Browsing by Author "Mugalavai, Edward"
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Publication Determinants of Water-funded Projects in Mitigating Water Risks in Vihiga County, Kenya(International Journal of Pathogen Research, 2021-03-16) Oketch, James; Mugalavai, Edward; Nyandiko, NicodemusCurrently, 85 per cent of the world’s human population lives in the drier half of the Earth, which exacerbates the water risks including lack of access to safe water, poor basic sanitation and water-related disasters and diseases. Vihiga County is located in the western region of Kenya (former western province). The county covers a total area of 531.0 Km2. This paper examines the impact of water related risks on the livelihood of residents in Vihiga County. The study used evaluation research design. A sample size of 384 households was used to obtain data from the households. Sampling technique comprised of multistage sampling for the households, Quota sampling for the Focus Group Discussions and purposive sampling for the Key Informants. Primary data was gathered by use of questionnaires, Key Informant Interview guides, observation checklists and Focus Group Discussions. Secondary data was collected by use of publications, journals, and internet access. Quantitative data was analysed using Microsoft excel, and Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 20.0. Results reveal that majority of the household respondents had experienced different forms of water related risks including, water pollution at 42%, inadequate water infrastructure 32%, poor water governance 10%, water scarcity 7% and environmental flows at 4% respectively. The study established that the existing Water Funded Projects (WFPs) initiatives include protected water springs at 31%, water kiosks 21%, boreholes at 18%, open wells 14 %, rain water harvesting at 12% while 4% of household respondents had piped water. The results (X25, 0.05=69.76; p-value=0.000) indicating that Water Funded Projects (WFPs) initiatives have positively influenced reduction in water related risks.Publication Freshwater Aquaculture and Household Performance in Busia County, Kenya(African Journal of Empirical Research, 2023-11-15) Miima, Douglas; Mugalavai, Edward; Wakhungu, JacobAquaculture has become a household source of proteins, taking over the traditional red meat delicacy that promotes food security and livelihood for over 2.5 billion people. This covers approximately 40 percent of the world’s fish production. As the population increases, the demand for fish increases owing to the current deficit. Therefore, the need for freshwater aquaculture is high to meet global demand. Busia County has benefited from internal and external support for household aquaculture practices to address nutrition challenges and livelihoods as well. This study investigated freshwater aquaculture performance in Busia County, Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design, applying both quantitative and qualitative methods. The target population was 55,608 households in Bunyala and Teso South sub-counties, resulting in a sample size of 384 households. Simple random sampling was used to select the households, while purposive sampling was used to select key informants. Questionnaires, interview schedules, focus group discussion guides, and photography were used to collect data. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0, while qualitative data was analyzed by grouping them into themes and reporting verbatim. Private hatcheries produced the majority of fingerlings, which increased their price for households. Households bought fish feed from the local agrovets, which was not quite affordable to farmers. Extension services were primarily provided in pond management (96.1%; OR = 2.67), record-keeping (92.7%), and fish marketing (77.7%). Private sector hatcheries are the main distributors of fingerlings to farmers, which could have contributed to the higher price of a fingerling while also considering the transportation cost of the precious fingerlings. Pond management, recording keeping, and marketing were the main extension services accorded to households surveyed. Owing to the low investment in hatcheries by the national and county governments of Busia, there is a need to rethink the installation of government hatcheries in all sub-counties for ease of accessibility and affordability in order to promote the sustainability of aquaculture.Publication Watershed Governance for Food Security in the Sio River Basin: A Paradox of Kenya’s Devolution System(Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 2020-08) Naburi, Namenya Daniel; Obiri, John; Mugalavai, EdwardInstitutional and political inefficiencies in Sub-Saharan Africa hinder the implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management approaches. In Kenya, decentralization as a political and institutional tool was designed to strengthen the mandate of county governments and grassroots stakeholders in river basin management to bolster food sector. However, it has been easier for the central government to decentralize powers to the county governments than to strengthen county watershed management framework. To address this paradox, this study examined the effectiveness of watershed governance for sustainable food security in the Lower Sio River Basin of Busia County in Kenya. Data was collected from 387 households using structured question questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and document reviews. Descriptive and chi square analysis were employed to analyze the data. Results showed strong relationship between knowledge of the departments tasked to coordinate watershed management activities and the level of food security at household level p<0.001. High variation among the households’ food security status and knowledge of the county environmental protection policy, water services provision policy at p-value=0.000. Watershed management plans and policies did not develop synergy. Thus, there is need for decentralization to strengthen details on watershed governance for sustainable food security in the river basin.