Strategic planning is a very crucial phenomenon in all organisations. It is the tool that determines the destiny of the firm. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of financial resource strategic planning on firm performance, to determine influence of human capital strategic planning on firm performance, to analyze the influence of material resource strategic planning on firm performance and to determine influence of information resource strategic planning on firm performance in agriculture research based institutions of Kenya. Although there had been previous international studies in this field, no literature is evident on status of the same in agriculture based research institutions in Kenya. The study comprised of former 4 major agricultural based research institutes of Kenya, namely: Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Coffee Research Foundation (CRF), Tea Research Foundation (TRF), and Kenya Sugar Research Foundation (KeSREF). The institutions had 2922 employees in the year 2015. The study employed descriptive research design. The sample size was 352 having been arrived at using Yamane’s (1967) formula. Results and conclusion of the study were that financial resources strategic planning, human capital strategic planning, material resource strategic planning and information resource strategic planning influence a firm’s performance in a great way.

Job dissatisfaction is inevitable in any work environment. The present study explored influence of factor-magnitude on occupational stress among agricultural research sector employees in Kenya. The study was carried out during the restructuring period of the agricultural research institutes in Kenya between 2013 and 2016. The restructuring resulted in the formation of the Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization through the dissolution of four agricultural research institutes and merger of their operations and functions. The former institutes were: Coffee Research Foundation, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya Sugar Research Foundation, and Tea Research Foundation. The 2922 employees of the organization were disillusioned during the four years of restructuring due to the loss of upkeep allowances among other benefits. A structured questionnaire was administered to 352 randomly selected employees in a survey carried out in 2016–2017. The study found that poor working conditions, effort-reward imbalance, job psychological distress, and lack of work motivation had significant (p < 0.05) effects on occupational stress. It was concluded that the on-going structural and remuneration changes would result in higher levels of job satisfaction and reduction in occupational stress among employees.

Strategic planning is a tool that determines the destiny of an individual, institution or organization. Globally, competition defines strategies encompassed by institutions due to industrial economy that had been experienced to pass toward knowledge resource. Efficiency is achieved by successful utilization of resources. Organisations seek a more competitive edge at all costs and turn to more innovations in information technology. Effective measures provide decision makers with feedback on the effect of deliberate actions and influence critical decisions such as resources allocations, as well as appropriate action as may be necessary. This study was carried out in Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) to determine how strategic human resource influence the performance of agricultural research organisations. It was anchored on the theory of transformational leadership theory. Information on whether research organisations apply strategic human resource planning in management was scarce. This was partly due to the little attention that was drawn on quality of services offered and feedback. Although there had been previous international studies in this field, no similar work had been conducted in agricultural-based research organisations in Kenya. This study therefore sought to establish whether strategic human resource planning could influence performance in agricultural research organizations. Survey research design was used. The study comprised of four agricultural research institutes. The Institutes had a total of 2922 employees in 2016. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect primary data. A pilot test was conducted on 10% of the total respondents to test reliability and validity. Reliability of the instrument was determined by use of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The Pearson’s product moment correlation was used to establish test for linearity using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, (SPSS 2018), while Analysis of Variance was used to test hypothesis. Results showed that strategic human resource management contributes to increased agricultural research performance in KALRO institutes. It is recommended that the findings of this study be embraced by other agricultural research institutions in Kenya.