IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/ajaees/368185.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Agricultural Diversification on Food Security among Smallholder Farming Community in Kilifi South Sub-County, Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Chege, J. M.
  • Wamukota, A. W.

Abstract

Food security is critical to the economic, social, religious, political and cultural development in Kenya. It is crucial to the attainment of economic growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development. Kilifi Sub-County is food insecure and this is a major hindrance to its rural development strategy. Rainfall unreliability, poor distribution and its erratic nature is major challenge to food security in this Sub-County. Despite past efforts put to increase food agricultural production in the Sub-County, food insecurity continues to be felt. Factors causing food insecurity are not clearly understood. The objective of this study is to: determine the influence of agricultural diversification as a livelihood strategy on food security status in Kilifi Sub-County. The research methodology involved a survey using a standard questionnaire which was administered to a sample size of 384 households selected using systematic random sampling procedure. The main data to be collected are indicators which include food availability and food access. Quantitative research method was used to capture data on agricultural diversification as a livelihood strategy among the smallholder farmers in Kilifi south Sub-County. To further enhance food security and improve food security status in Kilifi South Sub-county, engagement in agricultural diversification activities should be encouraged. The findings of this study would be beneficial to leaders, stakeholders and policy makers in decision making process pertaining suitable interventions in attainment of food security in Kilifi South Sub-county. The data was analyzed using multiple regression to measure the combined contribution of livelihood strategies. The analysis of the influence of agricultural diversification on food security revealed that 19% of the households kept cows, 13% kept sheep, 33% kept goats and 35% kept poultry. Additionally, 62% relied on maize, 9% on cassava, 2% on sorghum, 18% on cowpeas and 9% relied on coconut. The study revealed that the households which kept poultry were 35% food secure and those who planted maize and cowpeas were 62% and 18% food secure respectively. It was recommended that these variables were to be addressed by all stakeholders in order to improve the food security status.

Suggested Citation

  • Chege, J. M. & Wamukota, A. W., 2024. "Impact of Agricultural Diversification on Food Security among Smallholder Farming Community in Kilifi South Sub-County, Kenya," Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology, Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology, vol. 42(12), pages 1-9.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ajaees:368185
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/368185/files/Chege42122024AJAEES128050.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sraboni, Esha & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Ahmed, Akhter, 2021. "Women's empowerment in agriculture: What role for food security in Bangladesh?," IFPRI book chapters, in: Securing food for all in Bangladesh, chapter 14, pages 483-548, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Abu Hayat Md. Saiful Islam & Joachim Braun & Andrew L. Thorne-Lyman & Akhter U. Ahmed, 2018. "Farm diversification and food and nutrition security in Bangladesh: empirical evidence from nationally representative household panel data," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(3), pages 701-720, June.
    3. Quiroz, Jorge A. & Valdes, Alberto, 1995. "Agricultural diversification and policy reform," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 245-255, June.
    4. Lovo, Stefania & Veronesi, Marcella, 2019. "Crop Diversification and Child Health: Empirical Evidence From Tanzania," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 168-179.
    5. Kumar, Anjani & Kumar, Pramod & Sharma, Alakh N., 2012. "Crop Diversification in Eastern India: Status and Determinants," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 67(4), pages 1-17.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schling, Maja & Pazos, Nicolás, 2024. "Effective land ownership, female empowerment, and food security: Evidence from Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    2. Abedin, Naveen & Haque, Samiul, 2021. "Effectiveness of agricultural diversification in promoting food security," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313967, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Khandoker, Sayla & Singh, Alka, 2021. "Women’s Decision Making Autonomy in Household and Its Effect on Dietary Diversity: Evidence from Nationally Representative Panel Data of Bangladesh," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315207, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Sikhulumile Sinyolo & Conrad Murendo & Admire Mutsa Nyamwanza & Sithembile Amanda Sinyolo & Catherine Ndinda & Chijioke Osinachi Nwosu, 2021. "Farm Production Diversification and Dietary Diversity among Subsistence Farming Households: Panel Data Evidence from South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-14, September.
    5. Sriroop Chaudhuri & Mimi Roy & Louis M. McDonald & Yves Emendack, 2021. "Coping Behaviours and the concept of Time Poverty: a review of perceived social and health outcomes of food insecurity on women and children," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 1049-1068, August.
    6. Emily Aparecida Ferreira Brandão & Thiago da Rocha Santos & Stephan Rist, 2020. "Connecting Public Policies for Family Farmers and Women’s Empowerment: The Case of the Brazilian Semi-Arid," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-22, July.
    7. Tesfaye, Wondimagegn & Tirivayi, Nyasha, 2020. "Crop diversity, household welfare and consumption smoothing under risk: Evidence from rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    8. Orkhan Sariyev & Tim K. Loos & Manfred Zeller & Tulsi Gurung, 2020. "Women in household decision-making and implications for dietary quality in Bhutan," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Poonam Rani & Ajeet Kumar Sahoo, 2023. "Assessment of Productivity and Crop Diversification Pattern in Punjab Agriculture," Arthaniti: Journal of Economic Theory and Practice, , vol. 22(2), pages 251-270, December.
    10. repec:ags:afgend:362657 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Valera, Harold Glenn & Yamano, Takashi & Pede, Valerien & Puskur, Ranjitha & Habib, Muhammad Ashraful & Bashar, Khairul, 2021. "Impact of Nutrition Training on Long-Term Adoption of High Zinc Rice: A Randomized Control Trial Study Among Female Farmers in Bangladesh," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315165, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Han, Wenjing & Zhang, Xiaoling & Zhang, Zhengfeng, 2019. "The role of land tenure security in promoting rural women’s empowerment: Empirical evidence from rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 280-289.
    13. Sana Khalil, 2025. "Cousin Marriage in Pakistan," Papers 2508.16666, arXiv.org.
    14. Soumya Gupta & Prabhu L. Pingali & Per Pinstrup-Andersen, 2017. "Women’s empowerment in Indian agriculture: does market orientation of farming systems matter?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(6), pages 1447-1463, December.
    15. Janvier Mwisha-Kasiwa & Cédrick Kalemasi-Mosengo & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2023. "Understanding the link between gendered access to agricultural land and household nutrition outcomes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/075, African Governance and Development Institute..
    16. Eric O. Verger & Cédric Gaillard & Andrew D. Jones & Roseline Remans & Gina Kennedy, 2021. "Construction and Interpretation of Production and Market Metrics Used to Understand Relationships with Dietary Diversity of Rural Smallholder Farming Households," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    17. Ruel, Marie T. & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Balagamwala, Mysbah, 2017. "Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: What have we learned and where do we go from here?," IFPRI discussion papers 1681, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    18. Conrad Murendo & Gamuchirai Murenje & Pepukai Prince Chivenge & Rumbidzai Mtetwa, 2021. "Financial Inclusion, Nutrition and Socio‐Economic Status Among Rural Households in Guruve and Mount Darwin Districts, Zimbabwe," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 86-108, January.
    19. Pomi Shahbaz & Shamsheer ul Haq & Azhar Abbas & Zahira Batool & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Roshan K. Nayak, 2022. "Adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural Practices through Women Involvement in Decision Making Process: Exploring the Role of Empowerment and Innovativeness," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, August.
    20. Amelie Bernzen & Ellen Mangnus & Franziska Sohns, 2022. "Diversify, produce or buy? An analysis of factors contributing to household dietary diversity among shrimp and non-shrimp farmers in coastal Bangladesh," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(3), pages 741-761, June.
    21. Ansari, S. A. & Khan, W., 2018. "Relevance of Declining Agriculture in Economic Development of South Asian Countries: An Empirical Analysis," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 10(2).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:ajaees:368185. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journalajaees.com/index.php/AJAEES/index .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.