Food Production Standards and the Chinese Local State: Exploring New Patterns of Environmental Governance in the Bamboo Shoot Industry in Lin'an

Service delivery in the county government, just as is in the national government, has been termed as not satisfactory. Some of the ways seconded to improve the situation is introduction of monitoring and evaluation. Monitoring and Evaluation system provides the necessary feedback for economic development and policy interventions. However, this area has not received the much-needed attention especially in the county level. In order to accurately and timely track the development progress made in Kenya and the 47 counties in particular, there is need for an efficient M&E system. The absence of this framework limits effective public service delivery thus constraining the acceleration of economic development in Kenya and therefore impacts negatively on the overall welfare of the citizens. To find out the effect of monitoring and evaluation on service delivery in the devolved system, this study is timely so as to make policy recommendations for improvement. This study specifically aimed to establish the effect of performance monitoring on service delivery in a devolved system, to determine the effect of measuring results on service delivery in a devolved system, to find out the effect of reporting and learning on service delivery in a devolved system and to determine the effect of monitoring and evaluation systems on service delivery in a devolved system. The study was guided by the Programme theory of Evaluation, Resource Dependency Theory and the Stakeholder Theory. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was the main committees involved in discussing reports relating to monitoring and evaluation of CIDP preparation and implementation progress at county level. A census was conducted on this population. Data was collected through structured questionnaires of the Likert format. After collection, both descriptive and inferential statistics was established through SPSS software. The study found out that performance monitoring had a positive influence in service delivery at Garissa County Government. Measuring results significantly influenced service delivery at Garissa county government. Reporting and learning had a significant influence on service delivery at Garissa county government. Monitoring and evaluation systems significantly influenced service delivery at Garissa county government. The study concludes that the county government of Garissa performed evaluation of cost performance. The county government evaluated whether projects in the county were of high-quality performance. The county government conducted surveys to establish the durability of projects. The county government established the sustainability of Projects before implementation. Garissa county government established the frequency of reporting monitoring and evaluation information. The county government of Garissa had up to date routine monitoring systems for effective M & E process. The study recommends that the county government of Garissa ought to performed evaluation of cost performance. The county government ought to conduct surveys to establish the durability of projects. The county government ought to establish the sustainability of Projects before implementation. The county government ought to establish flexible feedback mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation results. Garissa county government ought to establish the frequency of reporting monitoring and evaluation information. The county government of Garissa ought to have an up to date routine monitoring systems for effective M & E process.
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Sufficient public expenditure on health (PHE) is critical to the attainment of universal health coverage (UHC). Fiscal space for health is the capability of a government to assign more resources to PHE without affecting its financial and economic position. Decentralisation arrangements have implications for PHE and therefore for fiscal space for health. This thesis critically assessed the implications of decentralisation on fiscal space for health at subnational (county government) level in Kenya and its implications on the attainment of UHC. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used informed by a conceptual framework that guided the collection, analysis and integration of the results. Qualitative data were collected using a multiple case study approach with a focus on fiscal arrangements and changes in the government-citizen relationship. The units of analysis were 3 purposively selected counties. Data collection was through document reviews, interviews with key informants and focus group discussions. Data analysis was using a thematic analysis method. Quantitative data were from panel data regression analysis of secondary data of PHE of all 47 county governments spanning three financial years (FY 2014/15 to FY 2016/17). The integration of mixed methods arms was performed through a narrative weaving approach. Fiscal space for health was limited across all the case study counties evidenced by unchanging levels of per capita PHE and county government health expenditure as a proportion of total county government expenditure over time. There is overlap and poor coordination in performance of functions and challenges in revenue assignments, with potentially constricting effects on fiscal space for health. PHE was also potentially discouraged by inappropriate public finance arrangements and low capacity for planning and budgeting e.g. fixed ratios on development and recurrent spending. Well designed and implemented conditional grants potentially encouraged growth in PHE but their effect was blunted by those that were poorly designed and implemented. Narrowly defined and poorly applied mechanisms for social accountability potentially discouraged PHE. Significant and contextual challenges in the application of electoral accountability were observed with unclear implications on PHE. the determinants of per capita public health expenditure at county level in Kenya are per capita total conditional grant, per capita share of equitable revenue and per capita conditional grant. From the random effects model there is the strongest evidence that a 1% change in per capita total conditional grant results in a 0.09% (p <0.001, 95% CI 0.04% – 0.14%) change on per capita public health expenditure by county governments; and that a 1% change in per capita equitable share results in a 0.68% (p<0.001, 95% CI 0.45% - 0.92%) change in per capita public health expenditure by county governments. Decentralisation, mediated through fiscal arrangements and changes in the government-citizen relationship, has not increased fiscal space for health at decentralised level in Kenya. Better-functioning organisations and institutional arrangements that support these two mediators may expand fiscal space for health at this level. The design and operationalisation of vertical transfers and of conditional grants is critical. Strengthening of accountability mechanisms through a move to strategic social accountability may also contribute to increased fiscal space for health.

In Tanzania, agriculture sector is known for employing more than 70% of the total population. Agriculture sector faces many challenges including climate change. Climate change causes low productivity in agriculture; low productivity is caused due to poor implementation of agricultural policies and strategies. This poor implementation of policies has also caused many farmers to be not competent in climate change adaptation. Over the years, provisions of agricultural advice and extension were provided by various approaches, including training and visit extension, participatory approaches, and farmers’ field schools. However, provision of agricultural advisory and extension service is inefficient. Also, in most cases the usage of most agricultural innovations and technologies developed is limited. A literature review indicates that the main reasons given by Tanzanian farmers for not using improved technology are not lack of knowledge or skill, but rather that the technologies do not contribute towards improvements (e.g., the technologies are not profitable or they imply to high risk). Thus, agricultural extension service needs to be geared towards teaching farmers how to develop innovative and cost effective technologies that are contextualized. Limited numbers of agricultural extension staff and less interactivity of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as radio and television, have been mentioned to be among the factors limiting the provision of agricultural advisory and extension services to the majority of farmers in Tanzania. The advancements in ICTs have brought new opportunities for enhancing access to agricultural advisory and extension service for climate change adaptation. In Tanzania, farmers and other actors access agricultural information from various sources such as agricultural extension workers and use of various databases from Internet Services Providers. Also there are different web – and mobile – based farmers’ advisory information systems to support conventional agricultural extension service. These systems are producing bulk amounts of data which makes it difficult for different stakeholders to make an informed decision after data analysis. This calls for the need to develop a tool for data visualization in order to understand hidden patterns from massive data. In this study, a semi-automated text classification was developed to determine the frequently asked keywords from a web and mobile based farmers’ advisory system called UshauriKilimo after being in use for more than 2 years by more than 700 farmers.

Agricultural research and extension services in China

This chapter seeks to improve our understanding of how China’s county level governments manage the diverse economic trajectories of the townships and villages they govern in three ways: First, by looking at the county, township and village levels, the chapter examines variations in development paths at the sub-county levels. Second, the chapter looks at the fiscal relationships between the county and its townships and their change over time as an indicator of the relative changes in the economic dynamics of a single locality. Lastly, in-depth interviews reveal details about the development and the politics that shaped and managed it. Selected case studies illustrate the diverse paths taken at the sub-county level. The chapter also shows how the key to Zouping’s overall success has been the county government’s ability to be creative and flexible even within the confines of a nationally scripted rural development policy.

This study addresses the substantial challenges facing leadership effectiveness in Kenya's county governments, focusing on bureaucratic inertia, political interference, resource limitations, and issues with meritocratic appointments that undermine governance and public trust. The research aimed to comprehensively analyze these barriers and propose actionable strategies for improvement. What are the primary administrative impediments to effective leadership in public service within county governments in Kenya? How do political dynamics influence leadership effectiveness in the public service sector at the county level? And what strategies can be implemented to overcome these impediments and enhance leadership effectiveness in county governments? The research questions were: Grounded in theories of transformational and transactional leadership the study explores the contrast between these leadership styles in overcoming the identified challenges. The study employs a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative data from interviews and case studies, alongside quantitative insights gathered through surveys of county officials, public servants, and community leaders, provide a holistic perspective. Purposive sampling ensured diverse participant viewpoints were captured because it allows for targeted sampling. Key findings using Likert scale of 1-5 underscore significant impediments to effective leadership: bureaucratic inertia (rated 4.0), political interference (3.9), resource constraints (3.8), insufficient training (3.7), and political appointments lacking meritocracy (4.2), corruption (4.1), fraudulent academic credentials (3.5), patronage (3.8), and tribalism (3.7). These findings reveal systemic challenges that hinder leadership effectiveness and governance outcomes. In conclusion, entrenched bureaucratic practices, external political pressures, and systemic flaws in leadership appointments hinder effective governance in Kenyan county governments. Addressing these issues necessitates comprehensive reforms, including transparent appointment processes, strengthened anti-corruption measures, strategic resource allocation, and enhanced professional development for public service leaders. From the findings the study recommends implementing transparent and merit-based appointment systems, bolstering anti-corruption efforts, prioritizing targeted resource allocation, and investing in continuous leadership development programs. These measures are crucial for fostering transparency, accountability, and sustainable development in Kenya's county governments

The vertical information circulation between local governments is asymmetric. Using the concept and method of chaotic organization, a resource-sharing information management model is constructed, in order to provide a path for the integration and sharing of information resources among vertical local governments. This article uses the evolutionary game method to describe the interest game of the city and county governments in the land market under the city governing counties system. By discussing the political relationship of the biological food chain between the politicized economic communities formed by the city and county governments, and combined with the current reality of unclear property rights information in China’s land market, we establish a copy dynamic model to analyze the behavior of government at city and county levels. Finally, it is concluded that through continuous learning and adjustment, the main body of the city and county governments will eventually reach a dynamic balance: the municipal government will eventually relax its strict supervision of the county government, and the county government will develop land with fuzzy property rights, seeking resources for county-level development.

Social scientists have highlighted jail incarceration as an important social problem in the United States. However, few national-level generalizable studies have investigated how the characteristics of communities and their local governments influence jail incarceration, despite jails being an intrinsically community-level institution largely run by county governments. In this paper, we ask how place-based community characteristics, particularly county government characteristics, are associated with jail incarceration. To answer this question, we draw primarily from two literatures, place-based punishment vulnerability and research on the local state, to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing local jail incarceration. We utilize a unique data set that includes primary data collected from county governments across the nation. We examine the extent to which socioeconomic, sociodemographic, and county government characteristics are associated with jail incarceration rates using multivariate regression analysis with state-fixed effects for 1400 counties. We find that elevated jail incarceration rates are found in high-poverty, evangelical counties of mid-level economic health with county governments that have introduced service cuts and have local leaders that engage in carceral entrepreneurship. These findings have important implications for the study of jails across the United States.

The international community’s view on the state’s role in a country’s development and by extension food security situation is currently very positive. As a means to improve governance, decentralization in its many forms is being advocated all over the world. In August of 2010, Kenya embraced a new system of governance which involved the devolution of the central government and public participation as its new and critical components. This implied a shift in the roles of national and county governance towards the achievement of food security. Since food security is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, it is affected by many factors including governance. Thus, the government among other actors, plays a critical role in the achievement of food security. The scope of this review was ‘Good Food Security Governance’ within the national context, specifically focusing on the two tiers of government; national and county. This study aimed to call to attention the areas under governance in need of special attention by outlining the history of Kenya’s political economy that has contributed to the current state of food insecurity. It also seeks to reinforce government’s role in food security and propose possible key roles the national and county governments could embrace towards the realization of food security. There is need to eradicate corruption, streamline land tenure systems through effective land reforms, strengthen institutions that were weakened during former government regimes and empower county governments. The role of governments at both county and national level in food security should be reinforced by viewing food security as a public good and on the basis of the right to food as stipulated in the constitution of Kenya. While the national government needs to focus on capacity building of county governments, spurring economic growth, aiding poor rural farmers and putting in place social safety nets, the county government’s role should be the identification and implementation of context-specific integrated approaches to improve food security of their peoples. In conclusion, if these considerations are to be properly addressed then governance for food security in Kenya can be improved. Key words : Kenya, Governance, Decentralization, Roles, Food Security, Political Economy, County

The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges faced in quality service delivery to Turkana Central Sub-county citizens of Turkana County. The study used cross-sectional survey design. The sample size selected for the study was 261. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and presented in tables and figures for ease interpretation. The major findings of the study show that devolved governance faces some challenges. For instance the devolved governance is faced with corruption, lack of transparency and accountability and inadequate funds. This adversely affects quality service delivery to its citizens. The findings of the study would inspire policy makers at the county and national government level to come up with appropriate strategies to mitigate the challenges identified in order to improve the quality of services offered by the county governments.

To assess the policies and programs on the capacity of prevention and control regarding non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) at all levels and grass roots health care institutions, in China. On-line questionnaire survey was adopted by 3 352 CDCs at provincial, city and county levels and 1 200 grass roots health care institutions. 1) On policies: 75.0% of the provincial governments provided special funding for chronic disease prevention and control, whereas 19.7% city government and 11.3% county government did so. 2) Infrastructure:only 7.1% county level CDCs reported having a department taking care of NCD prevention and control. 8 263 staff members worked on NCDs prevention and control, accounting for 4.2% of all the CDCs' personnel. 40.2% CDCs had special funding used for NCDs prevention and control. 3)Capacity on training and guidance:among all the CDCs, 96.9% at provincial level, 50.3% at city level and 42.1% at county level had organized training on NCDs prevention and control. Only 48.3% of the CDCs at county level provided technical guidance for grass-roots health care institutions. 4) Capacities regarding cooperation and participation: 20.2% of the CDCs had experience in collaborating with mass media. 5) Surveillance capacity: 64.6% of the CDCs at county level implemented death registration, compare to less than 30.0% of CDCs at county level implemented surveillance programs on major NCDs and related risk factors. In the grass roots health care institutions, 18.6% implemented new stroke case reporting system but only 3.0% implemented program on myocardial infarction case reporting. 6) Intervention and management capacity: 36.1% and 32.2% of the CDCs conducted individualized intervention on hypertension and diabetes, while less than another 20% intervened into other NCDs and risk factors. More than 50% of the grass roots health care institutions carried follow-up survey on hypertension and diabetes. Rates on hypertension and diabetes patient management were 12.0% and 7.9% , with rates on standard management as 73.8% and 80.1% and on control as 48.7% and 50.0%, respectively. 7) Capacity on Assessment: 13.3% of the CDCs or health administrations carried out evaluation programs related to the responses on NCDs in their respective jurisdiction. 8) On scientific research: the capacity on scientific research among provincial CDCs was apparently higher than that at the city or county level CDCs. Policies for NCDs prevention and control need to be improved. We noticed that there had been a huge gap between county level and provincial/city level CDCs on capacities related to NCDs prevention and control. At the grass-roots health care institutions, both prevention and control programs on chronic diseases did not seem to be effective.

Reviewed by: Kansas in the Great Depression: Work Relief, the Dole, and Rehabilitation R. Douglas Hurt Kansas in the Great Depression: Work Relief, the Dole, and Rehabilitation. By Peter Fearon. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. 2007. Scholars have given exhaustive attention to the 1930s, but comprehensive studies of the New Deal's relationship to state and county governments in regarding public relief remain relatively few. In this study, Peter Fearon, Professor of Modern Economic and Social History at the University of Leicester, provides a detailed policy history of New Deal relief programs administered by the State of Kansas. Fearon observes that Kansas provided public relief more efficiently than many states prior to the Great Depression, [End Page 211] and the state embraced New Deal programs. Republican Governor Alfred M. Landon supported most New Deal funding, at least until he ran for the presidency in 1936, and he used federal dollars for social services that otherwise would have indebted the state and unbalanced the budget. In analyzing the relationship between Washington and Kansas, Fearon explains the organization of relief, often at the county level, discusses tensions between federal and state officials, and sorts out a host of relief-oriented initiatives, all of which remained underfunded and which occasionally generated animosity and violence. The heart of Fearon's study involves the efforts of state and county governments to restrict public relief to individuals deemed eligible for work as opposed to direct assistance, that is, the dole, unless the unemployed could not hold a job for various reasons, such as health. Fearon contends that Kansans overcame their philosophical objections to direct relief but always preferred assistance based on work. Not everyone who qualified for work relief, however, received it due to insufficient funding, and the counties necessarily provided assistance to the unemployed as well as the unemployable. County relief officials also were more concerned with rehabilitation than federal agencies whose primary objectives were to provide work, loans, and grants. Federal programs paid cash and state and county relief agencies provided in-kind assistance, such as food, clothing, and shelter. Yet federal, state, and county governments all sought to move dependants off the relief rolls to independent status. In this study, Fearon emphasizes the relief activities of the Civil Works Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, National Youth Administration, and Works Progress Administration. He also covers some agricultural relief programs and the difficulty of organizing rural people for work relief since most projects were located in urban areas where the unemployment problem proved greatest. Fearon concludes that the New Deal provided radical relief for the time, and the state adjusted and administered various assistance programs about as well as anyone could expect. This interpretation of the New Deal, of course, is not new, but his narrative rests on considerable statistical evidence, and it will be informative reading for anyone studying public relief during the 1930s. It also provides scholars with an analysis of policy making and administration on the state and county levels regarding New Deal programs in an important western state. By so doing it will serve as a comparative reference for anyone embarking on future policy studies of New Deal relief programs on a state-wide basis as well as a detailed look at relief efforts in the Kansas. R. Douglas Hurt Purdue University Copyright © 2010 Mid-America American Studies Association

Devolution of government functions is one of the key moves introduced by the government, to enhance its service delivery and promote self-governance at County level. At a glance, devolution has come with both benefits and downsides, which are unique to the service/function that has been devolved. Agriculture was previously a function of the National government, under the Ministry of Agriculture. It is currently a devolved ministry, no longer under the sole control of the National government. Same as other devolved functions, it was expected that devolving the ministry of Agriculture would lead to better agricultural production at county level. Devolution Agricultural functions was expected to enhance agricultural production in the counties. The study thus sought to establish the effect of devolution of the agricultural sector on the livelihoods in Wajir County. This study was guided by the following objectives; to establish the effects of devolution of agricultural sector on the empowerment of small-scale farmers, to determine the effects of devolution of agricultural sector on incomes of households and to examine the effects of devolution of agricultural sector on food security of households in Wajir County. The study is hinged on the Sustainable Livelihood Approach. The study adopted a descriptive survey that helped in determining and reports the way things are and attempts to describe such things as possible behavior, attitudes, values, and characteristics. The study targeted5273 small-scale farmers and agricultural officers across all Wajir sub-counties. The study sampled 372 farmers from all the Sub-Counties in Wajir. Therefore, 372 farmers and 6 agricultural officers were used making a total sample size of 378 respondents. The researcher purposively selected six agricultural officers one from each sub-county. In identifying the farmers from each sub-county, the study used simple random sampling. The study will adopt both qualitative and quantitative data. The study used questionnaires for collecting data from 372 farmers, which will be constructed based on the research objectives. The questionnaires were administered using drop and pick method; this provided farmers with enough time to answer the questions. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics such as mean, mode, percentages and standard deviation. The study used Chi-Square to establish the relationship between the variables. The study findings indicated that the effect of devolution of agricultural activities in Wajir County has significantly affected the level of food security, sources of income and empowerment among the households in the county. Due to devolution of the agricultural activities, the county government now provides extension services, funds, inputs such as fertilizers and credits for agricultural activities and that has led to an increase in food production which has greatly improved food security and enhanced income generation. The small scale farmers no longer rely on livestock farming but also crop farming. Since the study findings present a significant effect of devolution of the agricultural activities to the county level in Wajir, it recommends that the county government should invest more in some of the agricultural activities such as access to agricultural services like Plough and tractor, Borehole and dam for irrigation, Extension services, Livestock vaccination and Disease surveillance, control, and awareness. There should also be an increase in the provision of services such as the provision of farm inputs and marketing of farm products on behalf of farmers in order to encourage more participation in agriculture by the households. In so doing, the small scale farmers in Wajir County will be more empowered, their income will improve and food security will also be enhanced.

Employee productivity is significant to the success and resources utilization in the county level since the employees take care of all other non-human resources for the purposes and achieving the set of objectives. Despite the contributions of the employees in the counties, scanty of studies have been carried out to determine the effect of organizational performance management practices on employee’s productivity. Therefore, this study aimed to establish the effect of organizational performance management practices on productivity of employees in Garissa County government. The specific objectives of the study were; to identify the effect of goal setting, career planning, competence based evaluation and continuous feedback on the employee productivity in County Government of Garissa. The study was anchored on human capital theory, reinforcement theory and goal setting theory. The study was carried out in Garissa County. Descriptive and exploratory research design was used. The total respondents targeted were 2611. Stratified sampling was used to classify the respondents and simple random sampling was used to sample 347 employees working in the County Government of Garissa. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data. Validity was sought from experts and reliability was tested using Cronbach alpha and a test score of 0.7 was the threshold. The data collected was analyzed by inferential statistics and descriptive statistics. SPSS was used to generate both descriptive data and inferential data which were presented into tables and figures. The findings of this study would be of great relevance to the county management as it highlights the relationships that exist between organizational performance management practices and employee productivity. The first objective on effect of goal setting on employee productivity, majority of the respondents agreed that employees had the necessary skills and power in handling the tasks assigned. Majority of the respondents agreed that proper and effective resources were not provided. The study concluded goals in the organizations are motivators and enables employees to improve on service provision. The second objective was on the effect of career planning on employee productivity. Majority of the respondents agreed that employees were oriented on their desired field of work to enable them plan for their careers. The study findings presented that majority of employees were able to attend to the duties allocated to them comfortably. The study concluded that career planning was vital in ensuring that employees grow their talent in an attempt in supporting organizational overall goals. Influence of competence based evaluation on employee productivity was the study’s third objective. The results presented that majority of the respondent agreed that employee communication skills had improved over time in the County. The study concluded that competence of employees was vital in explaining the productivity of employees in the county. The study recommended that competence based evaluation should be improved by the county managers through training, workshops and seminars. The fourth objective was to establish the effect of continuous feedback on employee productivity. The findings indicated that majority of the respondents agreed that there was effective feedback on information regarding customer service delivery collected from employees. The findings reported that the continuous feedback reports enabled the county to work on improving the employee’s skills and knowledge. The continuous feedback in the county is significant in ensuring that every department contributes towards the common objectives. The study recommended that the directors of communication and other relevant directors in the county government should ensure that there is continuous feedback on matters related to employee competence and areas that need improvement in the county.

Purpose: The study analyzed the effect of strategic financial controls on project implementation in Selected County Government in Western Kenya. Methodology/Approach: A correlation research design was achieved. There are a total of 72 workers here, including managers, freelancers, and other employees. A pilot study was performed at the Busia County Government to test and verify the efficacy of the research instruments. If the coefficient of the research instruments was greater than 0.7, they were considered suitable for usage. Predetermined questions were used to collect data. The research data was analyzed employing a mix of descriptive and inferential (simple linear regression and correlation) statistics. The data was displayed using tables. Findings: The research benefited county government administration, informed academics in adjacent subjects, added to the existing literature on strategic controls, and sparked more investigation into strategic planning and performance at the county level in Kenya. Specifically, a positive linear relationship was discovered between financial controls and project implementation (R = 0.897). Implications: The research urged that since the importance of fiscal management was highlighted in the study, it was suggested that county governments make funds available to improve county performance.