Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Household Food Security Among
Urban Farmers in Nairobi, Kenya
Eunice Wambui Njogu
1
I
NTRODUCTION
Since the 1960s, residents of Kamae had lived in slum conditions, but in the
year 2001 they were allocated small landholdings by the local administration
of the Government of Kenya. Prior to the start of this research project,
observation indicated that these landholdings could potentially increase the
diversification and intensification of food-production systems. A baseline
survey conducted between June and July 2005 revealed none of the 300
respondents surveyed had received any form of organized agricultural
training. Therefore, no organized farming was observed. Because the
extension service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and Fisheries
Development was farmer-driven, only more prosperous farmers sought crop
and livestock extension services. As a result, the majority of poor farmers in
Nairobi manage on their own, getting no assistance or advice, which is
necessary for the enhancement of their food production skills particularly in
the diversification of agricultural systems (Foeken and Mwangi, 2000).
The government has been restructuring and partially privatizing the
public extension system to improve extension-service delivery to all farmers
regardless of their socio-economic class (Government of Kenya, 2004).
However, according to Ishani and Lamba (unpublished work, 2007), urban
and peri-urban agriculture and livestock (UPAL) is not recognized in this
policy. Fortunately, the National Livestock Extension Programme (NALEP)
has been introduced in Nairobi province to support farmers (Z. Ishani and D.
Lamba, unpublished work, 2007).
Without the inclusion of UPAL as a policy issue in agriculture and
livestock policies, the social and economic benefits UPAL has on vulnerable
groups cannot be fully realized (Z. Ishani and D. Lamba, unpublished work,
2007). When well developed, UPAL plays an important role in cities because it
