| dc.description.abstract | Agriculture in Africa is not sustainable because average yields have been stagnating for
decades due to underinvestment, especially in the development of agricultural markets,
crop improvement and the sustainable management of agricultural systems. Low public
sector funding for agricultural research and lack of incentives for the private sector to
operate in areas where there is no market largely explain the yield gap in many foodimporting
developing countries. Yet, there are effective ways in which the public and the
private sector could work together and jointly improve agricultural sustainability in poor
countries. The public sector provides a favorable institutional environment for the
development of agricultural markets and investment in rural infrastructure facilitates local
business development and funds research with local relevance. The private sector, in
return, brings its considerable expertise in product development and deployment. This
research shows how new forms of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for agricultural
development can work in challenging environments. It discusses the relationship between
YEDF and Amiran in proving greenhouse farming. The study was led by the following
objectives; establish the extent to which technical expertise by Amiran officials
influences implementation of YEDF/Amiran partnership, examine how the level of
financial support by YEDF has influenced the implementation of the partnership, to
establish ways in which the level of education of the youth influences the implementation
of the partnership and the extent to which the community support influences the
implementation. The study used descriptive design with a sample of 190 respondents.
Questionnaires and interview guide were used to collect data and the study used
descriptive statistics as the main methods of analysis, since the data collection is both
quantitative and qualitative in nature. The analysis and presentation of the data focused
on the frequencies, percentages, and tables. The study established that respondents
received training on how to maintain and manage the green houses by Amiran Officials.
The study found that, making agriculture attractive is the only way Kenya can ensure
food security and sufficiency as stated by Amiran officials. Thus, Amiran and YEDF
encourage commercial farming supported by technology to drive agricultural
development, by helping youths who are normally in groups of 5-10 in the start up of
green houses. The study concludes that Amiran and YEDF Partnership is designed to
enhance the mutual sharing of costs, risks and benefits of infrastructure projects between
the two (private and public) sectors by exploiting the strengths of either side. The study
further concludes that, making agriculture attractive is the only way Kenya can ensure
food security and sufficiency as stated by Amiran officials. Based on the findings, this
study recommends, formation of more Public-private partnerships should be encouraged
and the government should promote the transparency in the different phases of PublicPrivate-Partnership
projects through a legislative action to combat any kind of corruption. | en_US |
