An Evaluation of the Effect of Land Fragmentation and Agro-ecological Zones on Food Security

205 Pages·2017·1.56 MB·English

by  Ndirangu Samuel

AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF LAND FRAGMENTATION AND
AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONES ON FOOD SECURITY AND FARM
EFFICIENCY: THE CASE OF EMBU COUNTY IN KENYA

BY

SAMUEL NJIRI NDIRANGU
Registration No: A80/95048/2014
Mobile No: 0723987104

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

DECEMBER 2017
DECLARATION
This Thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other University
Samuel Njiri Ndirangu Signature: ………………….. Date: ……………………….
Registration No: A80/95048/2014

This Thesis has been submitted for examination with our approval as University Supervisors
Signature: …………………………………………..Date: ………………………………………
Professor Stephen G. Mbogoh
Department of Agricultural Economics
University of Nairobi

Signature: ……………………………………………Date: …………………..............................
Professor OLE Mbatia
Department of Agricultural Economics
University of Nairobi
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DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY FORM
Name of Student: Samuel Njiri Ndirangu
Registration Number: A/80/95048/2014
College: College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences
Department: Agricultural Economics
Title of the work: An Evaluation of the Impact of Land Fragmentation and Agro-Ecological
Zones on Food Security and Farm Efficiency: The Case of Embu County in Kenya
Declaration
1. I understand what plagiarism is and I am aware of the University policy in this regard.
2. I declare that this thesis is my original work and has not been submitted elsewhere for
examination, award of degree or publication. Where other people‟s work or my work has
been used, this has properly been acknowledged and referenced in accordance with the
University of Nairobi‟s requirements.
3. I have not sought or used the services of any professional agencies to produce this work.
4. I have not allowed, and shall not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of
passing it off as his/her work.
5. I understand that any false claim in respect of this work shall result in disciplinary action, in
accordance with the University Plagiarism Policy.

Signature: ………………………………………………………
Date: …………………………………………………………….
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this thesis to my loving and supportive family

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of this PhD thesis was greatly assisted by generous contribution from many
people and institutions.
I sincerely wish to express my deep gratitude to my first supervisor, Professor Stephen G,.
Mbogoh for his patience in reading the entire manuscript and generously offering invaluable
criticisms and suggestions that greatly improved this thesis. My deep gratitude also goes to my
second supervisor, Professor OLE Mbatia, for being available for me at all times and for his
readiness in offering constructive suggestions and wise counsel.
I am indebted to the late Dr. Fred Mugivane, former Chairman of the Department of Agricultural
Economics, for his kindness and the words of encouragement for me to forge ahead even when
the future of this work looked bleak. May God Almighty rest his soul in eternal peace.
I am full of gratitude to the Management Board of the University of Embu, headed by Professor
Daniel Mugendi Njiru, for its generous research grant which enabled me to collect data for this
thesis. I thank my colleagues in the University for their words of encouragement which greatly
hastened the completion of this thesis. I appreciate the words of encouragement and wise counsel
that I received from Dr. Paul Njiru Nthakanio.
I am grateful to the team of enumerators, headed by John Njagi Kanthiri, who patiently collected
data and assisted in creating the first rapport with the households that were interviewed.
1 am indebted to my wife, Mary Njeri, and our three children, Robert, Stella and Ken, not only
for their moral support, but also allowing me the use of family resources, including time, for the
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completion of this thesis. My special thanks go to my parents, the late Laban Ndirangu and
Esther Njeri, and my elder sister Ruth Wangari for supporting my childhood upbringing and
education.
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ABSTRACT
Declining size of the farm holdings in most high agricultural potential areas as a result of
continuous land fragmentation is currently a major policy concern in Kenya. The purpose of this
study was to evaluate the effect of land fragmentation and agro-ecological zones (AEZs) on food
security and farm efficiency in Kenya. The study used data collected from 384 farm-households
that were randomly selected from three AEZs in the Embu County, using a multistage stratified
sampling technique. The three agro-ecological zones were the Sunflower, Coffee and the Tea
zones, based on the official AEZs classification system in Kenya. The status of household food
security was determined using household caloric acquisition method which was used to compute
a household food security index (HFSI). Farm efficiency was measured using stochastic frontier
method. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multinomial Logit Regression Analysis were
used to evaluate the effect of land fragmentation on food security and farm efficiency. The effect
of land fragmentation on household food security was found to be negative in the Sunflower and
Tea zones, but not in the Coffee Zone. Further, it was found that the minimum farm-size that
could ensure the attainment of threshold level of household food security (HFSI = 1) was above
2 ha in the Sunflower Zone and 0.5 ha in the Tea Zone. Land fragmentation was found to have a
positive effect on farm efficiency in the Coffee and Tea zones, but not in the Sunflower Zone.
For assurance of sustainable food security in Embu County, this study based on its findings
recommends that further fragmentation of farms below the minimum size for attainment of
threshold level of household food security should be discouraged. For the farms that are already
below the minimum cut-off size for food security, measures to increase these farms‟
productivities so that they can support more people per ha should be devised and implemented.
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Other measures that should be taken to improve food security are increased technology adoption,
farmer training, market and road infrastructure and credit.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................................... i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY FORM ............................................................................................. ii
DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................................. iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... iv
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................... viii
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... xvi
ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................................. xvii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background Information ................................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 The Status of Food Security in the World ............................................................................. 1
1.1.2 The Status of Food Security in Kenya .................................................................................. 3
1.1.3 Land Fragmentation and Land Use Policy in Kenya ............................................................ 4
1.2 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................. 7
1.3 Objectives of the Study .................................................................................................... 9
1.3.1 Broad Objective .................................................................................................................... 9
1.3.2 Specific Objectives ............................................................................................................... 9
1.4 Hypotheses of the Study ................................................................................................. 10
1.5 Justification of the Study ................................................................................................ 10
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2 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 14
2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 14
2.2 Evaluation of Factors Affecting Food Security.............................................................. 15
2.2.1 Resource Factors ................................................................................................................. 15
2.2.2 Household characteristics ................................................................................................... 19
2.2.3 Institutional Factors............................................................................................................. 22
2.3 Effect of Agro-ecological Zones on Food security ........................................................ 24
2.4 Review of Literature on Effect of Farm Size on Farm Efficiency ................................. 25
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.............................................................................. 31
3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 31
3.2 Conceptual Framework .................................................................................................. 32
3.3 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................. 34
3.3.1 Production Function ............................................................................................................ 34
3.3.2 Law of diminishing returns ................................................................................................. 36
3.3.3 Economies of size and scale ................................................................................................ 36
3.3.4 Returns to Scale .................................................................................................................. 37
3.3.5 Elasticity of output .............................................................................................................. 38
3.3.6 Efficiency in Production ..................................................................................................... 39
3.4 Empirical Models ........................................................................................................... 40
3.4.1 Effect of Farm Size and Other Key Factors Affecting Food Security ................................ 40
3.4.2 Determination of Minimum Farm Size for Attainment of Threshold Food Security ......... 52
3.4.3 Effect of Farm Size and Other Key Factors Affecting Farm Efficiency ............................. 55
3.4.4 Elasticity of Output for Land and Other Key Factors of Production .................................. 60
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