Perceptions of Agricultural Extension Staff towards Financial Support Before and After Devolution in Kericho County, Kenya

Abstract

Agricultural extension services are put in place to improve rural development in many nations. Devolution of agricultural extension services have been tried in many nations with mixed results. Since the implementation of the devolved system of governance in Kenya, its effect on agricultural extension service delivery, in Kericho has not been studied and documented. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of agricultural extension staff towards financial support in Kericho county before and after devolution in Kenya. 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 census sampling method because the target population was very small; thus, all the units in the target population were considered. However, inclusion criteria were applied by only including individuals who were in employment both before and after devolution. Data were collected using a questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation, frequencies, and percentages) inferential statistics (paired correlation and paired t-test) with the aid of SPSS. The results show that the majority of the respondents, (86%) were either positive or very positive towards financial transparency before devolution as opposed to the only 4.3% after devolution. The t-test results showed a statistically significant difference in perception of agricultural extension officers towards funding of agricultural extension services before and after devolution in Kericho county. The study concludes that financial support was better before devolution compared to after devolution. The study suggests that the county government of Kericho should improve their financial commitment to promote effective and efficient delivery of extension services.