ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN SOURCES OF INCOME FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN MBITA DIVISION OF MBITA SUB COUNTY: KENYA

Abstract

Purpose: Sources of income for daily survival has been an issue of a great concern to several households in developing economies in the world over, Kenya included. Households have continued to struggle and diversify means of living and make daily ends meet. Some economists attribute this phenomenon to high level of unemployment, low level of education, poor technology to meet the international labor market demands and poor governance interns of local job creation. The medium-term plan report covering the period 2008-2012 indicated that Mbita Division of Homa Bay County had numerous challenges for the households in their efforts to meet daily needs and experienced weak purchasing power despite the efforts and strategies initiated by both national and county governments to boost the household incomes. The purpose of this study was therefore to identify and document the main sources of income of households in Mbita DivisionMethodology: The study adopted exploratory and correlation research designs. Exploratory research design gave an insight into the households’ expenditure behavior while correlation research design facilitated the establishment of relationships among the research variables. A sample size of 374 heads of households was selected from a total of 13,789 households in the Division. The individual respondents were drawn by the use of a simple random sampling technique. Primary data was gathered with the help of questionnaires, key informant interviews, focused group discussions, and observation, and Secondary data was collected from Government statistical abstracts, household records, and relevant textbooks. Regression as a tool of analysis was utilized to reveal the existing relationship among the variables and coefficient of determination to show the strength of the established model. The reliability of the data collection instrument was tested using the internal consistency technique in which the scores obtained from the subjects were correlated and the Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha was be computed to determine the correlation among the items.Findings: The researcher established that fishing, peasant farming, charcoal burning and micro-business activities formed the backbone of the sources of income for the households in Mbita Division.