4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 CHALLENGES OF LIVESTOCK PROJECTS IMPLEMENTATION BY COMMUNITIES: THE CASE OF MERU GOAT BREEDING PROJECT, KENYA Mugambi, D., K. 1*, Maina, M 2, Mugambi, J.N 1 1 Ministry of Livestock Development, P. O. Box , Kianjai, Kenya; 2 Department of Agricultural Science and Technology, Kenyatta University, P. O. Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya. * 3 Corresponding author Presented at the 4th e-Conference on Agricultural BioSciences (IeCAB 2011), held online from1st -15th August 2011 at

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Background Information  Projects are designed, funded, and implemented to achieve their set objectives  Many studies have identified several challenges of project implementation that rendered many projects unsuccessful including lack of ownership by beneficiaries, lack of adequate capacity among the implementers, poor financial management, and poor information communication.  The Meru goat project is struggling to meet its set objectives at the moment, despite its past known high performance.

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Objective  Specific Objectives  Determine the leadership challenges of project implementation  Identify the financial management challenges of project implementation  Determine the information communication challenges of project implementation Broad: To determine the challenges of project implementation of the community- based goat breeding project in Meru, Kenya.

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Research Methodology  Study design: Descriptive survey  Target population: 150 chairmen of the dairy goat breeding groups  Sampling strategy and sample size: The Fischer’s formula was used to arrive at the sample size, 72. Random sampling was undertaken  Data collection tools: A semi-structured questionnaire and literature review  Data analysis: Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations (SPSS)

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Results: Leadership  58% agreed that they were involved in electing their officials where the elected had attained a minimum of primary school level of education (.39, P<.001)  54% indicated that leaders weren’t performing their roles well. A similar number indicated that they were not concerned to get tasks done well. 72%-not adhering to the set rules. 55%- don’t encourage members to express own views on the project

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Results: Leadership contd…..  69%-ineffective in acquiring and protecting project resources.  65%-don’t practice participatory management  Regional leaders; 55% of the respondents indicated that that the regional leaders were incompetent

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Results: Financial Management  Over 55% indicated poor Management  79%-untimely budgets  80%-Budgets not approved in a general meeting  76%-budgets not updated in cases of new information  83%- Grants and loans improperly managed.  78%- Financial information not readily available  82%- financial year not indicated

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Results: Financial Management Contd..  80%- Balance sheet, income and expense accounts not prepared on a quarterly basis  Regional Leaders: 80% of the respondents indicated that the regional leaders as being incompetent, not accountable, and not transparent on all project financial matters.

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Results: Information Communication  51%- indicated there being poor information communication  76%- no mechanism to collect important data and information from within the project area  57%-Management don’t gather relevant information from sources outside the project area  67%- information not easily available  Regional: do not collect and communicate relevant project information to those requiring it on a timely basis.

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 Conclusions and Recommendations  Election of community leaders should not only be based on educational level and processes (democracy), but require to be expanded to such other areas as integrity and commitment with the view to capturing effective community project leaders  Where the community lacks the capacity to handle financial management, qualified financial personnel should be out sourced  Govt policy on project monitoring, supervision and backstopping of community-based projects is necessary for sustainability.

4th IeCAB Symposium held 1-15 August 2011 The End Thank You