INFLUENCE OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES UNDER DEVOLUTION ON MAIZE PRODUCTION IN KWANZA SUB COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Devolution aims to increase efficiency in delivery and access to public service. Agriculture was one of the sectors in Kenya to devolve their service provision to the County Governments underscoring the importance of County Governments’ role in ensuring food production and improving the rural economy. Despite the availability of modern and advanced farming technologies in food production, food security remains a big challenge in Kenya today. The influence of agricultural extension services under devolution and its effects on maize production in Trans Nzoia County have not been well studied, analyzed and documented since the start of devolution. The purpose of this study was to enhance food production by identifying solutions basing on the influence of agricultural extension services under devolution on maize farmers in Kwanza Sub County, Trans Nzoia County. The objectives of the study were to determine the current status of devolved agricultural extension service provision by the County Government of Trans Nzoia and other stakeholders, to assess the effect of devolved agricultural extension services on maize production in Kwanza Sub County and to identify the challenges of devolved agricultural extension service provision that affect maize production in Kwanza Sub County. The targeted population was the maize farmers in Kwanza Sub County, Trans Nzoia County. Descriptive survey research design was used in the study. This study employed purposive sampling to obtain the key informants from (8) eight public and private agricultural institutions and simple random sampling technique was used to obtain a sample of 379 farmers from a target population of 26767 (maize for food value chain) farmers. An interview guide, a structured and semi structured questionnaire was designed and used to collect information from the farmers and key informants. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data with the aid of SPSS computer programme. Data collected was presented in various formats such as charts, graphs and tables. The study revealed that the current state of agricultural extension services in Kwanza Sub County reflects an established framework but resource constrained network of extension officers. Only 25% of farmers find these services adequate. Partnerships with stakeholders are positively viewed, but the study showed such partnerships are not very evident. The findings indicated a strong dissatisfaction among farmers regarding the effect of agricultural extension services on maize production in Kwanza Sub County. Most of the respondents (70 percent) were opposed to the fact that such services have increased production of maize. The delivery of agricultural extension services is faced by a number of challenges with inadequate funding and insufficient staffing being the two critical ones, 55% of the respondents mentioned that they do not have enough funding of the extension services and 60% of the respondents stated that they have a shortage of extension officers, which impacts the quality of services. There is also the problem of logistics like difficulty in transporting the extension officers and infrastructure gap which limit the availability of the extension officers especially in remote areas. The recommendations that the respondents made included life long learning of the extension officers, technology integration, building stronger partnerships, increasing funding as well as recruiting more extension officers to enhance the effectiveness and coverage of the extension services.The results will guide changes in policies; better extension work and make agricultural development more sustainable. Besides, the research will add to the overall discussion on devolution and rural development and can be used as a reference for future studies and policies that aim to enhance farming and food production in Kenya.