Food security status and its socio- economic determinants on farming households in bondo district - Kenya

ABSTRACT: In Kenya, like many Sub-Saharan African countries (SSA), food insecurity is a major threat to the livelihood of a majority of the people. In Bondo District, Kenya, there is lack of proper understanding of the determinants of the socio-economic factors and their influence on food insecurity. Therefore, this study examines the socio-economic determinants and their influence on food security of farming households in Bondo District, Siaya County, Kenya. A three-stage random sampling procedure was used to select a sample of 150 households for the study. A semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussions were used to gather information and descriptive analysis conducted to describe the socio-economic determinants. Food insecurity was determined by the number of meals eaten per day. The results showed that household size, age, land size, educational level, gender of household heads and household income were key determinants of household food security status. 56% of households were found to be food insecure. Household with tertiary level of education took the longest time to exhaust their food stock. It was concluded that the design of food security strategies should focus on the identified determinants in an integrated way in order to achieve sustained food security.