TY - JOUR

T1 - Nutrient-Dense Crops for Rural and Peri-Urban Smallholders in Kenya - A Regional Social Accounting Approach

AU - Krause, Henning

AU - Faße, Anja

AU - Grote, Ulrike

N1 - Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and co-financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the project HORTINLEA (http://www.hortinlea.org/). The views expressed are purely those of the authors and may not under any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the BMBF and BMZ. The article processing charge (APC) was funded by the Open Access fund of Leibniz Universität Hannover.

PY - 2019/6/1

Y1 - 2019/6/1

N2 - Kenya ranks among the countries with the highest micronutrient deficiency worldwide. Due to their high micronutrient content, African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) can be a solution to this problem, and urban areas in Kenya have seen a rise in demand for these crops in the previous decade. To fill the gap between supply and demand, programmes to promote AIV production have been implemented in rural and peri-urban areas. However, the effects of increased AIV production on income and food security in the regional economies are not clear. Thus, in this analysis, we first evaluate differences between the livelihoods of household groups with different levels of food security in rural and peri-urban Kenya using a two-step cluster analysis. Then, we generate a regional social accounting matrix (SAM) and calculate the direct and indirect income effects of AIVs and other crops grown in the area using a multiplier analysis. For the analysis, a total of 706 small-scale vegetable producers in four counties in Kenya were interviewed in 2015. Households in rural areas were more food insecure, especially with respect to the utilization and stability dimension of food security. Multiplier analysis showed increased indirect income effects of AIVs in the regional economy compared to those of many cash crops. We suggest further promoting the production of AIVs in rural and peri-urban Kenya.

AB - Kenya ranks among the countries with the highest micronutrient deficiency worldwide. Due to their high micronutrient content, African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) can be a solution to this problem, and urban areas in Kenya have seen a rise in demand for these crops in the previous decade. To fill the gap between supply and demand, programmes to promote AIV production have been implemented in rural and peri-urban areas. However, the effects of increased AIV production on income and food security in the regional economies are not clear. Thus, in this analysis, we first evaluate differences between the livelihoods of household groups with different levels of food security in rural and peri-urban Kenya using a two-step cluster analysis. Then, we generate a regional social accounting matrix (SAM) and calculate the direct and indirect income effects of AIVs and other crops grown in the area using a multiplier analysis. For the analysis, a total of 706 small-scale vegetable producers in four counties in Kenya were interviewed in 2015. Households in rural areas were more food insecure, especially with respect to the utilization and stability dimension of food security. Multiplier analysis showed increased indirect income effects of AIVs in the regional economy compared to those of many cash crops. We suggest further promoting the production of AIVs in rural and peri-urban Kenya.

KW - African indigenous vegetables

KW - Cluster analysis

KW - East Africa

KW - Food security

KW - Regional social accounting matrix

KW - Underutilized crops

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067229896&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/su11113017

DO - 10.3390/su11113017

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85067229896

VL - 11

JO - Sustainability

JF - Sustainability

SN - 2071-1050

IS - 11

M1 - 3017

ER -