Leveraging Collective Action for Reinvestment in Small-Scale Fisheries by Women in Blue Economic Space of Homa-Bay County, Kenya

Can collective action drive reinvestment in small-scale fisheries by women? Given the increasing demand for quality livelihood, food and nutritional security, and poverty alleviation, there are calls for reinvestment in small-scale fisher enterprises by women. However, given the rapidly growing number of women players in the sector, and their accumulated expertise in the recent past, the study's objective is to leverage collective action by women for the reinvestment in small-scale fisheries in the blue economic space of Homa-bay County. Borrowing from social capital theory and applying a mixed method approach study design, data from a sample size of 330 from small-scale women fishers was scientifically obtained and analysed. Focus on common business challenges, participatory dialogue, beach management units, and affirmative action, were dimensions of collective action used in the analysis. The null hypothesis was put to the test. Findings were anchored on parametric and thematic analyses on the influence of collective action on the reinvestment of women-owned small-scale fisheries in the blue economic space of Homa-bay County. It was established that collective action had a statistically significant influence on reinvestment in the sector. Collective action explained 17.1% (R2=.171) variability in the reinvestment of small-scale fisheries, the model significance was reported by F (1,328) 67.752, p<0.05, and β= .272, p<0.05 which implied that a unit increase in collective action results into .272 units change in reinvestment. Small-scale fisheries space in the blue growth trajectory in the Lake-Victoria region of Homa-bay County in Kenya is scientifically established and therefore concluded that collective action has the potential to enhance reinvestment in the sector, improve household livelihood and address the women's poverty challenges.