Poster presented at First International Conference on Global Food Security. Noordwijkerhout (The Netherlands), 29 Sep - 02 Oct  2013

Bhagwat, S.

Daley, P.

Keding, G.B.

Kehlenbeck, K.

Ng'endo, M.

English

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• With promotion of simplified cropping systems, agrobiodiversity is under pressure to decrease. • There is replacement of mixed farms with monoculture systems. • Mixed farms represent a source of high agrobiodiversity that can be utilized to tackle food insecurity (Fig.1).          • Smallholder farmers utilize multiple channels to attain household food security. • Different food procurement channels need equal consideration in extension, research and development. (i) How does crop diversity on smallholder farms of different agro-ecological zones vary with seasonality? (ii) Where do foods that are consumed within the surveyed households mainly come from?  Fig.1: Examples of mixed farms Table 1: Food sources of households in Mumias and Vihiga districts at post-harvest season,  N = 15 per district Contact person:  Mary Ng’endo Kanui Email: mary.kanui@ouce.ox.ac.uk/mariangendo@gmail.com Mary Ng’endo1, Katja Kehlenbeck2, Shonil Bhagwat1,3, Patricia Daley1 and Gudrun B. Keding4   1 School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, United Kingdom 2 World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Tree Diversity, Domestication and Delivery, Nairobi, Kenya 3 Department of Geography, The Open University, United Kingdom 4 Bioversity International, Nutrition and Marketing Diversity Programme, Nairobi, Kenya   • During the pre- and post-harvest seasons, cereals & starchy roots were equally important in both districts, with slightly higher importance during the post-harvest season. • Next to own production, markets & existing social networks are important household food sources in the study areas. Fig.2: Summed Dominance Ratio (SDR) of food groups in Mumias and Vihiga districts at pre-harvest and post-harvest seasons, N = 15 per district Background • 62 different edible plant species were reported at T1, while 60 were represented at T2. • Despite smaller farm sizes, Vihiga farms had consistently higher, or equal, SDRs of cereals and fruits (Fig.2). • In both districts, the main food sources were own production and markets, but also family and friends for the food groups ‘roots/tubers’ and ‘fruits’ in Vihiga district (Table 1).   © M. Ng’endo & G. Keding Crop species diversity in smallholder farms in Western Kenya and their contribution to food security Key messages Research questions Methodology Results & discussions Conclusions & recommendations Presented at the First International Conference on Global Food Security, 29 Sep.-02 Oct. 2013, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands Food Sources in Mumias Food Sources in Vihiga Food Category Farm (%) Market  (%) Family and friends (%) Total (%) Farm  (%) Market  (%) Family and friends (%) Total (%) 39 53 8 100 47 52 1 100 52 23 11 86* 60 9 24 93* 65 25 9 99* 71 22 7 100 33 36 16 85* 47 12 40 99* 76 17 4 97* 81 9 9 99* 13 37 1 51* 28 15 13 56* 75 5 20 100 23 36 17 76* 17 16 0 33* 17 15 11 43* * Some total values do not add up to 100% as the recall period did not add up to the last five times as they were less frequently consumed 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%MumiasVihigaSDR at pre-harvest season CerealsStarchy roots/ tubers/green bananasVegetablesFruitsPulses/nuts/seedsSweetsSpices/condiments0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%MumiasVihigaSDR at post-harvest season CerealsStarchy roots/tubers/green bananasVegetablesFruitsPulses/nuts/seedsSweetsSpices/condiments• Maize, a staple in the region, was not sufficiently available on farms year-round, so markets were the main cereal source. • In Vihiga, sourcing from family & friends exemplified the importance of working social networks for food exchange.   • All present plant and animal species grown/reared for food were documented and individuals counted on 30 purposively selected smallholder farms in six villages of Mumias and Vihiga districts, Western Kenya (M1). • A Summed Dominance Ratio (SDR) was calculated using relative densities and relative frequencies for each of the edible plant species & summing up values per food category. Smallholder farms, pre-harvest season (T1) • Repeat of M1. • Reporting of sources of food consumed for the last five times the household had eaten the product (the time span for the last five times ranged from 24 hours to a few months, depending on product & frequency of consumption).  Smallholder farms, post-harvest season (T2) Short code: 582d02 

Crop species diversity in smallholder farms in Western Kenya and their contribution to food security

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Crop species diversity in smallholder farms in Western Kenya and their contribution to food security

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