Enhancing Food Security Through Crop and Livelihood Diversification Among Kimandi-wanyaga Community in Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

Climate change poses significant risks to food security globally with predictions of a 10-20% decline in rain-fed crop yields by 2050. In Kenya, climate change hazards including droughts and floods are affecting crop productivity and constraining smallholder farmers food security. Murang’a County in Kenya is affected by prolonged droughts and floods. The County’s over-reliance on rain-fed farming predisposes smallholder farmers to climate-induced food insecurity. This study was conducted with Kimandi-Wanyaga, a forest-adjacent community in the Gatanga Sub-County in Murang’a County, Kenya whose main livelihood source is smallholder rain-fed farming. This transdisciplinary research aimed to enhance the community’s food security through crop and livelihood diversification vis-à-vis climate change. The study analysed the observed and perceived rainfall and temperature trends, their association with food security, their perceived current and anticipated impacts on food crop production, and the challenges facing the community’s climate change climate coping efforts. A mixed methods research design was applied. Through a systematic sampling method, 281 household heads were selected. Monthly rainfall and temperature data from Thika meteorological station were analysed for trends using the MAKESENS procedure. Community perceptions data were obtained through household survey, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). The study explored the potential of expanding the community’s crops and income sources diversity by incorporating improved traditional vegetables under the Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) program. Two on-farm demonstrations on traditional vegetable farming were conducted. The farmers replicated the cultivation of the vegetables on their farms for four seasons. Using the MS Excel and SPSS statistical packages, collected data were analysed through descriptive (frequencies, percentages). Inferential statistics (Chi-Square tests) examined the associations between, 1) the rainfall and temperature changes and the food security indicators, 2) the community’s socioeconomic characteristic and the food security indicators. The results were presented in tables, figures, and direct quote formats. The study established that the community perceived inadequate rainfall during critical crop growth (79%) reduced rainfall intensity (77%) and late-onset and early cessation of seasonal rainfall (73%) had interrupted their food crop productivity. The community perceptions disagreed with MAKESENS rainfall data trends which showed normal rainfall variability (α>0.1). The community perceptions and observed maximum temperature data agreed that the study area was warming (α = 0.001) posing serious risks on their crop production and food security. The household heads’ gender, age, occupation, and the size of land under food crops were found to be significantly associated with the households’ level of food security but the household heads’ education level was not significantly associated with the households' food security. The community’s climate adaptive capacity was challenged by inadequate finances, lack of reliable and prompt climate information, inadequate knowledge on viable climate coping technologies, shrinking farm sizes, infertile soils, and market inaccessibility. The PELIS emerged as a viable climate adaptation opportunity with potential to enhance the community’s food security. The farmers could diversify their crops and income sources by incorporating traditional vegetables such as Amaranths, Black nightshade, and Cowpeas for food security. The PELIS has the benefits of climate adaptation through crop production and climate mitigation through afforestation. Key Words: Adaptation, Climate Change, PELIS, Rainfall Trends, Temperature Trends, Transdisciplinary, Traditional Vegetables.