Abstract:
The number of people living below the poverty line in Kenya has continued to increase. This is
attributable, among other things, to the declining agricultural output due to the rapidly changing
climatic conditions and small farm sizes. Rural households have, therefore, diversified their
income sources by participating in non-farm activities alongside small-scale agricultural
activities (multiple job holding) to get basic needs. However, there is the question as to whether
policy should focus more on agricultural activities or on non-farm activities. The key variables
studied include non-farm activities levels of participation and living standards. The aim of this
study was to determine the influence of participation in non-farm activities on living standards of
rural households in Cheborge Division of Kericho County. The study was guided by the
Sustainable Livelihood Framework. Cross-sectional survey was adopted. From a population of
5235 households, a sample size of 192 households was selected proportionately using stratified
and convenient sampling. An interview schedule was used to collect data from household heads.
Content and face validity was done by subjecting the interview schedule to experts from the
Department of Applied Community Development Studies and the Faculty of Education and
Community Studies. A reliability coefficient of 0.728 was obtained using Cronbach’s alpha.
Percentages were used to describe the living standards and the non-farm activities that
households participate in. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to
compute the data. The t-test and chi-square tests were used to test the hypotheses at α = 0.05. The
findings show that majority (88%) of households were pushed into non-farm activities while
only 12 percent were influenced by pull factors. Trading activities constituted the largest
percentage of 52.3% with majority of households having a medium living standard. Findings
show that 47.8% of households had low levels of participation while only 21.7% had moderate
level of participation in non-farm activities. The χ2 value of 1.747 is significant at =0.05
(P>0.05). Therefore, there was no significant relationship between levels of participation in
NFAs and living standards. The calculated mean of living standards of households that
participated in NFAs is 13.5 while that for households not participating was 12.98. The living
standards of households that participated in NFAs were significantly higher than that of
households that did not participate in non-farm activities. The study recommends that policy
