| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of participation of men in
community based Agro-forestry projects in Bureti Constituency. The study objectives were:
To investigate how education contributed to participation of men in Agro-forestry projects in
Bureti Constituency, To establish the extent to which cultural values influenced participation
of men in Agro-forestry in Bureti Constituency, To assess how the access to finance
influenced participation of men in agro-forestry in Bureti Constituency, To determine
whether the access to information influenced participation of men in Agro-forestry in Bureti
Constituency and To establish the extent to which technological interventions influence
participation of men in agro-forestry projects in the constituency. This study was expected to
benefit the community based project managers, government ministries and other key
stakeholders in the Agro-forestry projects in Bureti and elsewhere. The dependent variable
included: The level of education of men which was important in this study as it equips one
with knowledge, skills and techniques in agro-forestry community projects. Cultural values
which enhance or decrease participation of men in community based projects in line with a
community’s respective cultural values. Access to information is key in development; hence
an informed community can enhance effective participation of community members. Access
to credit can also promote participation of men in community-based agro-forestry projects
and where men adopt technological interventions it affects their participation in these
projects. The extraneous variable was government policy. Most governments’ policies are
pro-women and thus, it was expected that they affect the participation of men. The study
adopted the Social Action theory of community development to demonstrate that men are the
less fortunate group in the Kenyan society as regards to their participation in agro-forestry
projects. This indicated the need to establish policies that would enhance the effective
participation of men. This study was a descriptive survey, based in Bureti Constituency. Pilot
testing was done in the neighbouring Sotik Constituency using a sample of 25 men from a
random sampling frame of 248 participants from all the five wards in Sotik. The study sample
selected by stratified random sampling and the sample size was 193 from a target population
of 1930 men being the sampling frame of the members of 320 registered men participants of
community-based agro-forestry projects in the constituency. This study used a questionnaire,
which was first pre-tested using the test-retest method for reliability and validity. Permission
from the relevant authorities was sought before administration of the questionnaires to the
respondents was done and data collected was then analyzed using SPSS Version 20. At all
stages of the study, ethical considerations were undertaken. The study established that higher
educational levels enhanced participation of men, technological interventions also promoted
the participation of men as it enhanced their interest in the project and culture promoted
men’s participation in these projects in Bureti especially as leaders and decision makers in the
projects. Lack of adequate information and lack of adequate finance impacted their
participation negatively. The study recommended the formulation of policies including
friendly financial packages for men. It also recommended the installation of proper project
information systems by the members of community based agro-forestry projects. It also
recommended the enhanced lobbying for increased men’s participation to be done. | en_US |
