ABSTRACT
Sustainability of Donor funded projects has become critical in the management of projects by the community due to institutional factors characteristics. The purpose of this studywas to investigate the institutional factors and the sustainability of Agricultural Donor Funded Dairy Projects in Siyoi Ward,West Pokot sub-county, West Pokot County, Kenya. The study specifically focused on the following objectives; to establish how managerial capacities, community participation, technology adoption and how extension services influencedsustainability of DFDP. The study was anchored on outcomes and systems theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with a target population of 330of the local households, countygovernment officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Pastoral Economy, the Director in charge of Livestock, Director Veterinary services, Funding Agency Officialsand the Project manager (KCSAP), beneficiaries and the community members, Dairy Farmers Association and a church representative from the Siyoi Dairy farmers and the Church community. A stratified sampling method was usedto select the respondents. The sample size was determined by applying the Yamane formula, which were 180 sampling units. Stratified and purposive sampling was used to identify sampling units from the sampling frame. Questionnaires and interviews guides were used as tools of data collection. A pilot study was conducted to pretest the instruments and to determine validity and reliability of the research instrument. Qualitative data was collected by holding face to face interviews with respondents. Quantitative data was collected by administering questionnaire. The SPSS version 22 software was used to analyze the data from questionnaires while thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. In the findings, 83.1%, 83.9%, 81.8% and 78.6% of the respondents stated that managerial capacity, community participation, technology adoption and extension services largely influenced sustainability of DFDP. Further, managerial capacity, community participation, technology adoption and extension services were statistically significant as the p-value, 0.000 was less than the level of significant adopted by the study, 0.05. There was an association of 0.977, 0.657, 0.616, and 0.491 between community participation, managerial capacity, technology adoption and extension services and sustainability of DFDP. Over 72.0% of the respondents elucidated that it took over two years after adoption of modern technology for it to have a meaningful impact on sustainability of DFDP. Further, 89.6% of the respondents supported the fact that the management of dairy association was ineffective and this could be explained by the low level of education. Following the above findings, the study recommends that community participation in project management be enhanced through training by the County Government Agricultural Extension Officers
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Globally, project sustainability has been a critical concern in project management. Planning of a project is seen in the ability for the project to provide appropriate output and sustainability. In both social and economicroles, it assists in alleviating human suffering and reduces poverty. Many international donors haveoften played a key significant role in assisting local communities to implement dairy projects in sectorial system reform strategies especially in developing countries. The drive to consider project sustainability gained importance to donors during the end of the 20th Century. (Scoons, 2007). Notably, project effectiveness and sustainability were considered during planning as they were pillars for any successful project undertaking(Homedes, 2001) (Hak & Dahl, 2007). A project is considered effective if it has an elaborate plan with strategic designs, is managed accordingly and is monitored and evaluated accordingly. A rational donor would use project sustainability as a measure of good project performance and it is from that basis that funding will be released to finance or implement the project. Use sustainability as one of the yard sticks in evaluating development interventions and become the basic purpose for donors to provide aid in achieving or promoting development (Kamalawati, 2008).
According to(Togbolo, 2005), the participation of donors in any project is not in any way an indication that the project has political legitimacy, but instead might involve the capabilities of the institution managing the project. In Germany, inclusivity community project ownership and use of technology were vital for sustainability of any DFP. Notably (Ellerk, 2018) elucidates that involving the government and the community from the beginning of the project until time is due or the withdrawal of the funds or end of the project through participation and sensitization is very important in matters sustainability. Project ownership according to (Ellersiek, 2018) entailed the ability of the community to undertake the project activities diligently and within a passion for the sole purpose of seeing it succeed. Use of technology goes hand in hand with the level of skills and knowledge and the beneficiary community such that an illiterate community will rarely support the use of technology for DFPs.
In Nepal, Asia Continent, the report by United States Agency for International Development, (USAID, 2017) asserted that organization capacity of community projects was determined by training individuals on governance and project coordination functions, guidelines and policies through project manuals and terms of reference that will see that the projects advance in terms of development and service delivery so as to improve the livelihoods of the beneficiary communities. Publications of project activities, scheduling for meetings and requisition of in- kind or cash contribution from the public are among aspects that enhance sustainability of DFP in Nepal. Such DFS have continued to strive because management boards, Community driven committees are occupied by experienced and skilled people who understand community needs, financial management and sustainability strategies. The support given by the local community determines the establishment of community project, its ability to withstand challenging needs that emerge in between the project period and also its success. For (M., 2015) study in Sudan observes that lack of community participation and involvement has seen many projects suffer financial challenges and project viability and sustainability especially after the donor withdrawal of funding. The success of DFPs is pegged on sound institutional base, adequacy of funds and strong pragmatic approach(World Vision, 2019). Internal systems and framework instituted which include management and governance should be fostered in the local community either by experience learning because it is the core element of success in DFPs implementation.
According to (URT, 2009), Tanzania like any emerging economy has instituted measures aimed at poverty eradication. Asway of eradicating poverty, its citizens engage in Participatory Agricultural Empowerment Project. Also according to(BUSIIGE, 2008) on a survey done in Ruwenzori, Uganda to evaluate DFP, poverty continues to tighten its grip despite increased funding by donors and the government. PADEP was formed and launched in the year 2003/2004 and closed in 2007/2008 in eight pilot districts in Tanzania, including Morogoro District. The overall goal for the formation of PADEP was to increase the farmers’ income, provide for food security through poverty elevation and the community priority constraint to increased and sustained agricultural productivity. However the major objective was to focus on the community priority on agricultural development constraints, needs and goals. Notably, to increase participation of the private sector, improve capacity building, and exploring markets for increased agricultural output.
Foreign development assistance in Kenya has drastically changed and improved in the recent past years towards addressing the underlying issues of poverty. The common ground amongst donors is expected to grow more so as to enhance democratic process which strengthens the marginalized groups in the civil society. A recent indicator is the move by donors and government to insist on sustainability which emphasizes community resource mobilization, cost recovery and skill acquisition (Thematic Group 2005). However, a common problem of many projects is that they are not sustainable. As a way of addressing such a challenge, key stakeholders developed an idea, which was agreed in Paris that aimed at improving effectiveness in funding, ensuring project accountability, enhancing project ownership and improving management.
In Kenya, Ngugi & Wanyonyi (2018) noted that the nature of technology to be used in DFPs is determined by the amount of information the beneficiary group has. This is largely dependent on attitudes, perception and the culture indoctrinated in the community regarding that technology, although some donors have their own international standards of technological practice to be adopted, the community sometimes deems some technology as not helpful, wasteful or destructive, which makes them change their views towards it. Stakeholders’ participation was valued in terms of time taken, ability to make decisions, and commitment of their own resources towards the development and sustainability of DFPs.
Kenya dairy industry has grown with a dairy cow population of 3.5 million exotic breeds, 9.3 million indigenous animals, 1 Million camels and 13.9 million goats which produce about 3 billion litres of milk annually with exotic dairy cows producing more than 70 per cent of the total national milk output. Bulk of the feed is from natural forage, cultivated fodder, and crop by- products and concentrates (FAO, 2012) . Dairy’s main role is its contribution to the livelihoods of the many people throughout its value chain including its nutrition.
In DFPs in Samburu, Ltumbesi, Kidombo & Gakuu (2018) observed that technological support and sustainability of DFP are largely relied in community participations. Technical support helps by educating and equipping beneficiaries of the project with skills that would influence their perceptions, practices and community cultures that go against project sustainability. Community on the other hand improved capacity building in the identification of project problem, formulation of mitigation of intervention strategies. According to Ltumbesi, Kidombo & Gakuu
(2018) technical support and community participation can influence institutional capabilities on sustainability of DFDPs.
West Pokot has a population of 631,231 with a growth rate of 5.2% per year (GoK, 2013), which is almost twice the Nation’s growth rate that stands at 2.9%. This high growth rate is seen in increased livestock products, cultural factors and high affinity of rural residency in the county. However, the county has 93,777 households. Total milk production is 56.4% from cattle. The dairy farming is practiced in areas of Lelan, Siyoi, Kapenguria, and Tapach, where small-scale farmers own five to ten dairy cattle. Income generated from dairy cattle has increased tremendously. This has been enhanced by the good veterinary services from the County Government while the Livestock Production Department (LPD) has continuously provided the best and most important suppliers of extension services that has enhanced good breeding. Milk co-operative is tasked with the role of collecting milk, processing and marketing.
Lack of rainfall which is majorly experienced in the area means that there is sometimes decline in milk production that results in a reduction in the number of transporters. Prolonged dry conditions affect milk quantity, and quality, which in turn leads to increased prices (GoK, 2013),increased heat stress on dairy cattle affects the quality of fodder consumed. This calls for extension services to alleviate the situation.
Despite all these numbers, majority of dairy farmers in Siyoi Ward cannot be considered to practice dairy farming as a business due to the low milk output. In the sub county, dairy farming has been an integral farming method used with crop farming which increased crop yield as a result of animal manure and has been used as an entry enterprise by many partners in poverty eradication in the county at large. Low milk production makes dairy farming in the sub county unsustainable and this records a project failure rate that is higher than the national average of 40%, due to Climate, technology, socio-cultural, extension services and Government policies
This study will examine and investigate the institutional capabilities on sustainability of the community DFDP in Siyoi ward. It will examine projects within this ward that had been implemented and experiences from different development projects from different countries are taken into consideration and used as further support for the research results gained.
Statement of the problem
Most projects in Kenya funded by donors have been draining dollars for many years with little performance and impact. People have continued to languish in poverty. Third world countries depend entirely on developed countries for their community developed projects. International donors have played an important and critical role in assisting Kenya to implement community development projects(CDPs). The private as well as the public sectors such as dairy farming organization in the country have also implemented many donors funded projects. Previous studies have indicated that institutional capabilities that influence sustainability of DFDPs in many developing countries have had a critical issue of planning that cannot be clearly examined by looking at factors that influence sustainability as the finding of such study does not adequately demonstrate how sustainability is maintained in the research, therefore, it’s established that there is need to investigate appropriate independent contribution of the project sustainability which are inherent in the institution or project organization. In this regard it is necessary to establish institutional capabilities as a way of determining how and whether system abilities exist as a result of the institutional capabilities. Whereas the poor performance of projects and the disappointment of project stakeholders and beneficiaries seem to have become the rule and not the exception in contemporary reality, the project failure rate at the World Bank was over 50% in Africa until 2000 (World Bank, 2001 Commission). The World Bank’s private arm, the International Finance Corporation has discovered that only half of its African projects succeed. In an independent rating, the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) claimed that 39% of World Bank projects were unsuccessful in 2010 (Chauvet et al., 2010).
Kenya has not been left behind and the problems mentioned above are part of our donor funded projects. Lately, there is an increased interest from donors to start or assist most communities in the ASAL areas within Rift Valley, Kenya. Their main areas of concern are Agriculture, Education sector, Health (HIV/AIDs and malaria) and Tourism sectors. Community dairy projects funded by donors are critical components in food provision especially in rural areas and ASALS where government owned companies do not offer services (Macharia, 2010). However, every time a project concludes the concern on its effective implementation, corruption; mismanagement and sustainability are raised in the media.
Sustainability of dairy projects in development process requires consideration and analysis of variety of factors which needs commitment of all key stakeholders to the project. Despite the efforts made by PADEP through sensitization meetings and involving leadership, the achievement of dairy farmer groups’ investment target is still being challenged by low absorption rates, poor management skills, low justification rates and low completion rates which could affect sustainability of the dairy projects. Hence the issue of planning alone cannot clearly be examined by looking at factors that influence sustainability as the finding of such study does not adequately demonstrate how sustainability is maintained in the research. Therefore, its established that there is need to investigate appropriate independent contribution of the project sustainability which is inherent in the institution or project organization. In this regard it is necessary to establish institutional capabilities as a way of determining how and whether system abilities exist as a result of the institutional capabilities.
Siyoi is one of the wards within the semi-arid areas in West Pokot County, Kenya, that has always benefitted from donor funding through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. Hence, the work is undertaken to create information that will guide planning of new project besides ensuring and ascertaining sustainability of Agricultural dairy projects that are heavily funded by donors who desire to establish the sustainability of the project in order to encourage enhanced project management. Despite all these efforts and the institutional capacities pumped to these projects, it appears that lack of managerial capacities, community participation, technology adoption as well as the extension services that are key, there has always been poor performance in terms of project performance and sustainability. However, lack of sustainability and poor performance of the dairy projects has demonstrated that poor management and maintenance leads to challenges experienced with low dairy yields and production. To the best of my knowledge, no study has been done in this area to determine factors influencing sustainability of DFDPs in the area. It is therefore important to carry out a study on factors influencing sustainability of DFDPs with focus on managerial capabilities, technology adoption, community participation and extension services because this has been the trend of most dairy projects in West Pokot County.
Purpose of the study
The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of institutional factors on sustainability of Donor funded Dairy projects in West Pokot County, Kenya.
Objectives
The study was guided by the following objectives.
- To establish how managerial capacity influence sustainability of donor funded dairy projects in Siyoi Ward, West Pokot County,Kenya.
- To determine how community participation influences sustainability on donor funded Dairy project in Siyoi ward, West Pokot County,Kenya.
- To access the extent to which technology adoption influence donor funded dairy projects in Siyoi Ward, West Pokot County,Kenya.
- To establish the extent to which extension services determine and influence the sustainability of donor funded dairy projects inSiyoi Ward,West Pokot County,Kenya.
Research Hypotheses
- Managerial capacity has no significant influence on sustainability of donor dairy funded projects in Siyoi Ward
- Community participation has no significant influence on sustainability of donor dairy funded project in Siyoi Ward
- Technology adoption has no significant influence on the sustainability of donor dairy funded projects in Siyoi Ward
- Extension services do not have significant influence on the sustainability of donor dairy funded projects in Siyoi Ward
