Income distribution and livelihood analysis among horticulture farming households in Nyeri District, Kenya

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the dist ribution of income and livelihood strategies among the horticulture farming households in Nyeri District, Kenya through the estimation of the Gini Coefficien t. The study used secondary data obtained from a National Househ old Survey carried out in 2007 by Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development. The estimated Gini coefficients indicated that there is variabili ty in the distribution of incomes among the households in tot ality and across different farm enterprises. I Income from non- farm activities had the highest Gini value of 0.680 4. This implies that the distribution of income fro m non-farm enterprises was more inconsistent across households compared to other farm enterprises that had lower Gini values. This among other reasons explains why house holds in Nyeri District have varied livelihood stra tegies leading to varied livelihood outcomes. It is sugges ted that to improve the distribution of income and standards of living of the households, better interventions such as education targeting the most vulnerable or the marginal household groups needs to be put in place so as to enhance household earnings. In addition, the creati on of an “equal opportunity” policy for the people is sugges ted so that vulnerable people in the society like w omen, the old, the disabled and children among others can be given a priority