PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONTROLS AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL-SCALE COFFEE FARMER ASSISTANCE PROJECTS IN KISII COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Coffee is a significant agricultural commodity on a global scale. It plays a significant role in bolstering the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP), generating tax revenue, creating employment opportunities, ensuring food security, and mitigating socioeconomic inequalities. The coffee industry provides employment opportunities for around 25 million individuals across various countries involved in coffee cultivation on a global scale. The decline in coffee production throughout the 1990s, caused by the global coffee prices, had a detrimental impact on small-scale farmers, leading to an escalation in poverty due to insufficient financial resources to sustain coffee production. In Kenya, it is noteworthy that approximately 80% of coffee production is attributed to a population of 700,000 small-scale farmers. However, it is concerning that the production levels have experienced a significant decline over time. Specifically, the production of coffee has decreased from 130,000 metric tons in the 1987/88 period to a current estimate of 55,000 metric tons. This decline in production has had adverse effects on the national economy, as evidenced by the decrease in the contribution of the coffee industry to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Previously, the coffee sector accounted for 40% of the national GDP, but it has now dwindled to a mere 3.2%. Furthermore, this decline has also resulted in the loss of numerous employment opportunities within the industry. Kisii County is widely recognized for its exceptional coffee quality. However, the production of coffee in this region has been facing a decline due to several challenges. The study mainly focused on project controls and Performance of Small Scale Coffee Farmer Assistance Projects in Kisii County, Kenya. The study was based on the following specific objectives; - to determine the influence of project planning, project scheduling on Performance of Small-Scale Coffee Farmer Assistance Projects in Kisii County, Kenya. This particular study adopted descriptive research design. This particular design facilitates interpretation, understanding and examining the relationship between a given study. This particular study comprised of 300 Small Scale Coffee Farmers. The target population included National Sustainability Curriculum projects, commodities fund projects and coffee research institute projects. The study used Yamane Taro formula to get a sample size of 171 respondents. The study adopted questionnaires for purposes of collecting primary data from the field. The findings revealed that project planning had the highest positive impact on project performance (B = 0.478, p < 0.01), followed by project scheduling (B = 0.295, p < 0.01), The regression model demonstrated a strong fit, with an R-squared value of 0.709, indicating that 70.9% of the variance in project performance could be explained by these variables. The study concludes that effective project management controls significantly enhance project performance. It recommends prioritizing thorough project planning developing detailed project schedules to ensure the success of Small Scale Coffee Farmer Assistance Projects.

Key Words: Project Controls, Performance of Small Scale Coffee Farmer, Assistance Projects, Project Planning, Project Scheduling