Characterizing farm typologies for targeted policy responses: The case of pastoral and agro-pastoral households in West Pokot County, Kenya

Recognizing emerging changes and expanding farm-type diversity, particularly in pastoral and agropastoral settings, is a critical first step in developing farm-specific interventions and policies to address farming challenges. Using survey data from 232 pastoral and agro-pastoral households in West Pokot County, Kenya, we create a farm typology that describes the various farm types and farming systems using principal component and cluster analyses. We categorize farms into four groups: "male-headed and wealthy," "smallholder crop producers’’, "smallholder mixed and young," and "older and female-headed." The majority of households are smallholder mixed producers led by young heads with limited technical knowledge. They have the lowest production diversity scores, the second-lowest dietary diversity and food consumption scores. The male-headed and wealthy households have higher income, household asset weights, tropical livestock units, and livestock production diversity scores. They also participate more in crop and livestock marketing. The smallholder crop-producing households have the highest crop production scores, the second-highest market participation diversity scores, household dietary diversity and food consumption scores. The older and female-headed households have the lowest proportion of educated heads, mostly rely on agricultural activities, and have the lowest dietary diversity scores. The farm typologies established will aid in the development of interventions targeted at specific farm types based on the differences established using socio-demographic and farm characteristics. Ultimately, with more targeted interventions, household production and marketing activities are expected to improve and contribute to positive welfare outcomes.