Influence of participation in non-farm activities on living standards of rural households in Cheborge division, Kericho County, Kenya

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