A latent growth curve modelling approach to seasonal and spatial dynamics of food security heterogeneities in rural Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya

The increasing complexity of food insecurity, malnutrition, and chronic poverty faced by Sub-Saharan Africa warrants urgent categorisation and tracking of household food security along both temporal and spatial dimensions. This will help to effectively target, monitor and evaluate population-level programs and specific interventions aimed at addressing food insecurity. Traditional longitudinal analysis does not address the dynamics of inter- and intrahousehold heterogeneities within the seasonal and spatial context of household-level food security. This study is the first to overcome such limitations by adopting a multi-group piecewise latent growth curve model in the analysis of the food security situation in a statistically representative sample of 601 households involved in subsistence and cut-flower commercial agriculture, around Lake Naivasha. We considered food security as a latent concept, which manifests as food security outcomes in our primary longitudinal dataset from March 2018 to January 2019. Our analysis highlights the temporal and spatial dynamics of food security and advances new evidence on inter- and intrahousehold heterogeneities in food security across different seasons for the subsistence and commercial farming clusters. These heterogeneities were demonstrated primarily during the hunger season from March to June, and persisted in both the clusters and across months, albeit with different intensities. Moreover, our results indicate the importance of commercial agriculture in achieving food security in the hunger season. Our study suggests the need of a multidisciplinary approach to food security and the introduction of well-coordinated interventions for the development of subsistence and commercial agriculture considering the seasonal and cluster-level specificities.

Stakeholders’ interactions in managing water resources conflicts: a case of Lake Naivasha, Kenya

Recent years have seen unprecedented pressure from numerous water stakeholders with different interests in Lake Naivasha basin, the only freshwater lake in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. The pressure on this water resource results in high competition over access to water source, unsustainable resources management practices, poor water quality, and emergence of conflicts between institutions and its users. Presently, there is a knowledge gap and paucity of information on water resources stakeholders’ interactions in Lake Naivasha basin. This study, therefore, analyses the ways resource stakeholders interact and play in the conflict dynamic, and ultimately propose a better water resource use and management approaches. Drawing on field assessments, individual interviews, focus group discussion, and secondary literature reviews, this paper illustrates how both local, national and multi-national stakeholders interact and contribute to water resources conflicts. Results suggest unclear county and national institutional structures, fragmented land use activities and ownership, a feeling of marginalization by the local population contributing to resource-based conflict within the lake basin. A comprehensive policy framework and enforcement of existing regulations will ensure there is sustainable water access, reduce conflicts and enhance sustainable water resource governance and use of the lake.

Correction to: Beyond the Annual and Aggregate Measurement of Household Inequality: The Case Study of Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-021-00394-0

Declines in an Augur Buzzard Buteo augur Population in a Region of Increasing Human Development

As with many areas in Africa, Kenya has witnessed rapid human development in recent decades, including an increase in urbanization and an intensification of agriculture. The impact of these land use changes on wildlife populations have, however, rarely been examined. The Augur Buzzard is a widespread raptor species, thought to adapt relatively well to human alterations of habitat. In this study, we explore trends in Augur Buzzard (Buteo augur) territory occupancy over nearly two decades around Lake Naivasha, Kenya, in relation to land-use changes, particularly expansion in human housing and flower farms. We hypothesized that these changes would cause population declines in this species within our study area. Using remote-sensed satellite imagery, we found that human development (agriculture and human settlement) increased from 9 to 24% of the study area from 1995 to 2014. We found a 47% decline in active territories over this same time period, representing an annualized decline of 3.1%. Based on the length of three generations this would qualify this species to be uplisted to at least Vulnerable in our study area, raising our concerns that the same pattern may be occurring across the species’ range. We then explored whether abandonment of individual territories was associated with either (i) the current amount or (ii) the change in human development within a range of buffer circles of varying radii (0.1–5.0 km). Contrary to our expectations, no associations were found between human development and territorial abandonment, and thus we could not attribute specific territorial abandonment to these broad scale anthropogenic land cover changes. We encourage further research to investigate whether territorial abandonment may be associated with either finer resolution (habitat specific) changes, or sources of direct mortality, for example human persecution or electrocutions. These factors might explain the decline in this population better than broader scale increases in anthropogenic land cover.

Beyond the Annual and Aggregate Measurement of Household Inequality: The Case Study of Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya

This paper investigates household seasonal food expenditure inequality in the rural Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya using the extended decomposition of Gini and primary data referred from February 2018 to January 2019. The new elements introduced by the paper are the disaggregation of the food expenditure by source of access (purchase, auto-consumption, and gifts); inclusion of traditional species in the food categories; the features of the area investigated; a novel focus on household economic disparities in flower enclave; and the comparison between the annual and monthly level of inequality to understand the seasonality in household inequality. The results highlight the positive contribution of the subsistence sector to the reduction of inequality during the harvesting period of respective food category; and the need for a well-coordinated set of poverty, food security and agricultural development policies to contribute to the achievement of the first goal of Agenda 2030.

Smallholder Farmers’ Practices and African Indigenous Vegetables Affect Soil Microbial Biodiversity and Enzyme Activities in Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya

Loss of soil biodiversity and fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) may put the food security of smallholder farmers in peril. Food systems in SSA are seeing the rise of African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) that are underexploited but locally consumed without being considered a primary source of food and income. Here we present a field study, a first of its kind, in which we investigated the effects of different cropping systems and inclusion of AIVs in the farming approach on bacterial and fungal biodiversity and community structures, enzymatic activity, and the alteration status of soils of the smallholder farmers in Kenya. When compared to mainstream farming approaches, the composition and biodiversity of bacteria and fungi under AIV cultivations was significantly different. Tillage had a significant impact only on the fungal communities. Fertilization and soil amendments caused shifts in microbial communities towards specialized degraders and revealed the introduction of specific microorganisms from amendments. Traditional homemade plant protection products did not cause any disturbance to either of soil bacteria or fungi. The soil alteration index based on enzyme activity successfully differentiated the alteration status for the first time in SSA. These findings could be useful for farmers to integrate AIVs with correct sustainable practices for a sustainable future.