Abstract:
Devolution of agricultural extension services have been tried in many nations with mixed results. In Kenya, devolution started under the promulgation of the constitution in 2010. The agriculture sector was among the sectors that were devolved to the county governments to take services closer to the people. Since the implementation of the devolved system of governance in Kenya, its effect on agricultural extension service delivery, in Kericho (latitude 0° 22' 0.00" N and longitude 35° 17' 60.00" E) has not been studied. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine the perception of agricultural extension staff towards selected factors in Kericho county before and under devolution in Kenya. The objectives of the study were to determine the perceptions of agricultural extension officers towards the effect of devolution on financial support, human resource development and implementation of agricultural extension service before and under devolution of the agricultural sector. This study was guided by Soufflé Theory. The study adopted a descriptive research design, which is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. The target population comprised of 117 agricultural extension officers in Kericho County. The study used a purposive sampling method. Data were collected using a questionnaire. To ascertain the validity of the instruments, a panel of experts in the field of agricultural extension were consulted. A pilot study was conducted using a sample of 10 extension staff from the neighbouring Bomet County to help estimate the reliability of the instrument. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The results show that 86% of the respondents were either positive or very positive towards financial transparency before devolution as opposed to the only 4.3% under devolution. Results show that the majority of the respondents (61.3%) were positive that the recruitment of relevant, and qualified extension staff, in a timely manner was seen before devolution. The results show that 64.6% of the respondents reacted positively and guidance and supervision of staff was undertaken regularly during programme implementation before devolution. The study concluded that there is a difference of staff perception towards financial support, human resource development and implementation of agricultural extension services in Kericho before and under devolution. The study recommends that diverse agricultural extension organizations, including government extension, should improve their financial commitment to promote collaboration among extension service providers. County governments should provide regular training and re-tooling to their agriculture department workers.
