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Maize Response to Micro Dose Inorganic Inputs on an Acid Smallholder Farm in Kenyan Lower Midland
Get PDFThe study determined nitrogen, phosphorus fertilizers and lime micro doses effects on soil chemistry and maize performance on an acid soil smallholder farm. Treatments were micro doses (50% of recommendations) of N (0 and 37.5 kg N ha-1), P (0 and 13 kg P ha-1) fertilizers and lime (0 and 2.26 tons lime ha-1). Nitrogen, Pfertilizersand lime significantly (p<0.05) increased soil N, P and pH. Agronomic N-fertilizer use efficiency were 29 and 35 kg ha-1 kg-1 N-fertilizer due to 37.5 kg N and 37.5 kg N+2.26 tons lime ha-1, respectively. Grain agronomic P-fertilizer use efficiency was 24 and 30 kg ha-1 kg-1 P-fertilizer due to 13 kg P and 13 kg P+2.26 tons lime ha-1 , respectively. N-fertilizer recovery were 47 and 50% due to 37.5 kg N and 37.5 kg N+2.26 tons lime ha-1,respectively and P-fertilizer recovery efficiency were 14 and 16% due to 13 kg P and 13 kg P+2.26 tons lime ha-1,respectively. Grain yield increments were 72, 27 and 12% due to 37.5 kg N, 13 kg P and 2.26 tons lime ha-1, respectively. Therefore, N-, P-fertilizers and lime micro doses can improve maize grain yield on acid nutrient deficient smallholder farms
Vegetation community structure and diversity in swamps undergoing anthropogenic impacts in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya
Get PDFWetlands in Kenya face continuous threat of destruction by agricultural activies, urbanization and pollution. However, their floristic compositions remain unkown since research remains restricted to wetlands of national importance because of their touristic values. A
study was conducted in 2006 to determine the species composition and diversity of the vegetation in four swamps within Uasin Gishu County.Data on species composition and diversity were collected using belt transects method and analyzed using cluster analysis and
analysis of variance (ANOVA). Two hundred and eighty six plant species belonging to
70 families were enumerated in the four wetlands, with Leseru swamp having the highest
species number (176) and diversity (4.02). Families Poacea and Asteracea were represented by the highest number of species (41 each). The four swamps exhibited significantly different levels of human activity and impact; where Chepkongony was the most and Marula the least affected. It is recommended that the wetlands should be declared conservation areas and
protected from further drainage or uncontrolled explotation.Keywords: Swamps, species composition, species diversity, Uasin Gishu, anthropogenic factors
Influence of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Communication Strategies on Risk Perception among Secondary School Students in Kenya
Get PDFThis paper analyses the influence of communication strategies on risk perception of circumcised male secondary school students in Kenya. Male circumcision is a surgical removal of the foreskin and can be done as a traditional culture or medical influence. In this regard, we are talking about the medically influenced circumcision, hence, its name being Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC). Research has shown that the risk of a medically circumcised male contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) during vaginal sex is reduced by up to 60%, compared to that of an uncircumcised man. However, there is increasing concern that communication of VMMC related messages continues to be done in a disorganized manner in secondary schools and thus circumcised boys may still embark on risky sexual choices despite information that VMMC only offers partial protection from HIV infection. The literature reviewed reveals that there is limited
research that has assessed the influence of VMMC communication strategies on risky sexual choices. The study adopted a descriptive survey and was conducted in schools in Migori County in Kenya. It involved 306 male student participants. Data was generated through questionnaires and informant interviews. Quantitative data was presented percentages while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. Findings indicated that whereas circumcised male secondary school students recalled key VMMC messages obtained through informal interpersonal communication, negotiated decoding of VMMC messages still existed. Based on the findings, it is recommended that future VMMC communication efforts use trained peer educators who would accurately capture positive narratives that promote VMMC and at the same time emphasize that there is no cure for
HIV/AIDS and that every person could become infected including medically circumcised males.
Keywords: Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision, Communication strategy, Risk Compensatio
Heavy Metals in Edible Vegetables Grown Around Sewage Ponds and Damp Site in Eldoret Town, Kenya
Get PDFExposure to heavy metals including Ni, Cd, Cr, Co, Pb, As, Hg, Zn and Cu, has been recognized as a risk to human health through the consumption of vegetables. This study investigates the source and magnitude of heavy metal contamination in various kinds of vegetables including kales, spinach, carrot, cabbage and tomato in Eldoret town. In the study the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Ni, Mn, Co, Cu, Fe and Zn in vegetable crops around the municipal damp site and near the sewage ponds were investigated; and their contamination status with respect to international food standard guidelines evaluated. The lead in vegetables in all tested areas had higher level than that of the permissible limits of international standards. Except lead, it is concluded that nearly all the samples did not exceed the Intentional Food Standards maximum level (ML) in vegetables in Eldoret.
Contaminated soil and vegetables may contribute to a progressive gathering of these metals in food chain that might affect ecosystem with possible noxious effect on human health. The study shows that vegetables growing soil containing higher amount of metals could be transferred into edible parts of the plant, so study area should be monitored regularly to avoid health risk of human being due to exposure of toxic level
Financial management practices and firm performance among micro and small enterprises in Busia town,Kenya
Get PDFMicro and Small Enterprises refer to those enterprises that employ less than 50 employees. Micro enterprises employ 0-9 employees, while small enterprises employ 10 – 49 employees and they account for 75 per cent of the total employment and 30 per cent of the Kenya’s gross domestic product. However, two thirds of micro and small enterprises fail within the first few months of operation. Majority of micro and small enterprises are characterized by low growth rate and transition to medium and large enterprises. Access to expansion capital has been adversely cited as a major cause of the low levels of growth. This study seeks to assess how financial management practices affects performance of micro and small enterprises in Busia Town, Kenya. Specific objectives of the study was: to establish the effects of working capital management, Cash Flow Management, asset management and financial reporting on performance of micro and small enterprises. Descriptive research design was adopted to guide the research. The target population for the study was 712 small scale traders in Busia Town from which a sample of 88 respondents was selected using the simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using a questionnaire designed and administered to the business owner managers by the researcher. The data collected was coded and cleaned before analysis. Analysis of data on the other hand was done using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics such as mean mode, frequency counts and percentages was used to summarize responses. Relationship between variables as well as statistical inferences was done using a multiple regression analysis. Regression model was used in determining relationship between variables. The study is expected to shed light on how micro and small traders in Busia Town manage their finances and whether and how this enhance or hinder business performance.
Keywords: Firm Performance, Financial Management Practices, MSEs
Assessment of the Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on the Drinking Water Qualities of Boreholes/Shallows Well Water in Huruma Estate -Eldoret, Kenya
Get PDFThe objective of this research was to investigate the drinking water qualities of boreholes/shallows well water used by inhabitants of Huruma –Eldoret , by comparing the chemical, physical and bacteriological qualities with WHO standards. Samples were collected in the dry season in the months of January and February, 2014 and analysed for pH, Turbidity, TDS, Conductivity, Total Hardness, Chloride, Nitrate, Phosphate, Calcium, Magnesium, Lead, Zinc, Total Iron, Copper, Manganese, Cadmium, Total Chromium, Total Coliform, Feacal Coliform and E-coli. Standard methods were adopted for field and laboratory studies. Results of the comparisons from the four sampled stations showed that the water was not acidic as the pH was within acceptable limits. The
turbidity level was high in three of the sampled stations with the highest in Lutheran church (55.0 NTU). The metals were within the safe limits. The heavy metals investigated were within tolerable limits of WHO standards with the exception of lead and total iron. Lead and total iron were detected in all the sampled stations butexceeded tolerable limits in Bondeni and Lutheran church. The Total coliform exceeded the tolerable limits for drinking water. However the hardness levels were within tolerable limits. These results showed that the borehole/well water from Huruma estate is contaminated with some pollutants entering the water table. The borehole water should therefore be protected and treated before consumption. There is need for periodic monitoring of water samples from boreholes/wells sources to ascertain their qualities
Effects of Mega Dose Micronutrient Supplementation On Serum Zinc, Retinol and Immune Status of Adult Males and Females Diagnosed with and Without HIV, Malaria and TB in Western Kenya – An Unpublished Perspective as at The Year 2004
Get PDFBackground: The role of micronutrients in management of HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB remains poorly understood worldwide. Objectives: To assess differences in mega dose nutritional management between HIV-seronegative and seropositive adult males and females diagnosed with HIV at Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centers (VCT) in Western Kenya. Methods: This was a randomized controlled study in which 90 subjects were recruited on the basis of an HIV-seropositive result from a voluntary and counseling center (VCT) using rapid HIV test kits. They were evaluated at baseline and every 4 weeks for 3 months to establish their clinical, biochemical and immunological status. After 12 weeks, 74 clients were still in the study, 9 were lost to follow-up while 7 had died. Of the 74 who completed the study, confirmation of baseline HIV status by ELIZA revealed that 63 were HIV-seropositive while 11 were HIV-seronegative despite losing spouses to HIV/AIDS. Correlations between parameters at baseline, during and after intervention were determined; Spearman’s Rho Coefficients indicating the level of significance. Group means were
used to compare continuous data while categorical data was compared using Chi-Square.
Results: Significant reductions in the clinical manifestation of disease were noted in the cohort after intervention for 12 weeks. Despite the large and different micronutrient dosages used between the two study arms, the only difference by arm of intervention was in the serum vitamin E level at 4 weeks which was much higher in arm 1 than it was in arm 2 of the study (p = 0.005). This might have been occasioned by the significant repletion of zinc in both arms, probably because use of citric acid in both arms improved zinc up-take from the supplements, food and/or reserves enabling other nutrients to be appropriately restored in both arms, these supporting the decision to pool the study arms and compare differences by HIV-seronegative and seropositive, notwithstanding the small sample sizes recruited but which nonetheless were our study limitation. Independent of the intervention arms, reduction of viral load by more than 0.5 log10 copies/ml correlated with higher baseline optical densities of HIV antibodies (P = 0.016) and higher
baseline viral loads (p = 0.0001). A lower optical density of HIV antibodies at baseline correlated with higher serum zinc levels at 12 weeks (p = 0.008) and a lower Body Mass Index (BMI) at baseline (p = 0.029). Independent of the arm of study, a significant increase in CD4 cells counts post intervention correlated with lower baseline viral loads (p = 0.010), lower baseline NK cell counts (p = 0.007
An assessment of the effects of financial inter mediation on business performance: a case study of women owned micro and small enterprises in Kisii municipality – Kenya
Get PDFWomen as micro and small entrepreneurs have increasingly become the key target group for financial intermediaries. Consequently providing access to financial and non-financial services is not only considered a precondition for poverty alleviation but also considered as a strategy for
empowering women. The micro and small enterprises play an important role in the Kenyan economy. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of financial intermediation on business performance. The study was carried out on women owned micro and small enterprises in Kisii Municipality. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The study sought to : assess the extent to which financial intermediaries intermediates between savers and borrowers, to assess the level of business performance of micro and small women owned enterprises and ; to assess whether financial intermediation has an effect on business performance on women owned
MSEs in Kisii Municipality. The target population of the study was 150 women owned enterprises in Kisii Municipality (Equity Bank, Kenya Women Finance Trust and Kenya Rural Enterprise-Loan Programme beneficiaries).Random sampling procedure was adopted to sample 108 respondents who participated in the study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics techniques which include frequency tables, percentages and summated averages. A likert scale was used to identify the extent to which financial intermediation influences business performance on women owned MSEs in Kisii Municipality. Microfinance loans, bank loans and co-operative loans were the most preferred sources of finance by the women entrepreneurs. The study findings can be useful to the women entrepreneurs in planning and managing their businesses effectively. The study can also help financial intermediaries and policy
makers to formulate appropriate policy framework to guide in the management of registered micro and small women owned enterprises and women entrepreneurship in the country. It can also contribute to the already existing literature on financial intermediation
Assessment of interest rates influence on deposit mobilization for selected saving credit co-operative societies in western
Get PDFABSTRACT From an institutional perspective, the primary motive for mobilizing savings lies in lower cost of capital compared to other sources of funds. In Western region, various cooperative societies have been registering losses and even some have gone out of business which has always been ascribed to reduced deposits by their customers. For instance, SACCOs such as Mumias Out growers Sacco Society (MOSSACO) was temporarily closed down in 2009 because of deposits withdrawal by majority of its members thus leaving the SACCO with low capital base to facilitate its operations. The interest rate at the time were at five percent while the one offered on loans were at 15 percent which were considered low on deposits and high on loans. The study design was a descriptive study with comparative design; the study population comprised of employees and customers of selected SACCOS. The study sample size was 293 members. Data collection instruments were questionnaire and interview schedule. Reliability and validity of instrument were done accordingly. Data were analyzed by use of quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the interest rates influence on deposit mobilization of the SACCOS selected for the study. It was found that most of the customers agreed that their knowledge on interest rates has helped them to make savings in their respective SACCOs. This result suggests that trying to influence the SACCOs deposits by manipulating interest rates is not likely to be a practical policy option in western region. However it was recommended that the SACCOs should attempt to maintain competitive positive real interest rates relative to those offered by other financial institutions in order to increase their savings. Further recommendation to use both qualitative and inferential methods of analysis like liner correlations and Carrying out study with SACCOs that have member spread all over the country to refine the findings applicability
Key words; SACCO, Deposits, Deposit-taking, Interest, interest rates, deposit mobilizatio
Genetic diversity analysis of Kenyan taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] accessions using SSR markers
Get PDFSix SSR primer pairs were used to characterize 25 taro genotypes of Kenya. A total of 30 polymorphic alleles were generated. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 1 to 6 alleles, with an average of 3.0425 alleles across 18 loci obtained in the study. The polymorphic information content values ranged from 0.1875 to 0.5731 in all 18 loci with an average of 0.4120. Genetic diversity ranged from 0.25 to 0.6218. Genetic richness ranged between 1.5 and 4.67. The frequency of most common allele at each locus ranged from 51.21% to 75%. The pair wise genetic dissimilarity co-efficient indicated that the highest genetic distance was obtained between the Rift Valley and Nyanza taro germplasm populations (0.794). The closest allele similarity was between Western and Nyanza (83.1%) taro populations while the widest dissimilarity was between Rift Valley and Nyanza populations (45.2%). Being grouped into a distant cluster KK12 could be exploited as probable parental for the development of variant taro varieties. The SSR markers are comprehensive source for the identification of genetically distant taro accessions as well as in the replica sorting of the phenotypically close germplasm