Household Food Security among Women in Groups in Kaiti Division, Kenya

Abstract

Household food security remains a major challenge for most rural set ups in Kenya especially those in arid and semi arid areas. Women are significant in primary food production and wisely responsible for the household nutritional needs. They however face many constraints in their endeavor to secure food for their households including low education, low assess of land and credit. These factors are deepened with the ever changing climatic conditions. In order to counter these constrains, women in Kaiti have formed women groups as safety-nets to help them face these challenges collectively rather than individually. This study was designed to determine the relationship between household food security through improved access to education credit and other productive resources. The study used a cross sectional survey design. A sample of 234 respondents was selected through simple random sampling, with 141 being group members and 93 non group members. The data was analysed using SPSS package version 17 for windows and presented using frequencies, percentages and multiple regression. The study revealed that household food security is significantly and positively influenced by participation of women farmers in women groups (F=9.761, p=0.000), that the level of intensity of participation in group activities did not significantly influence household food security (x2=0.112) and that linking with outside agencies was positively and significantly correlated to group performance measured in terms of benefits availed to the members through their groups. PU - Maxwell Scientific Organization PA - Birmingham