Managerial ability in small-farm production: an analysis of maize yields in the Vihiga Division of Kenya

Abstract

The research, analysis, and drafting of this doctoral dissertation took place between May 1970 and April 1973 in the Vihiga Division of ~vestern Kenya, at the University or Nairobi, and at the Uni versi ty of I'1ichig-an.In Kenya, I was a Visiting Research Fellow in the Institute for Develop­

ment Studies, and my work was supported by a Rockefeller Foundation appropriation to the Uni versi ty of Nairobi. .At the University of Hichigan, as a Research Associate in the Center for Research on Economic Development, I completed the work under an agreement ltdth the Florida Agricultural

and Hechanical University (FA.,.1aIn.d1Ut)he United States Agency for International Development (USAID). I am most grateful to the Rockefeller Foundation, to FA1I.1U, and to USAID, for their interest in this study, and to my colleagues and friends at both t.h e Ln st.Ltute for Development Studies and the Center for Research on Economic Development, for their professional advice and personal encouragement. This study of small-farm management in Vihiga represents

my principal contribution to a larger assignment, undertaken uy the Institute for DevelopwBnt Studies (IDS) under the auspices of what was, in 1970, Kenya's.Ministry of Economic Planning and Development. The assignment was to provide

research and evaluation in relation to Kenya's Special Rural Development Programme (SRDP), a series of pilot projects for the testing of strategies aimed at the improvement of rural welfare. Both the SRDP and the role of IDS in relation to the SRDP have evolved over time, so that my comments Lhat appear intermittently in the body of the dissertation on the one or the other may bear scant resemblance to current

realities. Such comments reflect my personal views as of

June 1972, when I left Kenya. In November 1972, IDS released a document entitled "An Overall Evaluation of the Special Rural Development programme,,,l but I received it too late (March 1973) for considering its implications, if any, for this study. In acknow Ledqi.nqthe individuals who have contributed

to the study, I am astounded by the extent of my debt and awed by the responsibility of singling out just a few names for special mention. Although convention and a space con- straint dictate the abridged format, my appreciation is no less heartfelt to those many individuals whose names are subsumed under one broad heading or another. First, I wish to Lhank the Provincial Commissioner and

the staff of Kenya IS vJesternProvince for their, sometimes bemused but at all times gracious, tolerance for the re- searcher in their midst. At the Provincial level, Messrs.

lInstitute for Development Studies, "An Overall Evalua­ tion of the Special Rural Development Programme" (Nairobi: Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, 1972)•

John Kidenda and G. M. Kimani, Provincial Planning Officer and Provincial Director of Agriculture, were especially supportive ot the study. Jectone Omungo, the .A.reaCoordina­ tor for the Vihiga SRDP, was a valued colleague and friend. At the Divisional level, whe re my daily wo rk took place, I cannot begin naming individuals as there would be no logi­ cal point at which to stop. Let it suffice to say that with­ out the hospit.ab Le reception of the people of Vihiga or the energetic contribution of the staff of Vihiga the study could not have been carried out. My sincere hope is that, in some small way, I have been able to repay their kindness and trust. A large measure of personal credit is due my research assistant, Thomas Susu A.dula. His time devoted to this proj­ ect was exceeded only by my own r and he certainly logged far more miles on foot. Treading on his heals for deserved recognition is my second assistant, Gerishom Muluhya. I thank them both. I wish to thank, in addition, A. Y. Allan, Elliot Berg,

Ed Fei, Peter Heller, Norman Nie, Clarence OWens, Robert Pogson, Kenneth Prewitt, and Charles Staelin. Special thanks go to Kenneth Shapiro, who contributed generously to this dissertation the wisdom born out of a parallel research ex­ perience in Tanzania. I am very grateful to Charles Issawi, Daniel Rogers,

and James Sheffield, for their help as members of my disserta­

tion committee, and to Roger Alcaly and Stanislaw Wellisz,

for joining the first three on my defense cOf!1.mittee.These men made the final examination an instructive and enjoyable experience. Also, I want to mention David Scanlon, wh o has provided general but profound intellectual inspiration. Above all, I wish to thank Harold J. Noah--my advisor t.hrough

graduate courses, the sponsor of this dissertation, my friend and, noYl,colleague at Teachers College, Columbia University­ for his excellent guidance and example. Hy final thanks are reserved for Joyce LevvingerNoock, the Anthropologist, to whom this dissertation is dedicated, for her company in the field and for her insistence that I never forget the men and women underlying everyone of

my regression equations.