Value Chain Support Activities and Performance of Sheep Production Projects in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Abstract

As Kenya grapples with meat deficit and reduced livestock productivity in the ASALs, sheep production in the high rainfall areas offers an opportunity to bridge the gap. Sheep and goats have many advantages over large ruminants for most farmers, including lower capital investment requirement for flock establishment, lower feed consumptions and thus lower food-related costs, high fecundity and thus faster flock building, and are easier to manage. However, sheep production still faces a myriad of challenges that result in low productivity and ultimately low returns to farmers. Projects have been designed and implemented to improve sheep productivity but with little impact. The performance of such projects in terms of timeliness, cost, budget compliance, and quality has been questioned. This research aims to assess how various value chain support activities influence the performance of sheep production projects in Nyandarua County, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to examine the influence of firm infrastructure assess the influence of human resource management, explore the influence of technology development, and evaluate the influence of procurement on the performance of sheep production projects in Nyandarua County, Kenya. Value chain support activities are the independent variable while the dependent variable is the performance of sheep production projects. The theories that support this study are Capability-Based View, Knowledge-Based View, Resource-based view, and Market-Based View. Descriptive design was used to conduct the study whose population was drawn from sheep production value chain stakeholders in the county, whose population is estimated at 596, 268. A sample size of 271 stakeholders were reached. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis while descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data. Results were presented in form of tables, percentages, bar charts, and graphs. The study found that effective leadership styles has a positive influence on employees’ motivation and morale and contribute positively to organizational and sheep production projects performance. At the same time, human capital planning, acquisition, and development strategies have a more positive influence on organizational and sheep production projects performance than traditional strategies. Further, information technology contributes to the successful introduction of new products or services, improved operational processes and provides guidance to decision making on project implementation and thus affect positively project performance. Moreover, respondents approved that, procurement is a strategic function in that it not only contributes to costs reduction but also to the achievement of budgetary compliance in sheep production projects. It can, therefore, be concluded that firm infrastructure, human resource management, technological development, and procurement are all key success factors in the increased performance of sheep production projects. As part of the recommendation, players in the sheep production value chain should consider adequately investing in firm infrastructure, human resource management, technological development, and procurement. They should also be guided by effective leadership styles that will yield the desired outcome through a positive influence on employees' motivation and morale while exercising human capital planning, acquisition, and development strategies to enhance organizational performance.