In the U.S.
The SR-CRSP project is not currently funding training of graduate students
through this program. There are two graduate research assistants involved
in activities related to the SR-CRSP, one from Rural Sociology, Nicoline
de Haan, and one from Agricultural Economics, Dekha Sheikh. A Kenyan undergraduate
is involved in the resource management and labor activities related to
the KDPG and is completing an internship with us. Ms. Grace Njeru was field
assistant for the impact assessment in Machakos before coming to Missouri
to complete her undergraduate degree. She is writing a literature review
on gender research and working on the development of a data set from the
Resource Management Labor and Gender questionnaire in Machakos and the
Coast.
Short term in Kenya
Elizabeth Wekesa and Lutta Muhammad were involved in the planning and execution
of several PRAs in the Coast area and Machakos to bring together the members
of the pass on clusters.
Environmental: Introduction of livestock is carried out with a supporting package to avoid the negative effects encountered in some areas as a result of overgrazing. Manure from the goats is used to enhance soil productivity by the farmers participating in the impact assessment.
Agricultural Sustainability: The KDPG is being assessed in two different agroecological environments to test the flexibility and adaptability of the technological innovations.
Contributions to U.S. Agriculture: research experience in interdisciplinary research and micro enterprise development are crucial to sustainable production systems design in Africa and in the new agricultural policy setting of the U.S.
Contributions to host country: development of interdisciplinary on-farm methodologies for biological and social science research at NARS. Introduction of livestock enterprises increase economic security and induce investments facilitating transition to market economies. Facilitating the commercial multiplication of the breed, the KDPG, contributes to the sustainability of the technology in the long run. Collaborative research with KARI scientists strengthens both U.S. and Kenyan research institutions, and provides opportunities for exchange that last many years.
Linkages: This is being developed with NGOs such as Heifer Project International, to assist in the on-farm multiplication and diffusion of the KDPG. This year Farm Africa and other institutions have been visited to establish linkages for the regionalization of the KDPG.
Gender analysis: our household level analysis includes intrahousehold allocation of resources and income domains, as well as decision making. Since a form of impact is on nutrition, and studies show that women outspend men 1 to 30 on food purchases for the children, we have to consider who manages the outputs generated by the KDPG, and look for mechanism to facilitate the flow if it does not exist.
Collaboration: The Sociology project bases its research on collaboration between Kenyan and U.S. scientists, and among all disciplines participating in the component; Collaboration with the private sector (commercial multipliers) and NGOs.
Support for free markets and broad based economic growth: growth of in kind and cash incomes contribute to family welfare, enabling accumulation and diversification to other economic activities, facilitating the development of demand, crucial in economic development.
Contribution and compliance with mission objectives: commercialization and micro-enterprise linkages of rural-urban flows, is being emphasized by the USAID Kenya Mission. Our research is looking into privatization and community organizations, as well as safety-net mechanisms that will contribute producers participation in the markets.
Concern for individuals: The focus is on peasant household families, and the purpose is to find ways to increase their welfare through technology and policy. Measuring the impact of the KDPG may be performed from the perspective of how this effort/event in their village, contributes to the development of networks that create other positive externalities. For example, Kilifi farmers visited in August of 1995 mentioned that members were contributing funds to the group and there were discussions of investing in other enterprises, and that if the KDPG had not come they would not have met as they were now doing. (Another, maybe positive externality, brought by the fact that the research project is working with extension, is that farmers are establishing links and obtaining information from the government extension services officers). Positive impacts of the KDPG may be catalyzing the construction of networks outside the extended family setting, building social capital. These groups are an asset when there is interest in accessing group lending institutions.
Support for democracy: improving the economic and nutritional well being of families through the KDPG increases their ability to participate in the economy. The KDPG has also increased the ability of farmers to organize and seek other projects, helping build social capital.
United States:
Kenya:
Host Country:
Lead Collaborating Scientist: Lutta Muhammad
de Haan, N., Valdivia, C., Njeru G., and Sheikh, D. 1996. "Of Goats, Groups, and Gender" A Research Report on the Sociological Impacts of the Kenya Dual Purpose Goat. Kenya SR-CRSP Technical Report Series. TR- MU 96 -1.
Dunn, E., Kalaitzandonakes, N. and Valdivia, C. 1996. "Risk and the Impacts of Microenterprise Services". Assessing the Impacts of Microenterprise Services (AIMS). MSI. Washington D.C.
Marks, L., Dunn, E. and Valdivia, C. 1996. "Models of Household Decision Making" Kenya SR-CRSP Technical Report Series TR- MU - 2.
Njeru, G. 1996. "Literature Review of the Role of Women in Agricultural Production in Developing Countries" . A Report to the Internship Committee, College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri- Columbia. 26 pp.
Lutta, Muhammad, "Participation of Farmers in Technology Development" Presented at the Formulation Meeting for Technology Transfer under Special Program Biotechnology and Development Cooperation. Silver Springs Hotel, Nairobi Kenya. 11-13th March 1996.
Lutta, Muhammad, "Structure of the Seed Industry in Kenya. Kenya Country Report". Presented at the Regional Workshop on Seed Production and Supply Policy. CMRT, Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya. 18-22nd November 1996. CIMMYT/EU Project on Strengthening Economic and Policy Research in NARS in Eastern Africa.
Mbabu, A. N. "The Role of Socio Economics on Agricultural Research and Development for Collaboration with NARS". ILRI, Nairobi, September 4th, 1996.
Mbabu, A. N. "Institutionalizing Socioeconomic Research and Development in the NARS". Rockefeller Biannual Conference. ICRAF, August, 1996.
Mbabu, A.N. (representing KARI) preparation of Kenya's Position Paper to the World Food Summit Task Force: "The State of Rural Poverty in Kenya". Nairobi, 16-20 September, 1996.
Mbabu, A. N. "Gender Perspective in KARI Task Force". Organizing Committee Fifth Biannual KARI Scientific Conference. October 14-18, Nairobi
This was a very active year. We had a resident scientist conducting research at Machakos and coordinating data collection and processing for the Coast and Machakos. At first responsibility for the Coast was placed in the Collaborating Scientists, but a readjustment took place, in coordination with them because data collection was still a problem at this site, even when research funds were available. The resident scientist had responsibility for KDPG research activities and coordinated with Willie Njoroge, who conducted an evaluation of breed markets for the impact assessment, and later concentrated on animal health research. The resident scientist was assigned to the site for a month to solve problems of lack of data for some farmers. We also had the opportunity of sending a doctoral candidate, rural sociologist Nicoline de Haan to conduct field research at both sites and coordinate the field testing and application of the resource management and labor questionnaire. Finally we were able to obtain internship funds for Grace Njeru to review the literature on gender and livestock for developing countries and work on the development and processing of the data from the resource management questionnaire. The Machakos data has been entered. The Coast questionnaires were recently completed and sent to Missouri for processing and analysis. The cars are a little bit old, some repairs delayed access to the field but the problems were solved.
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