Stakeholder Engagement Practices and Performance of Climate-Smart Agriculture Projects in Marsabit County, Kenya.

Stakeholder engagement is the process through which project implementers involve the individuals, groups and institutions that affect or are affected by a project in planning, implementation and evaluation decisions, so that project outcomes reflect their needs and priorities. It is increasingly regarded as a critical determinant of project performance, particularly in development interventions implemented in climate-vulnerable and resource-constrained settings. Empirical evidence suggests that projects with strong stakeholder engagement frameworks achieve up to 30% higher adoption rates and better sustainability outcomes than those with limited participation. However, the performance of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) projects in Marsabit County remains below expectations, with recurrent droughts, food insecurity affecting over 60% of households and uneven uptake of climate-resilient practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish the influence of stakeholder engagement practices on the performance of climate-smart agriculture projects in Marsabit County, Kenya. It examined four dimensions of stakeholder engagement, namely stakeholder communication, participation in decision making, stakeholder empowerment and stakeholder co-creation practices, and how they influence project performance. The study was anchored on Stakeholder Theory and supported by Participatory Development Theory, Empowerment Theory and Social Exchange Theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and targeted 45 active CSA sub-projects implemented under the FSRP, DRSLP, FLLoCA and NGO-led programmes in Marsabit County, involving 740 stakeholders. The unit of observation comprised project managers, county government officials, NGO representatives, extension officers, community leaders and beneficiary farmer representatives. A sample size of 129 respondents was determined using the Nassiuma (2000) formula and selected through census, purposive and stratified random sampling. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyse the data, which were presented in tables and discussed. The findings revealed that stakeholder communication was the strongest determinant of the performance of CSA projects in Marsabit County. The study also found that participation in decision making significantly enhanced project performance, although stakeholders’ attendance at meetings exceeded their actual influence over decisions. The study further found that stakeholder co-creation practices had a significant positive influence on project performance. Finally, the study established that stakeholder empowerment was a significant but comparatively weaker determinant of performance. Jointly, the four practices explained 53.5% of the variation in project performance. The study, therefore, recommends that project managers establish predictable two-way communication schedules that reach all stakeholder groups, including farmers. Project implementers should move beyond meeting attendance and give stakeholders demonstrable influence over project priorities and resource allocation. Project managers, the county government and partner NGOs should formalize accessible grievance procedures, maintain visible complaint registers and set defined response times. Project managers should pair long-term capacity building with a dependable supply of tools and materials and clearly delegate authority to trained stakeholders.