Effects of seasonality on household food availability among smallholder rural households in Kenya: Impact of land size, household size and composition

Abstract

A comparative observational survey of climatic seasonality on household food security among smallholder rural households was carried out involving 94 households in a unimodal climatic area in Kenya. An inventory of all the foods entering and leaving the households was kept on monthly basis for a period of 14 months. Results showed that the households were able to meet about 88% of their energy requirements which came mainly from own production with purchases contributing only 12%. Grouping the households by household size showed that small households (<4 persons) had more than adequate food (181%) while large households (>7 persons) had only 68% of requirement. Comparing the food available to households with children with those of elderly subjects showed that child households were more energy deficient as they met only 62% of their energy needs compared to elderly households with 115%. Three acres of land was found to be insufficient to sustain the food needs of an average sized low income family. The results suggest that there is an urgent need to address the poverty issue among smallholder households in Kenya, as they comprise the majority of the total population.