| dc.description.abstract | This study looks into one of the serious problems facing most third world countries-frequent and
persistent basic staple food shortages. The study is divided into two parts. The first part which
uses secondary data, attempts to compare the effects of some three factors commonly seen to
influence annual output levels of certain staple cereals crops in selected African and Asian
countries. The three factors include the total number of people (million) available within the
rural area of a given country, the amount of land (000HA)allocated to the production of the
given cereal crop and the amount of money (000$) spent on the importation of basic farm inputs
in a given country. The countries selected are Kenya, Zambia, India and Pakistan. The period
covered in the study is 1961 to 1991.
The second part of the study attempts to look into the relationship between individual farmer's
ability to secure loan or credit for purchasing the basic farm inputs that accompany the adoption
of high yielding crop varieties, and the individual farmer's access to the agricultural field
extension services which are hypothesized as having influenced annual maize output level in
Cheptais sub-location of Bungoma district in Kenya. It also attempts to generate some knowledge
on how the rural communities in Kenya adjust to basic food shortages: This second part of the
study uses primary case-study data obtained through structured interviews in the form of
questionnaires that were administered to the maize producers as well as agricultural field
extension personnel in Cheptais sub-location.
Two major statistical tools have been used in the analysis of data used in the study. These
include descriptive as well as inductive statistics. Descriptive statistics have been used to
condense and summarize description of units with regard to enumerable or measurable
characteristics.
Inferential statistics have been used in order to establish the truth or falsity of the study
hypotheses. The inferential statistical tools used include measures such as chi-square which helps
a researcher determine whether a relationship exists between two variables. Similarly, cross tabulation
which is a joint frequency distribution of cases according to two or more classificatory
of variables has been used.
Measures of association which indicate how strongly two variables are related to each other have
also been used. Regression analysis, which is used to predict the exact value of one variable
from knowledge of another variable (predictor), has also been used.
The study found that because of changed agricultural policies which now give first priority to
small scale farmers, marginal farmers, and the landless in terms of access to credit facilities,
loans and agricultural extension services, annual staple cereal crop output levels have increased
in Zambia, India and Pakistan. However, in Kenya where agricultural policies seem not to focus
on small scale farmers, marginal farmers and the landless, annual staple cereal crop output level
is worsening.
It was found out that none of three factors mentioned above nor their combination uniformly
influenced annual staple cereal crop output level in any country. The amount of loan and credit
facilities- obtained by small scale farmers as well as the frequency of visits by agricultural
extension personnel significantly influenced annual maize output level in Cheptais sub-location
between 1991-1993. The study also found that of all the alternative methods employed by
farmers in Cheptais sub-location to cope with basic food shortages only expansion of acreage
under maize crop by large scale farmers and buying from neighbours by small scale farmers
against an individual farmers level of income were statistically significant.
The study also found that in all the four countries under study, agricultural policies had helped
polarized the rural communities into the rich and the poor. The new agricultural techniques
which resulted from technological change which are accompanied by heavy application of
modem farm inputs are unaffordable by the majority of the rural dwellers (small scale, marginal
and the landless) especially the women.
The author therefore recommends that for any tangible policy aimed at stepping up food
production levels in food deficit countries such as Kenya, the focus should be on the small scale
sector, and particularly women. Whatever is sought, basic farm inputs should be supplied at the
right time, price and place to the small scale farmers.
It is further recommended that scholars carry out research on certain traditional food crops
which the rural populations resort to during famines. These crops characteristics should be
identified with an aim of stepping up their future annual production levels. | en |
