Influence of Socio- Economic Factors on the Performance of Agricultural Projects: A Case of Rwanda Dairy Development Project, Musanze District, Rwanda

Abstract

This study analyzed the influence of socioeconomic factors on the performance of agricultural projects within Musanze District. This analysis followed a noticeable underperformance of agricultural projects particularly in Musanze District. The study sought to assess the influence of education and training on the performance of agriculture projects in Musanze District, measure the influence of transportation cost on the performance of agricultural projects in Musanze District and to as well assess the influence of inflation and exchange rate on the performance of agriculture projects in Musanze District and finally, to assess the influence of capital availability on the performance of agricultural projects in Musanze District. The total population of the study was 140 respondents. These comprised of farmers, agronomists, veterinarians and project staff. Out of this population a sample size of 104 individuals was determined based on Yamane formula (1967). A mixed research approach was adopted for the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data, while descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used for the data analyses. The findings indicated that all of the four (4) socio-economic factors identified in the study significantly influenced the performance of agricultural projects within Musanze District. The test results indicated the various coefficients and significance levels of the variables as follows: education and training (β=0.536 and P < 0.05): Transport cost (β=0.748 and P < 0.05): Inflation and exchange rate (β=0.536 and P< 0.05): Capital availability (β=0.555 and P < 0.05):. The findings explicitly showed that all of the factors have statistically positive linear relationships with project performance within the Musanze District, and further emphasized the significant influence of those factors on the performance of agricultural projects within the district. Keywords: Under performance, mixed research, quantitative, qualitative, indispensable, adaptability, statistically