Household production, consumption, and food security status in Kakamega region of Kenya

Economic development policies worldwide have emphasized efforts to find solutions to food and population problems for developing countries such as Kenya. A natural area of focus for these policies has been rural farms where the population growth rate is high and the economic circumstances of the farm families are sub-standard. Solutions to food farm problems have included the development of technologies to improve food output. This study assessed total food production, availability and security among farm households in the Kakamega region of Kenya. Food security was defined as the difference between the available and required food per adult equivalent. The study was based on four agro-ecological zones (LM1, LM2, UM1, and UM4) in the area. The study answered the following questions for the 1995/96 crop year: (1) What is the resource base of farm households in Kakamega region? (2) How do livestock numbers influence food security? (3) What is the level of food security of farm households in the Kakamega region of Kenya? (4) How does off-farm employment and income influence food security?;Food consumed was measured in Kilocalories and was used to assess adequacy and availability to households in different farm systems. The number of persons in a household was based on adult equivalents and was used to estimate the household food requirements and labor availability. Household food supply was from farm produced crops and livestock, and market purchases. Farm income was generated from sales of crops and livestock plus income from leasing land while off-farm income was from wages, trade and donations.;The results show that farmers in low middlelands (LM1) and upper middlelands (UM1) had limited production resources, as a result, they were food insecure. Farmers who had livestock were more food secure than those without. Households in LM2 and UM4 had sufficient food from farm production, supplemented with purchases. Over sixty percent of total household income was from off-farm wages and was highest in the UM4 zone. Households in all the zones supplemented food production with purchases using income generated from on and off farm activities.;The results of the food production and security models show that agro-ecological zones, total land size, number of cattle, permanent off-farm employment, and total labor used for farming were positive and statistically significant in influencing household food consumption and security. The general conclusion from the research is that efforts to reduce food insecurity require that households' total farm systems must be considered with any proposed interventions. Enterprise diversification of farm food production and off-farm employment enhanced food security. Addressing household poverty concerns from a single commodity approach will likely have limited success for enhanced food security. Policies that would intensify food production and improve off-farm employment would enhance food security in the Kakamega region of Kenya.