International Research and Academic scholar society

IRASS Journal of Economics and Business Management

Issue-10(October), Volume-3 2026

1. Resilience of Livestock Markets in Turkana West Sub-County of Kenya: I...
134

Ekiru Francis Anno*
School of Doctoral Studies, Unicaf University, Lilongwe, Malawi
1-12
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23114139

Livestock production and trade constitute an important component of livelihoods and local economic activity in Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands. In Turkana West Sub-County, which hosts refugees from approximately 24 countries, livestock markets operate within a complex and dynamic system shaped by pastoral production, cross-border mobility, refugee settlement, urbanisation, local consumption, and linkages to external markets. This article examines the organisation and performance of livestock markets in Turkana West, with particular attention to the influence of the growing refugee population and external livestock trade on livestock and livestock-product consumption. The study used qualitative and participatory approaches involving livestock producers, traders, livestock marketing associations, slaughterhouse representatives and other market actors. Remote open-ended interviews, focus group discussions, participatory rural appraisal, market observations and analysis of market records were used across key livestock markets, including Lokore, Kakuma, Letea, Kalobeyei, Lokichoggio and Nanam. Market records were used to examine livestock stocks, sales, slaughter and revenues. The findings show that livestock markets in Turkana West have evolved from predominantly informal and traditional trading arrangements towards a more structured network of primary and secondary markets. Kakuma functions as the principal secondary market and receives livestock from more than ten primary markets. The presence of refugees has expanded local demand, particularly through butcheries and livestock-product businesses, while host-community traders remain strongly involved in the supply of live animals. At the same time, substantial market inefficiencies remain. These include high levels of unsold livestock, inactive traders' working capital, weak market coordination, inadequate slaughter infrastructure, limited utilisation of livestock by-products, weak market information systems, inadequate access to finance and insurance, and constraints associated with disease, drought, insecurity and cross-border movement. The evidence suggests that market resilience depends not only on increasing livestock production but also on improving coordination between production catchments, primary markets, secondary markets, traders, consumers and external markets. Strengthening producer and trader organisations, improving market infrastructure, developing reliable market information, expanding value addition, facilitating formalised trade and strengthening host-community and refugee participation could improve the efficiency and sustainability of livestock markets in Turkana West.

2. A Comparative Study of Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in St...
2

Ismail Banja Kandeh*1, Dr. Abubakar Kargbo2, Dr. Morrison Kenie Lahai3, Professor Richard Wadsworth4
1*-3Institute of Geography and Development Studies, School of Environmental Sciences, Njala University, Sierra Leone, 2Institute of Social Studies, Administration and Management, School of Social Sciences and Law, Njala University, Sierra Leone, 4Department of Biological Sciences, School of Basic Sciences, Njala University, Sierra Leone
13-27
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23208837

Historically, state-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) in Sierra Leone have shown relatively high performance than State-Owned Utility Companies (SOUCs) in the country. While several issues may have contributed to such low performance by SOUCs, this study aims to explore whether and how (if any) compliance with corporate governance practices (based on CACG Code) varies between the high-performing SOCBs and low-performing SOUCs, and whether this variation of compliance causes performance differences. A cross-sectional research design with quantitative approach was adopted. A survey was conducted in two SOCBs and two SOUCs in 2025. Apart from questions on respondent and organizational backgrounds, a self-completion questionnaire comprising 66 questions (governance – 39 & performance -27) was successfully completed and returned by 144 participants. Further, a checklist of 19 items was constructed based on the Acts of Parliament and scored against the CACG Code provisions by the researcher. Using SPSS and Excel Programs, data was analyzed using descriptive (percentages, and mean percentages) and inferential (Pearson’s correlation, and simple linear regression) statistics. The Overall Compliance Index of SOCBs is 68% while SOUCs has an index of 45%. The correlation coefficients (r = 0.996 and r = 0.998) indicate a very strong positive linear relationship between governance and performance. Also, the regression results (adjusted r2 = 0.988, df = 3; p < 0.01) indicate a strong association between corporate governance and firm performance. The study shows that SOUCs’ rate of corporate governance compliance is weaker than SOCBs in most criteria set by the CACG Code, which might have caused low financial performance by SOUCs (40%) and high financial performance by SOCBs (64%). The findings of the study have practical and policy related implications to improve the performance of SOUCs in Sierra Leone.

3. Making Kenya’s Dairy Farming Inclusive and Profitable: Socioeconomic E...
134

Ekiru Francis Anno*
School of Doctoral Studies, Unicaf University, Lilongwe, Malawi
28-36
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23235402

Inclusive and profitable dairy development requires more than participation in production, training, technology adoption, or producer organisations. It also requires equitable access to productive assets, control over income, participation in decision-making, access to markets and services, employment, leadership, and resilience. This narrative review synthesises evidence published between 2018 and 2026 on the socioeconomic inclusion and empowerment of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and dairy investors in Kenya. The review draws primarily on Kenya-specific dairy research and complements it with relevant evidence from broader agricultural, youth agripreneurship, disability, climate, digitalisation, policy, and investment literature. The evidence shows that women make substantial contributions to dairy production but may have less control over livestock, milk income, productive assets, and commercial decisions. Dairy intensification and climate-related pressures can also increase labour and time demands, particularly where unpaid care and farm work remain gendered. Youth participation is constrained by limited access to land, finance, skills, mentorship, technology, productive assets, and reliable markets, although opportunities exist in dairy farming and in commercially oriented enterprises such as fodder production, mechanisation, animal-health services, milk collection, digital services, and value addition. Producer organisations can improve access to resources and strengthen women's empowerment, but membership and governance arrangements may create exclusion. Disability inclusion remains substantially under-researched in Kenya's dairy sector, with limited evidence on accessibility, reasonable accommodation, enterprise participation, and economic outcomes. The review also finds that dairy investment is expanding across production, processing, aggregation, cold-chain infrastructure, feeds, genetics, services, and value addition, but investors face challenges related to production costs, milk quality and consistency, aggregation, cold-chain infrastructure, finance, compliance, and market risk. Overall, the review argues for a shift from participation-based measures to outcome-oriented indicators of asset ownership and control, income control, decision-making, labour, market participation, leadership, employment, profitability, and resilience. Given the heterogeneous evidence base and inclusion of contextual studies beyond Kenya and dairy, the findings should be interpreted as a narrative synthesis rather than as estimates of prevalence or causal effects.





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