SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AS A RESPONSE TO FOOD INSECURITY IN KENYA

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AS A RESPONSE TO FOOD INSECURITY IN
KENYA
In June 2011, the media highlighted the story of a fight between 2 mothers from
Turkana in Northern Kenya, who exchanged blows as they held their wailing infants in their arms after one of the women tried to cut in the long line for children to receive treatment for severe malnutrition. The women faced off a second time after passing their children to onlookers amid the melee: The younger woman head-butted the other to the ground before hospital personnel intervened and separated them. "She ordered me to move after she cut the line and I have been here since dawn. I could not let her," said one of the women who only identified herself as Chipure, a mother of eight children, who got a swollen lip from being head-butted.
It was around the same time that the United Nations declared famine on the horn of
Africa, and both the local and global media focused its attention on the worst drought the region had ever faced in 60 years. The drought affected about 3.5 million people, with thousands requiring food aid, while over 300,000 children affected by acute malnutrition. The significance of the small event described above can only be understood in the context of food insecurity, its causes, effects and the inclusion of sustainable agriculture in major legislation and practices, and the development of viable alternatives for a food secure nation.
The Kenya Food Security Steering Group describe food security as “a situation in which all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe andnutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active andhealthy life” Kenya has been facing severe food insecurity, with estimates indicating over 4 million insecure people with majority living on food relief. The current food insecurity problems are attributed to several factors as highlighted below:
Poor natural resource base portends the greatest cause of food insecurity. Although natural climatic factors have played their part in the process of desertification,

increased population and the related development of unsustainable production systems has had most negative impact on the fragile natural resource base. This situation has contributed to depleting the natural resources resulting in biodiversity degradation, reduced water infiltration and increased run-off and soil erosion. These factors, which contribute to the impoverishment of ecosystems, have led to a vicious circle of environmental degradation, lower system resilience to erratic rainfall, decreased agricultural productivity and increased poverty and food insecurity.
Secondly, Kenya relies on the crop-based system, where agriculture is characterized as being low-input/low-output. The

level of technology is generally basic, and

productivity per hectare is very low. A substantial proportion of farmers live at the edge of subsistence, and are food-insecure simply because they have limited access to land. For example, almost 40% of farm households have less than 0.5 ha of land, and more than 60% have no more than 1 ha from which to support a family of between 6 and 8 people.
However, there are many reasonably well-understood technologies that are not yet widely used, including improved water control and water harvesting, improved tillage systems and drought-resistant varieties of crops and agro-forestry species. In addition, inadequate knowledge and information systems also contribute to food insecurity. This includes inadequate early warning systems and management information systems, which form part of disaster preparedness in emerging food insecurity situations. The capacity to disseminate knowledge and information in order to improve the coping abilities of the population remains poorly developed in Kenya.
Approximately 75% of food in Kenya is produced by small-scale farmers, cultivating mostly rainfed crops. The Kenyan economic policies have been fragmented across government departments, resulting in disproportionate subsidies for high value export produce such as tea, coffee and flowers, whereas traditional farmers have limited access to credit, technical advice or direct financial support. The little food that is produced is inadequately stored. Post-harvest grain losses are as high as 50% due to pest damage and contamination by fungus (aflatoxin). These are major contributors to food insecurity and market deterioration in the country.
In order to address the food insecurity issues, Kenya needs to focus on developing and

implementing strategies for feeding its people. This includes increasing food production through adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.
Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals--environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. It includes making measurable improvements in farming production and resource utilization. This can be achieved through: Provision of instruction and skills in growing, processing and marketing practices, and by promoting changes in attitudes and systems. This will raise the awareness of the people, and also create a culture and community of practice in environmental management as well as profitability of the subsistence sector by ensuring adoption of sustainable farming practices.
Subsidy on farm inputs by the governments and infrastructural development is also vital towards the promotion of sustainable agriculture. Fertilizer and seed subsidies will help improve yields and also bring about quality production. Improving access to rural financial services will allow the farmers to invest in local enterprises and to take advantage of the new technologies to increase their incomes for improved human-well being and livelihoods.
In order to sustainably increase food production for enhanced food security and for the ever growing population, there is a need to integrate sustainable development considerations with agricultural policy analysis and planning in Kenya. The policy recommendations should

contribute

directly

to

development of

realistic

and

operational medium to long-term plans, programmes, and concrete actions, followed by support and monitoring of implementation.
Additionally, there is need to adopt the solutions described above, and according to the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture, reaching toward the goal of sustainable agriculture is the responsibility of all stakeholders, including farmers, laborers, policymakers, researchers, and consumers. Each group has its own part to play, its own unique contribution to make to strengthen the sustainable agriculture community.