Seven factors were found to be significantly associated with maize yields and these were; agricultural limits,distance to where nu t s are purchased , the social-status of the farmer, total income, food crop income. Extension- credit services and labour. Yields of beans were found to be influenced by only five factors (dimensions) namely the farmers' social-status level, agricultural inputs. Food crop income and gender. Finger millet yields were found to be significantly influenced by agricultural inputs. labour, social-status. Price, distance to where inputs are purchased. Income and leased farms. Banana yields were found to be signi ficantly associated wi th only four factors namely foodcrop income. Agricultural inputs. Extension-credit services and income both explaining a high variation ill its yields. A major finding from principal components analysis and step-wise regression analysis was that agricultural inputs factor is the most important in explaining spatial variations in yields. Results also indicated that socio- economic factors have a substantial influence on food crop yields. Farm sizes in the area are small and average 1.8 hecters mainly as a result of high population pressure which leads to continuous subdivision of land. This has led to overutilization of land resul ting in soil exhaustion. Consequently. Yields of major food crops are very low. A large proportion of farmers do not produce enough food to sustain them throughout the year and have.. to rely on purchased food. The area was also found to have low food reserves. The level of fertilizer use was found to be 1ow and apart from maize. All other crops are grown mostly from unimproved seed varieties. Annual incomes are 1ow and directly influence the level of agricultural input s ize and the majority of the farmers were found to have had no access to credit facilities mainly because of their ignorance of formal loan application procedures. Extension services were found to be inadequate as most farmers are rarely contacted and few had attended Farmer's Training Centers. A major conclusion emanating from the findings of the research is that there is need to improve production of adequate food for the fast growing population. Improvement of the socio-economic conditions under which this production takes place is therefore essential. This study recommends that population growth checked since population pressure has been identified as one of the most serious problems facing food production. Intensification of food crop production is the only way to ensure increased food production and this intensification should be done through improved use of agricultural inputs like fertilizers. High yielding seed varieties awl pesticides together with improved agronomic practices. This will be possible if farm incomes are raised through creation of off-farm job opportunities or increasing agricultural productivity to enable fanners to purchase the necessary inputs. Credit should be made available to the majority of the farmers and extension services stopped up. Subdivision of land beyond a limit that makes land uneconomical to cultivate should be discouraged. On-farm food storage should be encouraged through provision of better quality storage facilities. | en |
