Variability In Household’s Mean Income Along The Kenya’s Lake Victoria Ecosystem

Abstract

One of the ways of minimizing rural urban migration and subsequent population explosion in the urban centers is to create income earning opportunities in the rural areas. One of the valuable resources in Kenya is the Lake Victoria ecosystem which is predominantly rural. This research sought to determine existence of significant differences in mean income per household along the Lake Victoria ecosystem. The ecosystem was clustered in Counties with known administrative boundaries. These counties were Busia, Siaya, Kisumu, HomaBay and Migori. The sources of income that were identified included fishing, crop farming, livestock farming, sand harvesting, transport, tourism and trade. Three stages purposive sampling technique was used. Skillfully structured questionnaires of both open and closed ended questions were administered during the collection of data of sample size 394. Direct valuation method was used to calculate the mean income generated associated with various economic activities per household. Single factor ANOVA technique was used to determine if there exist significant differences in mean income per household across the counties. The data collected was subjected to analysis via the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The results obtained shows that there exists statistical significant mean differences in income between Busia and Migori, Busia and Homa Bay, HomaBay and Kisumu, Migori and Kisumu, HomaBay and Siaya and Migori and Siaya. Households in Migori and HomaBay earn higher mean income compared to their counterparts.