Browsing by Author "Kirimi, Florence K."
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Item Extension training for banana value addition among smallholder farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties, Kenya(Academic Journals, 2021-04) Kirimi, Florence K.; Nyambane, Charles O.; Njeru, Lucy K.; Mogaka, Hezron R.Extension training is intended to increase the efficiency and performance of the human resource that acts responsibly in a society based on a communication interaction with knowledge sources. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of training farmers on banana value addition among smallholder farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design and sampled 370 and 30 farmers proportionately obtained from 269,499 and 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties, respectively. Structured and semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from the respondents. Secondary data were obtained from official extension and production records in the two counties as well as related literature. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics to determine frequencies, percentages and means. Regression analysis was conducted to examine relationships between the study variables. The results revealed that there was an association between training farmers on the various method of banana value addition and adoption of selected banana value addition technologies was statistically significant at 1% level of significance (p-value = 0.000<0.01, =156.391, df 1). The study concludes that farmers having a preferred facilitator in training positively influenced the adoption of banana value addition technologies. The study recommends the government should create and implement policies such as collaborating with high learning institution like universities and set days where they will be training farmers on various methods of banana value addition.Item Extension-Market Linkages on Banana Commercialisation Among Smallholder Farmers in Meru Region, Kenya(2022-01) Kirimi, Florence K.; Onyari, Charles N.; Njeru, Lucy K.; Mogaka, Hezron R.The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study sampled 400 farmers from a target population of 288,802 from the Meru region. The Tobit model was used to analyse the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation. The results revealed that sources of marketing information (Coef. -0.06) had a negative influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The result showed that the reliability of local extension service providers in enabling farmer’s access to market information (Coef. 0.04) had a positive influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in the commercialisation banana business (Coef. 0.63) had a positive influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The study concludes that there was an association between extension marketing linkages and banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in Meru region, Kenya. Government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialise bananas. This will help farmers increase their income.Item Relationship between Selected Motivational Factors and the Performance of Public Secondary School Agriculture Teacher’s in Imenti South District, Kenya(Egerton University, 2013-11) Kirimi, Florence K.Teacher motivation is very important as it directly affects the students’ performance. The performance of agriculture teachers in Imenti South District has been low compared to other districts. This has been characterized by a decline in the agriculture subject results. This might have been contributed by inadequate teacher motivation. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between selected motivational factors and the performance of secondary school agriculture teachers in the district. The study used a cross-sectional research design. The target population comprised of all the head teachers and agriculture teachers of secondary schools in Imenti South District. Fifty-nine head teachers and fifty-nine agriculture teachers were randomly sampled from 70 schools in the District. A structured questionnaire was used by the researcher to collect data from the respondents. The reliability of the instrument was estimated using Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient. Data was analyzed with the help of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics specifically frequencies and percentages, and inferential statistics particularly Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation were applied in data analysis. The hypotheses were tested at a 0.01 confidence level. The general working conditions in secondary schools were fair as noted by 69% of the respondents. The results also indicate that there is a positive correlation (0.444) between working condition and performance of agriculture teachers. The results also indicate that the teaching load of most teachers (59%) was moderate; however, they had been assigned other non-teaching roles. Further, the study revealed a negative correlation (-0.416) between teaching load and performance of agriculture. A correlation analysis between interpersonal relations and performance of agriculture teachers revealed a positive correlation of 0.403 and a pvalue of 0.01. The overall performance of agriculture teachers in the District has been fair for the last three years; however, this can be improved by reducing the teachers teaching load, improving the working conditions and interpersonal relations in the schools. The study recommends that agriculture teachers should make use of the surrounding community in the teaching of agriculture. Also, the school administrators should equip the available workshops with appropriate tools and equipment and in schools without workshops; the administrators should construct them and equip them appropriately to facilitate effective teaching.