The Influence of Socio-Economic Factors in the Transformation of Rural Economies in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas: Lessons from Turkana County in Northern Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18533/ijbsr.v4i1.369Keywords:
Socio-economic, Rural economies, Transformation, Turkana County, Arid, Semi-arid areas, Kenya, PovertyAbstract
This paper identifies socio-economic factors that influence transformation in Turkana County. The study adopted a descriptive survey that targeted a population of 1000 households and 8 key informants. Simple random sampling was used to select 100 respondents at household level. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants. Questionnaires and an interview guide were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics like correlation and multivariate regression were used to check for relationships. Results indicate that majority of people in the region are pastoralists and that there has been no feasible change in their living standards despite the presence of community development projects. The findings further show that there is a high relationship between economic investment, living standards, anti poverty projects, governance and transformation of rural economies both at the zero order level and at the multiple regression stage.
References
Barrow, E. and Mogaka, H. 2007. Kenya’s Dry lands – Wastelands or an Undervalued National Economic Resource. Working Paper No. 12,
Birmingham, Institute for Development Policy and Management
Bird, K., Hulme, D., Moore, K. and Shepherd, A. 2002. Chronic Poverty and Remote Rural Areas. Working Paper No. 13, Birmingham, Institute for Development Policy and Management
Chepkwony, G. 2007. Life, Biodiversity and Harvesting Honey in Northern Kenya. [http://chinadaily.com.an/cd/introduction.html]
Darkoh, M. B. K. 2012. Towards an Adaptive and Community-based Approach to the Management of Natural Resources in the Dry Lands of Sub-Saharan Africa. Institute of Tema Research, Sweden: Linkoping University.
Hair, J. F., Tatham, R. I., Anderson, R.E. and Black, W. 1998. Multivariate Data Analysis, 5th ed. Prentice Hall-Englewood Cliffs: NJ
Hays, W.L. 1988. Statistics, 4th ed. New York: Holt, Rinhart and Winston.
ESCAP (2003). Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2003. United Nations Publication.
ESCAP/UNDP 2003. Promoting the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific: Meeting the Challenges of Poverty Reduction. Geneva: United Nations Publication
Farah, O. K. 1996. The Management and Development of the Arid Communal Rangelands in North-Eastern Kenya: A Critical Analysis of the Past and Present. African Pastoral Forum Working Paper Series, No. 7: African Pastoral Forum.
Government of Kenya, 2006. National policy for the sustainable development of arid and semi arid lands of Kenya. Nairobi: Government Printers.
Government of Kenya, 2009. Vision 2030: Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands. Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry Of State for Development of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands. Nairobi: Government Printers.
Government of Kenya, 2008 Constituency Report on Well-Being in Kenya. Nairobi: Government Printers.
Karingi, S. N., 2001. Fiscal Policy for Poverty Reduction Case Study - Revenue Design: The Kenyan Experience. Nairobi: Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
Kassongo L. T., 2001. Reflections on Liberal Democracy and International Debt in Post Cold War Africa. AJIA: African Journals of International Affairs, 4(1&2), pp.15-26
Khandelwal, A. K., 2007. Microfinance Development Strategy for India. Economic and Political Weekly, 42 (13), pp. 1127 – 1135.
Lind, J., 2003. Adaptation, Conflict and Cooperation in Pastoralist East Africa: A Case Study of South Turkana, Kenya. Journal of Conflict, Security and Development, 3 pp. 315–34.
Mayoux, L. and Hartl, M., 2009. Gender and Rural Microfinance: Reaching and Empowering Women. International Fund For agricultural Development (IFAD), Powerguda: India.
Ministry of Education, 2008. Report on the Policy Framework for Nomadic Education in Kenya. Geneva: UNICEF.
Ministry of Education 2012. Report on Monitoring of mobile schools in Fafi, Lagdera, Wajir West, Wajir East, Ijara, Tana River, Tana Delta, Turkana North and Samburu East Districts. Nairobi: Government Printers.
Muki, S., 2005. Challenges facing development of marginalized areas in Africa and Asia, Journal of contemporary Development, 5, pp. 45-71.
Nafula, N. N., Onsomu, E. N., Mwabu, G. and Muiruri, S., 2005. Review of Policy Options for Poverty Reduction in Kenya. Nairobi: Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
Nassef, M., Anderson, S. and Hesse, C. 2011. Pastoralism and Climate Change: Enabling Adaptive Capacity. London: Overseas Development Institute, 111 Westminster Bridge Road.
Omiti, J. and Obunde, P., 2002. Towards linking Agriculture, Poverty and Policy in Kenya. IPAR Discussion Paper No. 032. Nairobi: Institute for Policy Analysis and Research.
Oppenheim, A.N., 1992. Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. London: Pinter.
Patti, A. P. and Lyngdoh, B. F., 2010. Micro-finance Intervention and Socio-economic Transformation: An Application of Propensity Score Matching and Difference-in-Difference Technique’, in D. Lazar, P. Natarajan and M. Deo (eds.), Macro Dynamics of Microfinance, New Delhi: Excel Books.
Rodriguez, L. (2008). A Global Perspective on the Total Economic Value of Pastoralism: Global Synthesis Report Based on Six Country Valuations. IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature: Montreal.
Schmitt, N., 1994. Method Bias: The Importance of Theory and Measurement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15: pp. 393-8.
UNDP 2006. Human Security and Human Development: A Deliberate Choice. Kenya National Human Development Report 2006: Nairobi: Kenya, UNDP.
World Bank 2004. Privatization of Extension Systems Case Studies of International Initiatives. Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Paper 9 Extension Reform for Rural Development. Vol.2, Reading: The University of Reading.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).