Influence of youth participation on performance of ‘Trees for jobs’ initiative in arid and semi-arid areas: A case of Garbatulla district

Abstract

Youth unemployment is a global problem that is particularly endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa and Kenya in particular. On the other hand, Kenya’s forest cover is below the globally recommended 10%. ‘Trees for Jobs’ is a government programme aimed at alleviating youth unemployment while increasing forest cover. Since 2010, this initiative has been implemented in Garbatulla District but has only realized a seedling survival rate of 2.8%. This study purposed to investigate the influence of youth participation in the success of the ‘Trees for Jobs’ Initiative in arid and semi-arid areas (ASALs) with particular reference to Garbatulla District, Isiolo County. The study was guided by four research objectives: to establish how youth participation in project initiation influences the performance of ‘Trees for Jobs’ Initiative; to assess the influence of youth participation in project planning on the performance of ‘Trees for Jobs’ Initiative; to evaluate the influence of youth participation in project implementation on the performance of ‘Trees for Jobs’ Initiative and to assess the influence of youth participation in project closure on the performance of ‘Trees for Jobs’ Initiative. The study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. The population was the 608 youth who had been employed under ‘Trees for Jobs’ Initiative in Garbatulla District. A sample of 235 respondents was arrived at using a proportionate cluster sampling design. Data were collected by use of questionnaires and were analyzed by use of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The findings were presented in frequency and percentage tables while Spearman’s Rank-Order Correlation Coefficient was utilized to establish the relationships between the four independent variables and the dependent variable. Findings revealed that the youth had not been adequately involved in project initiation, project planning, project implementation and project closure. The study concluded that poor participation of the youth in the four stages of the project cycle contributed to low survival rates of the trees. The study therefore recommends that government and other development agencies should involve the youth actively in all the stages of the project cycle in the ‘Trees for Jobs’ initiative or any other development projects. Additionally, the ‘Trees for Jobs’ initiative should be reviewed and restructured to address the unique weather and climatic conditions of ASAL areas or be withdrawn altogether and replaced with more environmentally-friendly projects that provide sustainable employment. The study finally suggested areas that other researchers can delve into and which were not covered in the current study due to inherent limitations.