| dc.description.abstract | The primary objective of the study was to assess the
impact of liberalized agricultural markets on human welfare
in Koibarak Location, Marakwet District, Kenya. And its
secondary objective was to examine other factors th~t
determine the status of human welfare in the region. To
achieve the above objectives, it was hypothesized that the
change in the net monthly incomes of the farm households due
to the liberalization of the agricultural markets
significantly affect their (ood security, educ~tion and
health status; And that, the human welfare of the households
is significantly affected by their family sizes, cu]lur~]
._factors,physical environmental conditions, transportaLion
network, accessibility to pubLic loans and credit
facilities, accessibility to agricultural education and
extension services, land tenure system and methods of
farming used.
The theoretical framework that was used here is thnt of
Rogers,E. and Shoemaker(1971) which states that, every
planned programme of change(be it economic, political,
industrial or agricultural) produces social and economic
reactions that run throughout the social structure. The
consequences(social reactions) of the liberalized
agricultural markets (planned programme) on the human welfare of the Koibarak households were therefore the maln interest
of this study.
The sample size for the research study was 100
respondents whose main occupation is farming. The study was
conducted between early March and Mid-April 1995. The 100
interview questionnaires were administered by the researcher
with the assistance of two enumerators. The data collected
was both primary and secondary. Both descriptive and
inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data.
The findings of the study indicate that liberalization
of the agricultural markets among other social-cultural,
economic and physical environmental factors have negatively
affected the welfare status of the respondents' households.
Of the other factors considered to influence the welfare
status of the households, the following were proven
significant:- their family sizes, cultural factors, physical
environmental factors, transportation network, land tenure
system, accessibility to agricultural education and
extension services, and methods of farming used in the
region. The respondents' accessibility to public loans and
credit facilities in the region was not proven significant
in influencing the welfare status of their households.
Based on these findings, a number of relevant
recommendations are finally suggested. Given that the
agricultural sector is the backbone of Kenya's economy and
other developing countries, the certainty of the liberalized
markets to usher in more favorable results in improving the
welfare of its people depends on certain conditions. The
social dimension (i.e. human welfare status) of the people
who are the key participants of the implemented programme
shouldbe considered during policy formulations and
implementations. Also, farm households should be provided
with a strengthened incentive package in terms of improved
infrastructure and conducive prices for their inputs and
products as these will enable them to compete favourably in
the local, national, and even international markets. Lastly
but not least, countries expected to implement any
externally designed programme should be given an upper hand
inassessing the viability of the intended programme to the
development of their countries. This will allow for the
consideration of the different social-economic, political,
demographic, and physical factors prevailing in these
countries in the event of implementing any new programme. | |
