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Household Food Insecurity Coping Strategies in Bungoma County, Kenya

Received: 29 November 2015    Accepted: 8 December 2015    Published: 19 February 2016
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Abstract

Fighting hunger in a changing world demands that we stay vigilant in the way we obtain and share information that is critical for designing and implementing hunger strategies. Lack of Food in any country in the world is of great concern. For a long time Kenya government has strived to be food sufficient but all in vain. Research reports indicate that fifteen million Kenyans are food insecure with three million in constant need of food relief. For many years, the Kenya Government has strived to achieve food security through implementation of projects and security initiatives across all counties, but Bungoma county residents are still food insecure. People in Bungoma used varying coping strategies to mitigate hunger but cases of insufficient food were many. The study was done in Bungoma County and it aimed at evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of food insecurity coping strategies used by households. Questionnaires, interview schedules and group discussions were used to collect data. The collected data was subjected to chi-square test analysis and ranked using Spearman rank order correlation. From the research, it was found that the coping strategies which people used were effective but not sufficient. Based on the findings, we recommend use of multidimensional Strategic approach to food insecurity and should involve all food security stakeholders to ensure sustainability.

Published in International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150406.28
Page(s) 713-716
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Food Insecurity, Coping Strategies, Households, Bungoma County, Kenya

References
[1] Coates, J. Webb, P. & Houser, R. (2003). Measuring food insecurity: going beyond indicators of income and anthropometry. Washington, D. C: Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project, Academy for Educational Development.
[2] WFP (2009, January). Comprehensive Food security and Vulnerability Analysis guidelines (1sted.) Rome, Italy.
[3] UNDP (2010 July). Kenya briefing report on Food situation.
[4] USAID (2009). Food Insecurity situation Report, Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) Office of U.S Foreign Disaster Assistance. Washington DC, USA.
[5] KARI (2013, February). Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and Agricultural Sector Development Strategy Programme (ASDSP), Household Baseline Survey, Bungoma, County Nairobi, Kenya: Government Printers.
[6] USDA (2009). United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Service, Office of Global Programme. Website: www.kari.org.
[7] Mwololo (2013, March). Role of Technology in Enhancing Food security. The Nation. Nairobi: Nation Media Group.
[8] GOK (2014, February). Soil Suitability Evaluation for Maize Production in Kenya. A report by NAAIAP in Collaboration with KARI; Department of Kenya Soil Survey. Nairobi, Kenya: Government Printers.
[9] GOK (2013). Bungoma County Integrated Development Plan 2013-2017. Nairobi, Kenya: Government Printers.
[10] Icheria (2008). Household Food Insecurity and Coping Strategies Among Small Scale Farmers in Tharaka Central Division, Kenya. Lambert Academic publishing Press.
[11] GOK (2010). Agriculture Sector Development Strategy, 2010-2020. Nairobi Kenya: Government Printers.
[12] GOK (2015). County Government of Bungoma; Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries & Cooperatives: office of the Chief officer (AIC), farm input support programme 2015.
[13] World Bank (2008). Global Food Crisis. Retrieved March 26, 2009, from http://www.worldbank.org.
[14] Lewin, P., & Fisher, M. (2010). Household, Community, and Policy determinants of food insecurity in Rural Malawi. Mimeo, Malawi.
[15] Wiley. (2007). Changing Household Responses to Drought in Tharaka, Kenya: Vulnerability, Persistence and Challenge. Vol 32, Issue 2. Online Library.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Mary Stella Wabwoba, Jacob Wanambacha Wakhungu, Stanley Omuterema. (2016). Household Food Insecurity Coping Strategies in Bungoma County, Kenya. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 4(6), 713-716. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150406.28

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    ACS Style

    Mary Stella Wabwoba; Jacob Wanambacha Wakhungu; Stanley Omuterema. Household Food Insecurity Coping Strategies in Bungoma County, Kenya. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2016, 4(6), 713-716. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150406.28

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    AMA Style

    Mary Stella Wabwoba, Jacob Wanambacha Wakhungu, Stanley Omuterema. Household Food Insecurity Coping Strategies in Bungoma County, Kenya. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2016;4(6):713-716. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150406.28

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150406.28,
      author = {Mary Stella Wabwoba and Jacob Wanambacha Wakhungu and Stanley Omuterema},
      title = {Household Food Insecurity Coping Strategies in Bungoma County, Kenya},
      journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {713-716},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150406.28},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150406.28},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20150406.28},
      abstract = {Fighting hunger in a changing world demands that we stay vigilant in the way we obtain and share information that is critical for designing and implementing hunger strategies. Lack of Food in any country in the world is of great concern. For a long time Kenya government has strived to be food sufficient but all in vain. Research reports indicate that fifteen million Kenyans are food insecure with three million in constant need of food relief. For many years, the Kenya Government has strived to achieve food security through implementation of projects and security initiatives across all counties, but Bungoma county residents are still food insecure. People in Bungoma used varying coping strategies to mitigate hunger but cases of insufficient food were many. The study was done in Bungoma County and it aimed at evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of food insecurity coping strategies used by households. Questionnaires, interview schedules and group discussions were used to collect data. The collected data was subjected to chi-square test analysis and ranked using Spearman rank order correlation. From the research, it was found that the coping strategies which people used were effective but not sufficient. Based on the findings, we recommend use of multidimensional Strategic approach to food insecurity and should involve all food security stakeholders to ensure sustainability.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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    AU  - Mary Stella Wabwoba
    AU  - Jacob Wanambacha Wakhungu
    AU  - Stanley Omuterema
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    AB  - Fighting hunger in a changing world demands that we stay vigilant in the way we obtain and share information that is critical for designing and implementing hunger strategies. Lack of Food in any country in the world is of great concern. For a long time Kenya government has strived to be food sufficient but all in vain. Research reports indicate that fifteen million Kenyans are food insecure with three million in constant need of food relief. For many years, the Kenya Government has strived to achieve food security through implementation of projects and security initiatives across all counties, but Bungoma county residents are still food insecure. People in Bungoma used varying coping strategies to mitigate hunger but cases of insufficient food were many. The study was done in Bungoma County and it aimed at evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of food insecurity coping strategies used by households. Questionnaires, interview schedules and group discussions were used to collect data. The collected data was subjected to chi-square test analysis and ranked using Spearman rank order correlation. From the research, it was found that the coping strategies which people used were effective but not sufficient. Based on the findings, we recommend use of multidimensional Strategic approach to food insecurity and should involve all food security stakeholders to ensure sustainability.
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Author Information
  • Department of Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya

  • Centre for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya

  • Centre for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kakamega, Kenya

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