Rural Livelihood Security Assessment for Smallholders Undergoing Economic Changes and Agro-Climatic Events in Central Kenya

Abstract

Abstract The implementation of World Bank- and IMF-funded structural adjustment programs of the economy by Government of Kenya negatively affected smallholder farmers’ production due to cost of agricultural inputs rising faster than the prices of agricultural produce. Concurrently, effects of the variability of precipitation patterns intrinsically link in shaping local-level households’ vulnerability. Drawing from field study data informed by longitudinal methodology of approach on crop variety selection and crisis-coping experiences, the overriding issue addressed in this paper is how smallholder farmers in Central Kenya cope and adapt with the changes. The study provides both place-based and household-based understanding of the livelihood security strategies available to and undertaken by the farmers. Annual net income levels of 40 sample households are estimated and the production aspect of the household economy classified into five sectors: agricultural, livestock, non-farm, off-farm, and forest product extraction. An operationalization of the notion of livelihood strategies reveals the strategy in which households choose and combine options across the five sectors on the basis of crisis experiences. Examination of smallholders’ crop variety selection identifies a multiplicity of criteria upon which decisions are based. These are grouped into five expl anatory factors: geographic, economic, administrative, socio-cultural and agronomic. The paper argues that an effective understanding of smallholders’ coping and adaptive capabilities has important implications for adaptation policy. It can provide a basis for designing policies aimed at rural livelihood security improvement and also help to facilitate outside planners who engage in food security programs which can be built on existing livelihood strategies.