A holistic sustainability assessment of organic (certified and non-certified) and non-organic smallholder farms in Kenya

Juliet Wanjiku Kamau,Till Stellmacher,Christian Schader,Christian Borgemeister,Lisa Biber-Freudenberger,Johan Blockeel,Cory Whitney,Jan Landert,David M Amudavi

doi:10.1007/s10668-021-01736-y

Juliet Wanjiku Kamau, Till Stellmacher + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01736-y

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Abstract

The introduction of organic farm management practices in sub-Saharan Africa could act as a lever for supporting regional sustainable development. In this study, we sought to assess the sustainability performance of organic (certified and non-certified) and non-organic farms in the dry Kajiado County and the wet Murang’a County in Kenya, based on four sustainability dimensions: Good Governance, Environmental Integrity, Economic Resilience and Social Well-Being. We collected household survey data from 400 smallholder farms, which were formally characterized into five types (mixed organic and conventional, certified organic, organic, conventional, and subsistence farms). We used multivariate analysis of variance, linear fixed-effects and general linear models to examine differences in sustainability performance. Model results indicate that all farms lack reliable farm management information and that only limited knowledge, skills and social security exist for farmers and farm workers. Comparison of the five farm types indicates no significant differences in their sustainability performance. Nonetheless, certified organic farms had better sustainability performance than non-certified farms due to higher economic resilience, environmental integrity, better support and training for workers. However, except for avoiding the use of agrochemicals in certified farms, there is relatively little difference in the farm management practices across farm types. Our results also indicate that farms in Murang’a were more sustainable than those in Kajiado due to better regional land-tenure security and conflict resolution mechanisms, soil and water conservation measures, and farm commercial viability. Nonetheless, unlike Kajiado, farms in Murang’a showed a tendency toward poor animal husbandry practices which affects overall animal welfare, limited credit uptake and market involvement. The results of this study can support decision making to identify appropriate interventions for improving sustainability in smallholder farms.

Highlights

Agriculture, mainly practiced by rural smallholder farmers, is still the mainstay of most people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and the main driver of socio-economic development (Altieri, 2009; Davis et al, 2017; Salami et al, 2010)
This was mainly due to the disregard of external costs in the accounting procedure, lack of an explicit sustainability plan, lack of farm certification in the use of agrochemicals as well as missing publicly disclosed written sustainability reports (Appendix A, Table S1). 3.1.1 Farm management and accountability According to the SAFA Guidelines, the Holistic Management theme considers the external effects of the farm activities in accounting and decision making, while the Accountability theme relates to disclosure and availability of correct and complete information about all aspects of the farm’s performance (FAO, 2014)
We assessed the sustainability performance of smallholder farms by applying the Sustainability Monitoring and Assessment RouTine (SMART)-Farm Tool based on the dimensions of Good Governance, Environmental Integrity, Economic Resilience and Social Well-Being

Summary

Introduction

Agriculture, mainly practiced by rural smallholder farmers, is still the mainstay of most people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and the main driver of socio-economic development (Altieri, 2009; Davis et al, 2017; Salami et al, 2010). Sustainable agriculture has been identified as a crucial element for promoting sustainable development in SSA (Conceição et al, 2016; Grenz et al, 2009). Supporting smallholder farmers in Kenya and other SSA countries is considered a crucial part of the strategies addressing natural resource depletion and degradation, decreasing agricultural productivity, food insecurity, poverty, and for adapting to population growth, climate change, urbanization and land-use change (De Jager et al, 2001; Giller et al, 2009). At present, given the socio-economic, demographic and ecologic constraints, smallholder farms in SSA are showing a tendency toward unsustainable practices (Cohn et al, 2017; Salami et al, 2010)

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