The paper was to examine the factors affecting financial performance of small and medium scale chicken farming enterprises in Eldoret South Sub-County, Kenya. Descriptive research was used to answer the research questions on the current status of the subject of the study and in reference to the objectives of the study. The target population under the study was small scale chicken farming enterprise in Eldoret South Sub-County, Kenya while the accessible population was the list of 154 small scale chicken farming enterprises in Eldoret South Sub-County, Kenya. The study based its sample on 45 test units. Questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the respondents. The data was quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed and presented as frequency and percentages tables. The study findings were able to show that marketing was ranked as number one challenge facing chicken farmers in the area. The major factor affecting marketing is the low buying prices being offered by traders in the local markets. Opportunities identified in this research from the respondent were; exploring and promoting strategies for increasing the growth rate and mature size of the poultry, crossbreeding with exotic breed and upgrading the local chickens by using selected indigenous types. There was need to evaluate and modify both the local traditional knowledge and foreign mechanism with the aim of developing appropriate strategies for improving chicken production in Eldoret South sub county Kenya. The way forward is to mobilize all stakeholders involved in promoting chicken production consumption and marketing in the county to plan the way forward.

The paper examined the performance of poultry production in independent farms in Eldoret South Sub-County, Kenya. Poultry products are widely accepted in Kenya. The commercial poultry farming system started in 1980 but until now meat deficiency is 89.5%. In today's Kenya Poultry farming, operate under various conditions and constrains, which stand on the way to the achievement of the enterprise, Commercial farming can be one of the possible solutions in this deficiency situation and due to its size poultry farmers neither has control over input factor costs or the prices at which it sells its output with the result that insufficient and high cost firms are forced out of the business. This study will explore ways of solving these constraints. With effective management, commercial farming system can be a mean to develop markets and to bring about the transfer of technical skill in a way of increasing productivity that is profitable for both the investors and farmers. The primary data were collected from 45 sample farms in Eldoret South Sub-County , Kenya and analyzed using SPSS v.20. It was revealed in the present study that although the independent farmer was able to take advantage of the increase in the price of broilers in the market, resulting in a higher price per bird as compared with the commercial farmers, these farmers were faced by numerous challenges in their undertakings. The Government of Kenya should train poultry farmers in a systematic and continuous process in order for farmers to maintain quality products which can enable them fetch high prices. Farmers should also be assisted by the government through subsidies so as to ensure that they buy poultry feeds at a lower price and this will make overall prices of their products to be low to compete favorably in the market.

This paper reviews economic developments in Kenya during 1990–95. Real GDP growth decelerated from 4.3 percent in 1990 to close to zero in 1992/93. Inflation accelerated from 12 percent in the 12-month period ended December 1989 to 34 percent in March 1993. The central government’s budget deficit increased from 6.7 percent in 1989/90 to 11.4 percent of GDP in 1992/93. Broad money growth (M2) accelerated from 21 percent in the 12-month period ended December 1991 to 36 percent in March 1993.

Africa can achieve self sufficiency in food production through adoption of innovations in the agriculture sector. Numerous soil fertility and crop production technologies have been generated through research, however, wide adoption has been low. African farmers need better technologies, more sustainable practices, and fertilizers to improve and sustain their crop productivity and to prevent further degradation of agricultural lands. The agricultural sector also needs to be supported by functional institutions and policies that will be able to respond to emerging challenges of globalization and climate change.

Forward. A call for integrated soil fertility management in Africa. Introduction. ISFM and the African farmer. Part I. The principles of ISFM: ISFM as a strategic goal, Fertilizer management within ISFM, Agro-minerals in ISFM, Organic resource management, ISFM, soil biota and soil health. Part II. ISFM practices: ISFM products and fields practices, ISFM practice in drylands, ISFM practice in savannas and woodlands, ISFM practice in the humid forest zone, Conservation Agriculture. Part III. The process of implementing ISFM: soil fertility diagnosis, soil fertility management advice, Dissemination of ISFM technologies, Designing an ISFM adoption project, ISFM at farm and landscape scales. Part IV. The social dimensions of ISFM: The role of ISFM in gender empowerment, ISFM and household nutrition, Capacity building in ISFM, ISFM in the policy arena, Marketing support for ISFM, Advancing ISFM in Africa. Appendices: Mineral nutrient contents of some common organic resources.