The nature of food insecurity and agro-pastoral production in the Kerio river basin

Abstract

This paper encompasses a study that was conducted to assess the nature of food insecurity and agro-pastoral production in Kerio Valley, a semi-arid basin in north-western Kenya. The study targeted 2600 households in the region from which a sample of 387 households was obtained using Yamane's (1967) sample size determination formula. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through a questionnaire that also incorporated and adapted the phased index of the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), Key Informants Interviews (KIIs) and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs), respectively. The study established that 67 per cent of the households experienced inadequate access to food, and 87.2 per cent of the households experienced inadequate access to preferred food. More so, 75 per cent of the households had been engaged in subsistence agricultural production with the use of limited technology. The key occupation for most of the households (74%) reported was agro-pastoral activities. The study concluded that the nature of agricultural production was among the drivers of food insecurity in the Kerio Basin. The study recommends a need to pay more attention to resilient and transformative agricultural production.