Issues of Food Security in Kenya and Zimbabwe: Emerging Trends

There is evidence that food insecurity has been increasing recently in Sub-Saharan Africa. The foundation of this statement is that development of agriculture can contribute both to the increase of food supply and constitute the main source for generating income, thus ensuring access to food by the greater proportion of food insecure people. This study was guided by various objectives in reviewing the global concerns and trends underlying the threat to food security. Emphasis is on East and Southern Africa. It takes the approach of assessing and documenting the major challenges hindering Sub-Saharan African countries from achieving self-sufficiency in food production, identifying the main factors preventing inhabitants of East and Southern Africa from achieving sustainable food security and make policy recommendations aimed at alleviating food insecurity scenarios. This study has highlighted various theories in relation to food security through realism, idealism, constructivism and functionalism. It sets the backdrop for understanding the climatic conditions, trade policies and governance structures from an African perspective. This research sets out to show that barriers to information flow (lack of two-way information sharing) and learning (prohibitive costs, resistant cultural norms, inability to engage in critical reflection) may hinder adaptation and resilience building in the face of climatic change and uncertainty. However African countries have been implementing various policies and strategies to mitigate against food insecurity. These have been analyzed in the thesis.