Applicability of Participatory Communication for Small-Scale Tea Growers in Kiambu County in Kenya A Study of The Kambaa Tea Factory

Abstract

The research aimed at finding out the applicability of participatory communication in respect to small-scale tea growers of The Kambaa Tea Factory, in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study focused on how small-scale tea growers communicated and shared information about modern tea farming among themselves; how the Kambaa Tea Factory management communicated and shared information about modern tea farming practices to small-scale tea growers; how the government extension agents communicated and shared information about modern tea farming practices to small-scale tea growers; and how the media communicated and shared information about modern tea farming practices to small-scale tea growers. Questionnaire, in-depth interview, and focus group discussions were used as instruments for data collection. The number of copies of the questionnaire administered to small-scale tea growers selected from 34 tea buying centers was 145. Seven in-depth interviews were conducted with both the tea factory management and the leaders of the tea buying centers. Three focus group discussions comprising 30 people (the leaders of the tea factory and the buying centers) were conducted. Data was analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20, and presented in the form of frequency tables, charts, and graphs. Some of the study's key findings were that there was application of participatory communication between the Kambaa Tea Factory management and the small-scale tea growers affiliated to the factory; that the Kambaa Tea Factory management was the major source of information for small-scale tea farming activities; and that a small fraction of the small-scale tea farmers were not fully satisfied owing to low literacy levels, ignorance, and conveyance of information. A main conclusion of the study was that participatory communication would play a great role in improving farmers' standards of living and contributing to the economy of the country at large.