Skills Utilization and Developed Perception on Performance in Farming by Secondary School Agriculture Graduates in Kangundo District, Kenya

Farming is a major contributor to the economic development of Kenya. It is the source of livelihood for over 80 percent of the total population. However, a number of factors influence performance in farming. These factors are human factors, biotic factors, climatic factors and soil factors. The major sources of agriculture knowledge and skills are: the secondary schools, tertiary institutions, agricultural extension services and farmer training programmes. A number of secondary school agriculture graduates (SSAGs) take farming as a business. Their success in farming could be influenced by a number of factors, including agriculture performance at examinations, perceptions toward farming while at school, post-secondary school farming experience, gender of the farmers, and post- secondary school farmer training. These factors need to be studied because they have been scarcely studied and documented in Kenya. The target population consisted of farmers who studied agriculture at secondary school level and sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations between 1989 and 2004. The sampling procedure adopted for the study was snowball method, where the sample size of 100 respondents was obtained. The study used an ex-post facto research design. Data were collected using structured questionnaires in Kangundo District. Descriptive statistics used for analysis of the objectives were means and percentages. Inferential statistics used for analysis of the hypotheses were categorical regression and Chi-square at statistical significance of 0.05 alpha level. Major findings of the study indicated that secondary school agriculture graduates used the farming skills learned at school in their farms. Majority of the graduates had positive perceptions towards farming while at school. The major conclusion of the study were that, most farmers had positive attitudes toward farming while at school, and that most of them practised the farming skills acquired at school. The study therefore recommends that, the teaching of agriculture at secondary school need to be strengthened by agriculture teachers and focused more on self-reliance in farming after schooling. The agriculture teachers should motivate learners to view farming as an industry with dynamism in job creation for various career affiliations in farming.