MONITORING AND EVALUATION PRACTICES ON SUSTAINABILITY OF BEEKEEPING PROJECTS IN MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA

Beekeeping initiatives are currently being encouraged as climate resistant livelihood, particularly in dry and semi-arid areas such as Makueni County where bee keeping is helping to sustain livelihoods, food security and the environment. However, their sustainability is questionable in most areas of the county because they have poor monitoring, follow-up, and utilize less feedback and data. Nevertheless, there is scarcity of empirical studies that have engaged in systematic study of the impact of particular monitoring and evaluation practices on sustainability in beekeeping initiatives in Makueni County. The primary goal of the study was to investigate the impact of monitoring and evaluation practices, namely, data utilization, training follow-up, hive monitoring, and feedback action, on the sustainability of the beekeeping projects in the county. The research was informed by Systems Theory and Results-Based Management Theory and used qualitative research approach whereby the study involved beekeepers, extension officers, project coordinators, and monitoring and evaluation personnel who were involved in the donor- and government-sponsored beekeeping programs. Purposive sampling was used to identify 53 participants who included 4 focus group discussions and 32 participants that comprised of 21 key informant interviews. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data; they were thematically analyzed using the framework of Braun and Clarke. The results indicate that efficient monitoring and evaluation can boost hive productivity, retention of farmers, and household income, contributing to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The research finds that the practice of a powerful monitoring and evaluation is essential in the process of supporting community-based bee keeping projects. The paper is valuable as it produces evidence that can be used by county policies, enhances the practice of project management, and deepens the theoretical debate on sustainability in community-based livelihood projects.