| dc.description.abstract | The central concern in this study is to provide
some explanation on the apparent conflict between
agricultural production and fishing activities in
Bondo Division, an area that represents many areas
in Lake Victoria's immediate hinterland where
agricultural production is noted to be very low. The
study argues that although many factors have been
identified by many scholars to explain low levels of
farm production on the basis of which several measures
have been suggested to improve the situation, agricultural
production in the study area has remained low even though
the same measures have yielded improvement elsewhere.
The argument advanced in this thesis is that
there are factors specific to this area which if
appreciated would contribute to a better understanding
0:( low fa:rm.production in Bondo Division. Because
of this are Location relative to Lake Victoria, it
is postulated that fishing activities constitute such •.,
factors by diverting labour from agriculture and hence
leading to low farm production. The study however does
not dismiss the other factors identified by the
previous scholars as having no relevance to the study
area. The study set out to find the extent to which
fishing activities. affect agricultural production and
also whether the other factors also have any bearing
on farm performance in the study area.
A survey was undertaken using structured research
schedules which were administered to two separate samples
of households resident in the study area as well as to
fishermen and fish traders. The research instruments
were then categorized into three household groups for
comparative analysis to test the postulated relationship
between fishing activities and agricultural production
The study finds that fishing activities have
significant influence on the low levels of farm
production because the labour that is diverted to such
activities is never compensated for in agriculture by
investment of part of the earnings from fishing
activities to the agricultural sector. However, the
study further finds that even if such compensation was
to be made underproduction would still be significantly
low in relation to the established farm potential.
This supports the finding that the other factors
identified by the previous scholars to explain low
agricultural production still remain relevant to the
study area. The study argues that the factor of
agricultural finance underlies the said identified
factors. The avenue open to the small farmer to improve
his lot is therefore the credit facilities which, it
is argued in this study, are practically inaccessible
to him. The big issue is therefore how best to
improve the poor financial base of the small farmer.
Because the small farmer is unable to use even
the available credit facilities due to the collateral
terms set by the financial institutions, the study
recommends, among other things, that selective credit
facilities which pay special attention to the
predicament of the small farmer by offering credit on
'soft' terms should be introduced in the study area"
The study has also recommended the development of other
sources of local resources which can generate
supplementary finances to this end. Agro-Fisheries
cooperatives are therefore suggested as a means of
tapping the lake's resources and channeling part of
the earnings from fishing to the agricultural sector
for farm improvement. This, it is argued, will also
help in minimizing the conflict between fishing
activities and farming | en |
