Abstract Kenya is rapidly urbanizing at an annual rate of about 4.3%. One of the consequences of urbanization has been the problem of food insecurity in peri-urban areas. Increased migration to urban from rural areas has enhanced food insecurity in these areas. The peri-urban area of Kangundo-Tala in Machakos County is one of the fastest-growing peri-urban areas due to its proximity to the capital city of Nairobi. This study investigated the impact of home gardening in enhancing food securit...
Abstract/Overview Fall armyworm (FAW) is a new invasive pest that causes economic damage to a wide variety of crops. This pest is estimated to reduce maize yields by about 60%. FAW could cause crop losses of up to US$13 billion annually across sub- Saharan Africa, threatening the livelihoods of millions of resource-poor farmers worldwide. Governments have warned against the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides that could undermine pest control strategies for smallholder farmers who r...
Abstract Kenya’s Vision 2030 identifies agriculture as one of the key sectors to deliver sustainable economic growth and improved livelihoods for the poor in the rural areas. However, the sector continues to face several endemic and emerging constraints that require special attention. During the first two decades after independence, Kenya’s economy grew at an average rate of 6 percent per year and this was substantially driven by a robust agriculture sector. However, until about five yea...
Abstract/Overview Among the factors contributing to food shortage in Africa are lack of appropriate preservation and storage facilities, tropical heat and poor road network for marketing produce. High food spoilage caused by high temperatures of the tropical areas necessitates storage for all householders. Marginal areas of Lake Victoria often suffer protein deficiency due to dependence on narrow base sources of protein, most of which get spoilt during storage. The lake region is endowed ...
Abstract/Overview Food security is a major global concern. Food insecurity has insidious effects on the health and development of young children and consequently, adults. The paper assesses the food security status and its key determinants for the rural households of the arid lands of Isiolo in Kenya. A three stage sampling technique was used for respondents (56) selection. Data collected were: demographics, livelihood strategies, food security and livelihood assets. Descriptive and infer...
Abstract/Overview Food security is a major global concern. It has insidious effects on the health and development of young children and consequently, adults. The paper assesses the food security status and its key determinants for the rural households of the high rainfall zone (HRZ) of Murang’a, semi–arid lands (SALs) of Kitui and arid lands (ALs) of Isiolo in Kenya. A three stage sampling technique was used for respondents (384) selection. Data collected were: demographics, livelihoo...
Abstract/Overview The world population is growing and shifting in character from to predominantly rural to increasingly urban. It is projected that by 2050, two thirds of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. The food system of cities has an impact on the health and wellbeing of residents. This study is a review of data and integration of findings from two projects done in Kisumu from 2016 - 2020: Consuming Urban Poverty (CUP) project and Nourishing Spaces (NS) project. ...
Food security is at the forefront of every global agenda especially in developing countries where most people are vulnerable to food insecurity. Globally, about 820 million people are food insecure, highlighting the enormous difficulty of accomplishing the SDGs Zero Hunger agenda. Several agricultural policies have been implemented in line with regional efforts to lessen the prevalence of food insecurity, with the goal of accelerating agricultural growth and enhancing food security level in n...
The COVID-19 pandemic has had tremendous impacts on all sectors of theeconomy, including health, education, and agriculture. Among these impactsare global price hikes on food and non-food commodities. Farm household capability is said to play a major role in ensuring that individuals developsome resilience towards the effects of the pandemic. In this study, factoranalysis, 2SLS and RIMA methodology are used to assess the perceived impacts of the pandemic on livelihood activities and measure t...
Abstract: Water is an essential natural resource, vital for any development to take place. However, not more than one percent of the water is freely available for human needs including agricultural production in the entire world. Arid and semi-arid lands globally are facing water scarcity challenges. Rain- fed agricultural system is the major farming method in these areas, but this has been challenged greatly by aridity and climatic uncertainty. Kitui County is an ASAL where farmers are expe...
Abstract: In the recent years it has become clear that climate change is an inevitable process and a growing concern for many regions in the world. In the Horn of Africa especially, the expectation is that climate change will have negative impacts on the livelihoods due to existing vulnerabilities of the population. A cursory view of many regions in the world reveals the existing albeit critical relationship between climate change and food security. Climate change is already affecting all di...
Abstract: Ensuring food security is a global significant challenge despite struggles to increase agricultural productivity, food distribution and identify appropriate policy interventions to cub food shortage. The recent recurrent incidences of food deficit in Kenya have placed the nation among the 20 most food insecure countries in the world. Food insecurity in the country is a prevalent issue since approximately 84% the country’s landmass is covered by arid and semi-arid land. Achieving ...
Abstract: Livestock production is critical in poverty reduction through food security improvement and rural development. Demographic characteristics, agro-ecological zone and market structure influences the the different livestock production systems. In order to plan for suitable interventions by Kitui County to enhance livestock production, this study aims to identify and document existing livestock production systems,and assessed household vulnerability to food insecurity in identified liv...
Abstract: 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...
Abstract: The general study objective was to assess the effect of devolved governance in strengthening food security Mandera County. The study was guided by the following research questions: How does devolved governance affect provision of credit facilities to farmers in their pursuit to supporting food security in Mandera County? What is the effect of devolved governance on capacity development of farmers in enhancing food security in Mandera County? Lastly, how does devolved governance aff...