| dc.description.abstract | This study aims at a broad examination and
evaluation of three aspects of the manufacturing
and supporting service industries in Nyanza Province
, of Kenya. These are: location, structure and the
impact of industries on growth and regional development.
The following considerations prompted the study.
First, the envisaged potential from the manufacturing
industry needs frequent evaluation,in order to assess
relevance and adequacy for development purposes. Moreover,
the abundant resources notwithstanding, this
region still exhibits characteristics of underdevelopment.
Third, there is an apparent paucity of information
regarding the manufacturing sector in this region.
The study lS guided by the following objectives:
to evaluate the factors influencing decisions to locate
manufacturing establi?hments in Nyanza, to measure and
cartographically portray the distribution of these
industries; to describe and analyse the structure of
industries; and; to measure the-grbw~h and development
inducing role of indus~ries in Nyanza Province.
The above objectives are evaluated Vla the
hypotheses set out below: location of ma nuf act ur-Lng
( x )
and support~ng service industries in Nyariza Province
is determined mainly by economic factors; there is
spatial concentration of industries in Kisumu town
and district influencing polarisation of activities
at the expense of the rest of the province; industrial
production in Nyanza Province is characterised by a
lower proportional share of intermediate/producer
goods and a higher proportional share of consumerluxury
goods; and, Nyanza Province constitutes a
downward transition zone with a slower rate of
industrial growth and development generated
therefrom.
Both primary and secondary data was useq in
the study. The former was collected through a
recording schedule and personal interviews.
Government documents, company annual reports and
statements of accounts, among others, provided
seconda~y data.
Analysis was as varied as the study's objectives.
Location influencing factors were analysed using
principal components an aLy si sr-wh Ole percentages and
location quotient ~re used to yield information
on the spatial distribution of industries in Nyanza.
On the other hand, structure was evaluated through
the use of percentages, and, shift, share analysis,
wages earned, proportion of land 'lost' to the
( xi )
growi.ng of industrial-cum-commercial crop£,
community destabilization and environmental
pollution, constituted the yardstick for evaluating
the impact of manufacturing industries on development.
The study has successfully demonstrated that:
industrial location in Nyanza has been influenced
primarily by economic factors; a higher concentration
of industries in evident in Kisumu town and district;
consumer goods production engages a more than
proportionate share of the total number of operatives;
industrialization particularly agro-related, has
encouraged over-zealousness in the production of
industrial crops at the expense of food crops; and
manufacturing processes are increasingly becoming a
sou~ce of environmental pollution which if unchecked,
may compromise environmental quality in Nyanza
Province.
On the basis -of the above findings, the first
three hypotheses have been rejected and only the
fourth accepted. Consequently, the following are
.•
regarded as the major recommendations; deliberate
policy measures should be undertaken to decentralize
manufacturing activities from Kisumu town and
district to the other districts and their smaller
urban centres. Secondly, there is need to broaden
the scope of the manufacturing activities with a
( xii )
view to minimising the dominance of the consumer
goods production sector. Moreover, the Ministry
of Agriculture should specify to the farmers,
exactly how much land should be devoted to
industrial-cum-commercial crops in relation to
food crop production. | en |
