Adoption of entrepreneurial strategies In aquaculture development towards job creation In Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

The fish industry is crucial to the world economy. The livelihoods of millions of people worldwide are dependent on fish farming. Fish provides a rich source of food nutrient for human consumption. Globally however, evidence indicates that in many areas aquaculture development which could be a source of employment, its management is failing. Though it has been geared towards full employment, food security and social peace, the management of the fishery industry has not achieved this goal. In order to realize the full potential of aquaculture to the world economy, there is an urgent need to develop appropriate strategies to promote aquaculture technologies that will spur production for job creation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the adoption of entrepreneurial strategies in aquaculture development towards job creation in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were; to examine the relationship between adoption of high growth strategies in aquaculture development and job creation, determine the relationship between adoption of innovativeness in aquaculture development and job creation and evaluate the relationship between risk taking propensity in aquaculture development and job creation. Survey design was employed for the study. The target populations were 1034 fish farmers. Purposive and Multistage simple random sampling techniques were used in selecting a sample of 310 respondents. Instruments used for data collection were questionnaires, interviews, observation and document analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive (frequency tables and percentages) and inferential statistics (chi-square). Qualitative data were analyzed using content and thematic categorization. The results showed that product quality (77.5%) was the most adopted strategy for high growth. The study further indicated that (65.7%) of the respondents had adopted new innovation. The study also found out that high growth (χ2= 0.000, P=0.05), innovativeness (χ2= 0.006, P=0.05) and risk taking (χ2= 0.000, P=0.05) had significant relationship with job creation. The study concluded that aquaculture is a source of employment and profitable venture. In addition, despite the support from the government, fish farmers still faced several management problems which included fingerlings, affordable fish feed, finance, flooding and predations among others. The study recommends that there is need for the fish farmers to be accessed to appropriate technologies, support services and resources. This will enable them move from a purely subsistence venture to a more commercial one.