Assessment of Factors Influencing Food Security in Wenje Division, Tana River County – Kenya

Access to food is recognized as a right as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). However, food security is still not universally treated as a basic human right. Despite the various progressive measures adopted by the Government of Kenya and Non-governmental organizations, the status of food security in Tana River County is appalling. This study was designed to assess the factors influencing food security in Wenje Division in Tana River County. The main purpose of the study was to assess the extent to which, climate change, governance, access to markets and land use affected food security. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. Stratified random sampling was employed to select 390 (10%) out of a total population of 3,908 households. Data was collected using a questionnaire and Focus Group Discussions. Descriptive statistics and regression modeling were used to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data was presented in narrative form. The key results from the study show that climate change (p=0.001) and land use (p=0.001) had a significant effect on food security. These factors were also found to have a negative influence on food security in the area. Further, statistical findings show a significant relationship between access to markets and food security, while governance was not found to have a significant influence on food security perhaps due to the solitary nature of the farming households. The study concluded that climate change, market access and land use have a significant influence on food security in Wenje Division, while governance was found not to have a significant influence on food security in the area. The study recommended that the government in partnership with other stakeholders should develop strategies to reduce reliance on rain fed agriculture to mitigate the effects of climate change on food security. The study also recommended land use training and planning to empower farmers with skills in the area to enhance food production. Finally, deliberate efforts should be made by the government and other development actors to enhance market access as this was also found to significantly influence food security in the area

More topics from the tropics : additional thoughts to Mammides et al.

Most studies on tropical conservation questions are conducted by researchers of developed countries from the north. This geographic disconnection was recently criticised by Mammides et al. Here, we reflect on their findings and add further views from scientist's and journal editor's perspectives. We argue that journals are, a priori, most strongly interested in research questions and approaches that will likely increase their scientific impact and prestige. This is rarely compatible with publishing articles on questions with restricted global impact or based on single taxa. We question whether small changes in the editorial policy of international conservation journals will considerably improve the geographic diversity in key conservation publications. Rather, thematic scopes of the leading conservation journals should be modified, preferably in close collaboration with leading conservationists from the south. We are convinced that long-term investments in the tropics will create a stronger local scientific community, thus bolstering academic morale, and finally may lead to an increase in the submission and acceptance rate of articles written from scientists from these regions