INFLUENCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON PERFORMANCE OF AQUACULTURE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN KISUMU COUNTY, KENYA

The impetus of aquaculture as the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world remains key to the attainment of sustainable development goals. Despite the implementation of Economic Stimulus Project - Fish Farming Enterprise Productivity Program (ESP-FFEPP), Kenya’s fisheries remain at their production limit at a time of rapid human population growth. It is therefore crucial to understand the aquaculture project management practices, which would engender their heightened performance. Thus, this study investigated the influence of project management practices on performance of aquaculture projects in Kisumu County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to, examine the influence of technological adoption, communication, community involvement and monitoring and evaluation on the performance of aquaculture projects, This study adopted a descriptive survey research design with a target population of 435 farmers, 2 program assistants, 2 monitoring and evaluation experts and 4 extension officers of the 28 farming groups of Aquaculture business development programme from Kisumu County. A sample size of 205 was drawn from a total population of 435 farmers using Krejcie and Morgan Table 1970. Data was collected by using a questionnaires and interview schedules. Reliability was ensured through a Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha of above 0.7, which is generally considered reliable. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation as well as inferential statistics of correlation and multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 25.0. the four project management practices in this study accounted for R 2 = 0.721 which is 72.1% of the variance in project performance. Basing on F-value of 103.52 and a p-value of 0.00 there is a significant influence of project management practices on performance of aquaculture business development projects in Kisumu County, Kenya. In this regard the management of aquaculture projects should address challenges of project performance by strengthening project management practices through their policy framework. Key Words: Aquaculture Business, Sustainability, Food Production, Technological Adoption, Communication, Community Involvement, Monitoring and Evaluation CITATION: Mbega, G. O., Migosi, J., & Onyango, R. (2023). Influence of project management practices on performance of aquaculture business development projects in Kisumu County, Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 10 (3), 198 – 213.