THE ROLE OF KITCHEN GARDENS IN FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITIONAL
DIVERSITY:
UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK
THE ROLE OF KITCHEN GARDENS IN FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITIONAL
DIVERSITY:
A CASE STUDY OF WORKERS AT JAMES FINLAY KENYA- KERICHO
BY
JOHN MBURU NJUGUNA
(C50/62987/2011)
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARD OF DEGREE IN MASTER OF ARTS IN RURAL
SOCIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
NAIROBI
NOVEMBER 2013
DECLARATION
This research is my Original work and has not been presented for
a degree in any other university.
Signature Date
John Mburu Njuguna
C50/62987/2011
This research report has been submitted for examination with my
approval as the University supervisor.
Signature Date
Dr G.G.Wairire
Department of Sociology and Social Work
University of Nairobi
DEDICATION
This research project is dedicated to my parents, the late
Samuel Njuguna and Elizabeth Mumbi for their prayers and support.
My beloved Wife Mary Njoki and my children, Ruth, Nathan and Simon
for their deep understanding and allowing me to be away from them
at times during my study.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My heart is indebted to my supervisor the Late Dr. Pius M. Mutie
for his rich guidance almost through the entire project. I am
equally indebted to Dr G.G. Wairire who finished the good work
started by his predecessor. I acknowledge the work of Prof.
Chitere, Dr. Robinson Ocharo, Prof. Yambo and Dr Agnes Zani for
their help in imparting skills that helped me complete my research
project.
I cannot forget to thank my supervisor at workplace Brenda B.
Ochieng and former colleague Mohamed Mbarak for their moral support
during the course work. Marcus, Kean, Daniel Kirui, Betty
Kibiliach, Reuben Langat, Jane Ndirangu, Chris Masika and the
entire James Finlay Kericho Team that facilitated my data
collection for this research.
Special thanks to all my research assistants for the special
role they played as participant observers during the fielding of
questionnaires and to James Finlay managers at different sections
who joined the various focused groups and offered vital information
during the sessions.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Declarationii
Dedicationiii
Acknowledgementsiv
Table of contentv
List of Tablesviii
List of Figuresix
List of Platesixi
Acronymsxii
Abstractxiii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION1
1.1 Background Information1
1.2 Statement of the Problem3
1.3 Research Questions5
1.4 Objectives5
1.4.1 Specific Objectives5
1.5 Justification of the Study5
1.6 Scope and Limitations7
1.7 Definition of key terms8
1.7.1 Kitchen Garden8
1.7.2 Food security8
1.7.3 Nutritional Diversity8
1.7.4 Food Availability8
1.7.5 Food Access8
1.7.6 Utilization9
1.7.7 Stability9
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW10
2.1 Introduction10
2.2 Kitchen Gardens and African Leafy Vegetables in Nutritional
Diversity12
2.3.1 Food Accessibility and Vulnerability15
2.3.2 Food availability17
2.4. Theoretical Framework19
2.4.1 Techno-Ecological Theory19
2.4.2 The Adoption of Innovation Theory19
2.4.3 Conceptual Model.20
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY21
3.0 Introduction21
3.1 Research design21
3.2 Site Description21
3.2.1 Unit of observation22
3.2.2 Unit of analysis22
3.3 Target population22
3.4 Sampling procedure22
3.5 Types of data23
3.5.1 Data collection23
3.5.1.1 Household interview23
3.5.1.2 Key informants24
3.5.1.3 Focus Group Discussions24
3.5.1.4 Desk Review25
3.5.1.5 Observation25
3.6 Data analysis25
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS26
4.0 Introduction26
4.1 Demographic Characteristics26
4.1.1 Respondents Household Distribution26
4.1.2. Distribution of Respondents by Sex27
4.1.3 Marital Status27
4.1.4 Distribution o Respondents byAge 28
4.1.5 Education level29
4.2.0 Main Findings29
4.2.0 Introduction29
4.2.1 Kitchen Garden Set Up29
4.2.2 Size of gardens35
4.2.3 Source of Help and Organization37
4.3 Kitchen Garden Food Security Effect38
4.3.1 Value of Food Supply40
4.4 Kitchen Garden Effect on Nutritional Diversity41
4.4.2 Nutrition Diversity of Kericho District42
4.4.3 Value of Nutrition Diversity44
4.4.4 Vegetables as a Source of Protein45
4.5 Challenges Faced by the Kitchen Garden46
4.6 Correlation between attendance and food supply value48
4.6.3 Solution to the challenges49
4.6.4 Improvement recommended by respondents50
4.6.5 Vegetable production in Containers51
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS56
5.1 Introduction56
5.2 Summary of Findings56
5.3 Conclusion57
5.4 Recommendations58
5.4.1 Recommendations to JFK58
5.4.2 Recommendations to other investors in Agriculture59
5.4.3 Recommendations to Government59
5.4.4 Recommendations to Development Agents60
5.4.5 Further Research60
REFERENCES61
APPENDIX 11
Questionnaire1
APPENDIX II12
Key Informant Interview Guide12
APPENDIX III13
FGD Guide13
vii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 Village Distribution of the Respondents26
Table 4.2 Gender27
Table 4.3 Marital Status27
Table 4.4 Age Group Distribution28
Table 4.5 Education level29
Table 4.6 Size of the Garden35
Table 4.7 Vegetables Bought Before39
Table 4.8 Vegetables Bought Today39
Table 4.9 Value of Food Supply to the Respondents40
Table 4.10 Vegetables/Fruits Grown in Kericho District43
Table 4.11 Challenges faced by the Kitchen Garden47
Table 4.12 Correlation between attendance and food supply
value48
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Distribution of hungry people in the world in
millions15
Figure 2.2 Conceptual framework20
Figure 4.1 Sources of design help37
Figure 4.2 No of variety grown in households41
Figure 4.3 Respondents value diversity43
Figure 4.4 Frequency of buying meat46
Figure 4.5 Solution to the challenges49
Figure 4.6 Improvements recommended51
LIST OF PLATES
Plate 4.1 Demarcation with wood31
Plate 4.2 Garden layout32
Plate 4.3 Hibiscus hedge33
Plate 4.4 Green hegde at the beginning of the project34
Plate 4.5 Workers in one of the early gardens34
Plate 4.6 Side Garden in Umoja Village at Tiluet Estate35
Plate 4.7 Compost pit36
Plate 4.8 A Banana Stool in One of the Kitchen Garden45
Plate 4.9 Nutritional board near a dispensary50
Plate 4.10 Strawberry growing in improvised containers 52
Plate 4.11 Banana stems used as containers for vegetable
production52
Plate 4.12 Vegetables growing in upright sack containers53
Plate 4.13 Vertical Multistory Garden54
Plate 4.14 Vegetables growing in
hydroponics......................................................
55
ACRONYMS
FAO- Food and Agricultural Organization
JFK- James Finlay Kenya
WHO-World Health Organisation
OECD- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
FGD-Focused Group Discusions
ALVS- African Leafy Vegetables
UN-United Nations
DFID- The Department for International Development
ABSTRACT
Food security and nutritional diversity is one of the key areas
that a developing country should address. With varying local
opportunities and challenges, the kitchen garden forms a panacea
that can address food insecurity and bring in self reliance,
sovereignty and dignity. Households have labour power the physical
ability of household members to generate income (Christopher,
2006). When this labour power is used in the Kitchen garden it has
the ability to improve food security and nutritional diversity of
the household. Even with the dwindling land resource small areas
around the house as small as ten square meters can make the
difference in the lives of many.
This research was undertaken on workers at James Finlay Kenya to
investigate the role of kitchen gardens in addressing food security
and nutritional diversity. The research used both qualitative and
quantitative approach to collect data from households and
stakeholders. Stratified sample was used to pick household
respondents.
The findings show that the kitchen gardens at James Finlay are
small organic gardens which were started about six years ago.
Majority of them are about 10 square meters. The size of the garden
was designed to be big enough to produce sufficient vegetables for
the household but small enough to be replicated in many areas in
Kenya where land as a production unit has become too small. In the
innovation uptake the social capital (in this case the predominant
Seventh Day Adventist teaching of healthy living by promoting the
use of plants as the major source of nutrients, the goodwill from
the management) and the human capital in the form of traditional
knowledge (71% had kitchen gardens before) played a big role. The
management decision to reinforce this innovation by hiring a
consultant to bring a positive change to food security and
nutritional diversity of the workers acted as a trigger. Almost 48%
of the respondents do not buy vegetables after establishing kitchen
gardens as compared to 4.2% who were not buying vegetables before
the gardens were formalised. About 99% of the respondents think
that the kitchen garden has improved their nutritional diversity.
Compared to the monoculture of the few gardens that existed before
the formal gardens, more than 18 different varieties of vegetable
and fruits were recorded in different households during the study
indicating that a wide diversity has been achieved. Eighty five %
have replicated the garden in their rural homes, and 98% have
learnt a new skill indicating that the kitchen garden seems to be
positively addressing food security and nutritional diversity and
further demonstrating the central role of agriculture in meeting
household needs.
James Finlay Kenya management should continue popularising the
kitchen garden to bring more workers to self sufficiency in
vegetable supply. As an organic garden the phosphorous deficiency
should be addressed, possibly by using Finlays IPM crop division to
improve the productivity of the gardens. Dudutech products from
Finlays IPM approach like Rhizatec (mycelia enhancing roots system)
and Vermitec (vermicompost) (Dudutech ltd, 2012) can be used for
this purpose. The government can learn from this innovation and
include a kitchen garden in its extension program as it has the
capacity to address food security and nutritional diversity and
especially so with the dwindling land sizes. Further research needs
to be done to establish the quantity of vegetables harvested from
these gardens. This will further help to establish the cost savings
from the kitchen gardens which is important in arriving to wider
recommendations.
14
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Information
In Kenya and world over high population growth, rural urban
migration and vulgarities of weather have pushed the cost of food
upwards (Silvia, 2012). The increased use of food crops in
biodiesel production put further imbalance to food supply which
further affects the demand/supply relationship. Non-communicable
diseases add further pressure to the citizens and more so to low
income groups. The resultant of this is more people are going to be
food insecure. Famine Early Warning system warned that there will
be a rise from 2.2 million to 2.4 million food insecure people in
August 2012 (UN, 2012).
The answer to increased food demand cannot be met by the green
revolution as well as rain fed agriculture which is already showing
fatigue (Pastakia, 2011) This food insecure group needs to face the
current environmental and health challenges by identifying ways to
better align aesthetics, ecology, and health (Denver Urban Gardens,
2012). A kitchen garden can be a part of the solution to this
problem. As already proven one-size-fits all solutions cannot be
applied in every area to answer the question of food sustainability
(Beddington, 2011).
The higher demand for food should be met by practical
innovations like kitchen gardening which not only improves
availability but also answers the question of diversity required
for a healthy community. The kitchen gardens can be viewed as an
adaptive strategy of communities as an entry point for development.
The kitchen garden can also help to reduce the gap of productivity
between the technical potential and actual production levels of
food crops due to low use of suboptimal inputs and low adoption of
most productive technologies (Tittonell, 2012). A kitchen garden
involves the very people who are the greatest resource for
development in a view to improve their own livelihoods and
empowerment as envisaged in the rural university concept (Mathai,
1985). The kitchen gardening is a radical transformation towards
using resources more efficiently. The kitchen garden is perhaps the
only available ecological space available to the poor to meet their
economic needs especially so in Africa where the poor tends to rely
more on natural resource base for their livelihood. Kitchen Gardens
depend on the gardeners for maintenance and are spaces made
meaningful by the actions of people during the course of their
every-day lives. They are spaces where the gains from social
capital, physical and symbolic arrangement of items of private
living space are aggregated and given utility value. Above all,
Kitchen garden is an avenue where the actor is totally immersed in
his role (Kimber, 2012).
The British and the Americans won two world wars by growing
their own food to feed their armies and the people left at home
(Great Britain Ministry of Food, 1946). Kenyans can feed themselves
by growing what we eat and one way to do this is adopting the
Kitchen garden. The kitchen garden is a form of Community adaptive
strategies that leads to sustainable livelihoods (Agobia,
1999).
A kitchen garden is an integrated system which comprises the
family house, a recreational area and a garden producing a variety
of foods including vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants for home
consumption or sale.The kitchen/home gardens have been found to
play an important role in improving food security for the resource
poor rural households in developing country like Bangladesh
(Asaduzzaman, 2011) and can do the same in Kenya.
In addition to supplying the food needs, the kitchen gardens
help in biodiversity conservation as well as a platform of
socializing the younger generation into the communities norms as
they interact with the older people while tending the gardens.
While it may not directly supply the cereals need for the family,
the savings achieved from not buying fruits and vegetables would be
used to buy additional cereals.
Most of the African homes had a garden either by default or
design which often undermine its usefulness. The spring onion which
has wide usage in many households as a spice/condiment has always
been grown near homestead officially cultivated and protected from
animals. In many cases this garden evolves from the dumpsite where
seeds from plants like pumpkin are thrown with trash, germinate and
grow into plants. Eventually this dumpsite evolves into a valuable
garden supplying vegetables. Many African families depend for
survival on what they grow. For such families Kitchen gardens are
the difference between life and death. For the Kikuyus there is a
saying, ndoigangue ni ng'aragu ,tetereukamera, which translates
when I give up on hunger, amaranthus (vegetable) germinates and
life continues.
Ornamental or vegetable gardening is a fun pastime or hobby for
many people who enjoy but do not spend much time analyzing. Many
people cannot really explain why they have to plant something;
before they call any place they have lived a home. In high rainfall
areas like Kericho, food supply is expected not to be a problem but
food is produced on land and not everybody is in control over land
and hence will depend on the market forces for food supply.
In 2010, Italian NGO, Terra Madre launched an ambitious project
in kitchen gardens in Africa dubbed A thousand Gardens In Africa
which aimed to create a thousand gardens in schools, villages and
the outskirts of cities(Miller, 2012).In Kenyas Vision 2030 Public-
Private Partnership has been singled out as one key driver of
development (Kenya (NESC), 2007). James Finlays Kenya (JFK) is one
such company that embraced this partnership way back before it was
officially known.
The purpose of the Kitchen Garden Project was to help employees
in the village improve on family food supplies and nutrition year
round, through sustainable exploitation of the land, water and
other resources around the house including the idle household labor
and skills. The status quo at this time in the workers villages was
a free for all situations even where some people had tried some
gardening. The villages were messy with poorly cultivated and
eroded gardens, un-coordinated and dirty children play areas. By
growing our own food we are also helping the environment by not
importing food from around the globe.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Agricultural workers lack sufficient incomes to meet their food
and nutritional demands adequately. An alternative way of improving
their food supply is practicing kitchen garden farming. African
countries contribute the highest human development index in terms
of GDP but this has not been translated into food security (Goswan,
2012). In the developing countries food production has gone down as
result of poor governance, poor land management, and
marginalization of the peasant production and rural urban migration
which has deprived the food production areas of the much needed
workforce. Monoculture commercial production also pushed the
peasants to marginal and non productive lands. The globalized
system of food production and trade favors a reliance on export
crops while discriminating against small-scale farmers and
subsistence crops. More than 16 million people are at risk in the
Sahel alone (across the semi-arid belt from Senegal to Chad) and an
equal number in the Horn of Africa remain vulnerable after last
years food crisis in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia (FAO,
2012). In such a situation of food scarcity the population on the
lower end of the social class is extremely vulnerable.
The agricultural workers are the least paid all over the world
and will be the most affected by food inflation. The living wage is
not yet achievable in any part of the world and as the investors
compete in the global perspectives solutions to food security
through salary increments are not tenable. Alternative ways of
helping the poor to get their food supply would be a noble method.
Prevention, efficiency and the primacy of localism are the three
governing principles of the self-reliant city (Grewal, 2011).
Looking at Finlays as one of these cities, the kitchen garden is
one efficient use of the land resource. The kitchen gardens can be
an example of how to attain food security not only to Finlays but
to the entire country when the knowledge and skills are transferred
to other areas.
About a third of the world population suffers from one or more
deficiency of micronutrient (Amaroso, 2012) which has persisted
even when the food stocks are said to be above demand. The kitchen
garden falls under bio-intensive and participatory innovation which
can provide year round availability, access and consumption of
adequate amount and varieties which supply not only the calorific
demands but also the micronutrients by the resource poor. Iron
deficiency affects about two thirds of the world population and
consequently reduces work capacity of entire populations (Wanjek,
2005). This serious handicap to development can only be overcome by
the diversity embodied in the kitchen garden.
Sustainable production and consumption was defined by Oslo
symposium 1994 as follows, the production of goods and services
that responds to basic needs and bring a better quality of life,
while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and
emission of waste and pollutants over life cycle, so as not to
jeopardize the ability to meet the needs of future generations.
Provision of food which is a key driver to the health and well
being of the workers goes beyond basic contractual obligation. JFK
attempted to provide food indirectly to the workers by introducing
a structured kitchen garden in 2005. To this day no evaluation has
been done to ascertain the extent of success of the project.
Availability of food does not guarantee its accessibility due to
social and/or economic constraints (Kavishe, 1993). For the JFK
workers income and localization (alienation from the areas of food
production) forms part of these constraint. Areas where food crops
are also cash crops have been found to exhibit high levels of
malnutrition (Mushi, 1993).
1.3 Research Questions
The research questions that the study sought to answer are;
1. What are kitchen gardens and how are they designed?
2. To what extent have the kitchen gardens impacted on food
security of JFK workers?
3. To what extent have the kitchen gardens impacted on nutrition
diversity of JFK workers?
4. What challenges do kitchen gardens face and how can the
challenges be handled?
1.4 Objectives
The general objective is to investigate the role of kitchen
gardens in Food supply and nutritional diversity to James Finlay
workers.
1.4.1 Specific Objectives
i. Find out what kitchen gardens are and how they are
designed.
ii. How effective are kitchen gardens in food security.
iii. In what way have kitchen gardens influenced nutritional
diversity.
iv. Establish the challenges that are faced by the kitchen
gardens and what is being done to overcome these challenges.
1.5 Justification of the Study
Kitchen gardens are an area that is currently under research in
an attempt to shed more light into this subject in Kenya. Kitchen
gardens are important in the domestic economy of the marginalized
but because they are relatively not immediately obvious and less
visually impressive than field systems, they tend to be overlooked
and their contribution to survival of mankind underrated (Kimber,
2012). Agriculture extension officers advise farmers to practice
crop rotation. This kind of practice would not hold in a small plot
and it is thus necessary to find out how these kitchen gardens
overcome low productivity usually associated with overworked soils
(Agobia, 1999). The parameters of food production are inter-related
in terms of land, water, environment and the people involved in the
production.
The 2007/2008 post election violence in Kenya destroyed civil
and social capital as well as networks which are vital in survival
and especially in food acquisition (World Bank, 2009). This further
worsens food shocks for the poor and it has always been in history,
these shocks are better addressed by local participation in the
production process.
The availability of vegetables and fruits in a kitchen garden
would increase consumption and hence mitigate against malnutrition.
The availability of the food would spur consumption as observed by
a study of urban community gardeners in USA (Alaimo, 2008). Beyond
the obvious hunger resulting from insufficient food, we have hidden
hunger of micronutrients deficiency that leads to vulnerability to
infectious diseases physical and mental impairment that leads to
low productivity in addition to reduced life expectancy (Turner,
2012).The kitchen gardens are known to increase local opportunities
to eat better(Litt, 2011).
Among the barriers that deter consumption of fruits and
vegetables are costs, availability and acceptance. Kitchen gardens
have been found to lower these barriers as the cost of production
is low as the participants invest their own labor and other
production functions like land and organic fertilizer (Dibsdall,
2011). The individual production will certainly grow varieties that
one would like thus increasing access and eventually increased
acceptance of tastes perception of fruits and vegetables. Herbs and
condiments improve the taste of food and thereby encourage
consumption.
Poor people more often pay a higher price for food as they buy
in expensive small quantities as well as traveling far to get to
where the food costs relatively lower thereby losing that advantage
on transport(Smit, 2001). Kitchen gardening can thus be argued to
improve access to food to the vulnerable groups.
Kitchen gardens provide and supplement subsistence requirements
and generate secondary direct or indirect income (Ninez, 1984).
Direct income is by sale of surplus production while the indirect
income is by the savings achieved by not buying the same products
from the market as well as butter trade when produce is exchanged
with others from the neighbors.
Besides the provision of fruits and vegetables gardening
provides an aesthetic and therapeutic exercise that helps in
relieving stress. The perception of good health goes beyond what we
eat and encompasses the whole being. While the poor engage in
manual work in their employment they do so as an obligation but in
their gardens they do it because they like it. Gardening promotes
relief from acute stress (Berg, 2011) which further improves the
wellbeing of the participants.
African leafy vegetables (ALVS) form part of the richest sources
of vitamin sources for human consumption. About 45,000 species of
plants are found in sub-Saharan Africa, 1000 of which are edible.
African spinach happens to be the most common in African diets
(Oiye, 2009). Micronutrient deficiencies in iron, selenium, copper,
zinc and iodine affects many people in Africa. Vitamin A deficiency
has been found to affect a third of the population The Kitchen
garden through diversification and adoption of the ALVS will
certainly address the much needed nutritional diversity.
1.6 Scope and Limitations
The study covered the James Finlays Kenya ltd in Kericho. The
target households were those that practice kitchen garden. It also
focused on the impact of kitchen gardens on food security and
household nutritional diversity. Since the study was done in an
area that is peri-urban, the results may not be applicable to urban
areas. However, they may be true for other parts of Kenya that bear
similar characteristics.
1.7 Definition of key terms1.7.1 Kitchen Garden
The simplest definition of a kitchen garden is a garden where
vegetables, herbs, and fruits are grown for one's own consumption.
This is related to the household garden definition which defines
these gardens as a subsystem within a larger food procurement
system which aims at the production of household consumption items
that are not obtainable, readily available or affordable through
other means including wage earning. These gardens supply
supplements subsistence requirements and generate direct or
indirect income (Ninez, 1984).
1.7.2 Food security
This research project has adopted the 1996 World Health
Organization definition of food security which states when all
people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious
food to maintain a healthy and active life(WHO 2013). Access here
has to do with physical and economic factors that enable people to
meet their dietary needs as well as their dietary preferences.
1.7.3 Nutritional Diversity
Nutritional diversity refers to a diet that focused on the
diversity of the food consumption to maintain overall health and
vitality. A human diet requires at least 51 nutrients in adequate
amounts consistently for good health (Remans, 2003).
1.7.4 Food Availability
The availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate
quality, supplied through domestic production or imports (including
food aid).
1.7.5 Food Access
Food access refers to the access by individuals to adequate
resources for acquiring appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.
Entitlements are defined as the set of all commodity bundles over
which a person can establish command given the legal, political,
economic and social arrangements of the community in which they
live (including traditional rights such as access to common
resources).
1.7.6 Utilization
Utilization refers to utilization of food through an adequate
diet, clean water, sanitation and health care to reach a state of
nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met. This
brings out the importance of non-food inputs in food security.
1.7.7 Stability
To be food secure, a population, household or individual must
have access to adequate food at all times. They should not risk
losing access to food as a consequence of sudden shocks (e.g. an
economic or climatic crisis) or cyclical events (e.g. seasonal food
insecurity). The concept of stability can therefore refer to both
the availability and access dimensions of food security.
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW2.1 Introduction
Various names and definitions have been used to describe the
kitchen garden over time. For this paper the kitchen garden
represents the universal subsistence food production unit also
going by the name farmyard enterprise, backyard garden, dooryard
garden, home garden or food garden. The kitchen garden entails
small scale economic production units in relatively confined areas
located close to the family dwellings. Kitchen gardens have evolved
with man over the years but still remain the most ancient and
persevering form of cultivation (Kimber, 2004). Kitchen gardens
easily fall within the definitions of urban agriculture as the
practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in,
and/or around a village, town or city. It is not just limited to
foods and fruits but also include keeping of small animals like
chicken, rabbits and bees for honey as well as non food items like
flowers and trees.
The USA the kitchen gardens/urban farming came into the lime
light during the 2nd world war due to shortage of food, labour and
transport. The government encouraged citizens to grow their own
fruits and vegetable in what was called Victory Gardens. It was
estimated that over 20 million victory gardens were created between
1942 and 1943. Over 40 percent of their vegetables and fruits were
produced that year as people felt they were doing a patriotic act
by growing on the victory gardens.
This is a food war. Every extra row of vegetable in the
allotments savesthe battle on the kitchen front cannot be won
without the help from the kitchen garden, Isnt an hour in the
garden better than an hour in the queue?" (World Carrot Museum,
2012).
The above statement observed by Lord Woolton, Minister of Food,
1941 underscores the importance of the Kitchen gardens during the
war.The victory gardens were not a preserve of the USA but were a
common phenomenon with its allies in Canada, United Kingdom, and
Germany.
Land that has been left behind by former industrial cities as
well as homes left behind by disasters like Katrina has been
converted into gardens. Food miles concerns as well as rampant food
illness from industrially produced foods has helped to promote
locally grown foods. In March 2009,US First lady Michelle Obama
planted a 1,100-square-foot (100m2) "Kitchen Garden" on the White
House lawn (Michelle, 2012), is the first since Eleanor
Roosevelt's, to raise awareness about healthy food.
The production of vegetables and fruit in gardens and allotments
was economically and nutritionally important for the poor, often
the only supplement to their low wages (Kemp, 1977) until the onset
of green revolution which came with monoculture and one size fits
all model of agricultural food production.
In Germany there are German garden Ghettos, which are small
plots for rent, popularly known as the schrebergarten located at
the edge of the cities where Germans spend their time over the
weekends. Small vegetable plots exist within these ghettos where
families teach the young generation on vegetable production (German
Survival Bible, 2006).
After the fall of USSR in 1989 and tightened economic embargo by
USA, Cubans lost the food aid and had to feed themselves. Some 8000
gardens known as Popular Gardens were created in Havana most of
which are farmed organically as fertilizers and pesticides used to
come from Russia. These gardens are responsible for more than 50
percent of all vegetables consumed in Havana (Chaplowe, 1996).
In Philippines a project by the name, Oh My Guly (OMG) that
stands for oh my vegetables in the local Tagalog language was
launched to improve production and consumption of local vegetables.
In this project local celebrities in dance, music and television
are featured in print and on television, posing with their favorite
vegetables. These role models are being used as gate keepers to
boost consumption of fruits and vegetables among children as
opposed to meats and rice-based diets as is common with Philippinos
(Cotthem, 2012).
From these gardens man has managed to produce relatively large
amounts of food from relatively small extensions of land ordinarily
unsuited for field agriculture, supply nutrition not obtained
solely from field agriculture like the condiments and spices which
are relatively fresher than when obtained far from the fields,
provide food (including staples) in non-farm settings especially
urban centers, seal food supply gaps in terms of famine or food
flow disruptions like it happened in Kenya during the Post Election
Violence of 2007/2008, provide fodder for household animals like
rabbits and chicken, accrue in-kind or cash benefits when exchanged
with money or other needs with the neighbors, ( cash from
incidental sales of surplus production), obtain secure production
through location to the dwellings in terms of time and space,
provide relatively less contaminated foods by reducing the number
of people handling the product . Kitchen gardens are good
experimental bases for new genetic material and cultivation
techniques with ample time to tend and follow the plants throughout
the growing period. They guarantee women who are the mediators
between production and consumption in the family, a regular and
secure supply of food, petty cash or goods for trade. As recognized
by International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) the
kitchen gardens form an important role in in-situ biodiversity
(Eyzaguire, 2001). The kitchen gardens provide aesthetic value
which in turn provides therapeutic healing to the community. As the
family works together in the garden, the older regeneration is able
to pass important life skill knowledge to the younger generation.
The garden offers physical exercises to the family members which
guard against obesity. The availability of fruits and vegetables
from the garden induces consumption of the same.
2.2 Kitchen Gardens and African Leafy Vegetables in Nutritional
Diversity
African leafy vegetables (ALVS) form part of the richest vitamin
sources for human consumption. About 45,000 species of plants are
found in sub-Saharan Africa, 1000 of which are edible. African
spinach happens to be the most common in African diets.
Per capita Consumption of number of fruits and vegetables
declined between 1986 and 1995 (29 kg per capita consumption) in
sub-Saharan Africa while it was rising in developed countries
(Oniango, 2009).
According to FAO/WHO vegetable consumption per person should be
146 kgs per annum. In Kenya urban vegetable consumption is 147 Kgs
per person against 73 Kgs in rural areas (Onim, 2008). In terms of
nutrition ALVS have been found to be important than the brassicas
in Yaound Cameroon for household consumption and income generation
for poor households (Shiundu, 2007). ALVS are generally more
profitable giving about $19708 per ha (sold as leaves) as compared
to $1197 for maize per ha (Mwaniki, 2008). The kitchen gardens can
be used to grow the vitamin rich ALVS. The main benefits of ALVS
include superior nutrition qualities in vitamins, oils and
micronutrients. They are adapted to the local environment, they use
own seeds as opposed to expensive hybrid seeds, fast growth, and
lately high income for the health conscious consumers. Unhealthy
diets, sedentary lifestyles as well as tobacco use have been
scientifically proven as major determinants of non communicable
diseases (Rasanathan, 2011). Unhealthy diets are perhaps the major
determinant for non communicable diseases for the poor people. WHO
listed Kenya among 72 countries with low serum retinal levels as a
result of Vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A supplementation began
several years ago but food based long term strategy is more cost
effective and here the ALVS play a major role.
Iron deficiency affects about 50% of the world population
predominantly in the developing countries (WHO, 2004). This
deficiency results in 30% impairment in
physical capacity and performance (WHO, 2001). The ALVS produced
in Kitchen gardens would form a stable supply of this much required
iron. The traditional vegetables, meet the major protein calorie
nutritional needs especially in children, the sick, elderly,
expectant and lactating mothers (FAO, 2005).
2.3 Kitchen Gardens and Food Security
Food security was defined in 1974 by the first World food summit
in Rome under the auspice of FAO as, availability at all times, of
adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a
steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuation in
production and prices (FAO, 2003).
The most widely accepted definition and concept of food security
is the World Bank 1986 definition which is as follows, access by
all people at all times to enough food for an active and healthy
life(FAO, 2003). This definition is broken down to availability,
access, utilization and vulnerability. Food security in Kenya has
been tackled differently by trying to control the units of
production and mainly land and water.
Many famines in the world happen not because of lack of food but
in poor distribution occasioned by poor government policies,
perishability of the food as well geographical challenges. In 1943
Bengal had one of the biggest rice harvest yet hundreds of laborers
starved to death. The poor laborers are vulnerable and lack the
security of livelihood that will secure food (Department for
International Development (DFID) , 2004).
Sessional paper no 10 of 1965 identified poverty, ignorance and
disease as the leading problems to deal with as a government (Kenya
Government, 1966). Top-down projects were designed with an aim that
benefits will trickle down to the people. At micro level poverty
concerns were not addressed. Basic needs approach has also been
tried as a form relief but has been found to leave people as it
found them in 1972. To date this model is practiced through the
ministry of Special programs. District Focus for rural development
(DFRD) came into being in 1983 (Maina, 2005).
The Vision 2030s enhanced equity and wealth creation
opportunities for the poor; policy can only be achieved when the
poor has access to one of the greatest production input the land
(Kenya Government, 2007). This does not necessarily need to change
the land tenure system by using the land around where the poor
people live (kitchen gardens) more efficiently. This is one way
that Kenya can feed itself. In March last year the government
launched the Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Project (UPAP) in an
effort to promote food production in urban and peri-urban areas. A
number of districts have been selected to spearhead this project
with the main emphasis on innovative use of the scarce land
resource to boost small scale production. This project is also
aimed at building the capacity of small farmers who have embraced
the greenhouse farming but lacks the technical know-how of
greenhouse farming. Kiambu and Kericho districts are some of the
districts in this project (Ministry of Agriculture, Government of
Kenya, 2012). A key area is the realization that 36% of the urban
population practices agriculture.
The kitchen garden is a principal source of household food and
income during periods of stress, e.g. the pre-harvest lean season,
harvest failure, prolonged unemployment, health or other
disabilities suffered by family members or agricultural and
economic disruption caused by wars for instance the post election
violence in Kenya. In Kampala, Uganda, after the civil war, urban
agriculture substantially fed the city in non-cereal foods. Kitchen
gardens contributes to household food security by providing direct
access to food that can be harvested, prepared and fed to family
members. Poor, landless or near landless people practise gardening
on small patches of homestead land, vacant lots, roadsides or edges
of a field, or in containers. Gardening may be done with virtually
no economic resources, using locally available planting materials,
green manures, "live" fencing and indigenous methods of pest
control. Kitchen gardening is a production system that the poor can
easily access. Kitchen gardening provides a diversity of fresh
foods that improve the quantity and quality of food rich in
nutrients available to the family (Marsh, 1998).
2.3.1 Food Accessibility and Vulnerability
Geographical barriers, geo-politics, globalization, level of
development, regionalization, gender, income, religion and culture
are among the many factors that play a big role in access to food.
Paradoxically the world has enough food for the current population
but it just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and
belonging to the wrong person or in a form that is not palatable to
the people.
Constraints to food access include economic growth that is
inadequate in the aggregate, or in wholesome leading to lack of
opportunities to become an active participant in the economy
(USAID, 1992). This could be an acquired behavior in the form of
Learned helplessness (Peterson, 1993) as a result of colonization
most of the developing countries are net importers of food making
it food a commodity that can only be accessed through the income
that one has.
Globalizations has broken both the physical and the mental
barriers and brought unrealistic perception of access to food. The
adverts in the media and in the market places of food from far
lands look cheaper than they really are and tend to undermine local
production. We are like a people in an ocean of food which is
visible to us through a thick glass which can only be broken by
monetary exchange. Widespread hunger exists today in a context of
global oversupply of food as the chart below suggest.
Figure 2.1: Distribution of undernourished people in the world
in millions
The figure above shows about 1 billion people were classified as
hungry in the world in 2010 (FAO, 2010).
The current FAO global cereal production for 2012 is 2396
million tons against a global utilization of 2370 million tonnes
(FAO, 2012). This paints a picture of a world of plenty where
hunger should be a foreign word from. The food situation
contradicts the1798 Thomas Malthus population theory (Burns, 2011.
Inventions like the green revolutions seem to have reversed the
growth patterns in food production. Generally in developed
countries as well as some countries in Far East the food production
increased as a result of green revolution.
Vulnerability is a dynamic concept which looks at the situation
before and the results or outcomes. It is an expression of the
future world which we dont know and is a very subjective area. This
concept is more of the perception of the people involved rather
than the very physical availability of food or ability to acquire
it. Different people will return different levels of satisfaction
given the same physical conditions and endowments. Kenya is the
most developed in east and central Africa yet the Kenyans are the
least satisfied people in the region.
2.3.2 Food availability
Globalization has helped man to include foods from un-imaginable
distances to be on his plate, by improved transport, processing,
cooling and communication in general. Though this has increased
food availability in developed countries, the same cannot be said
to be true in developing countries where infrastructure is poor to
say the least. Food production is done in areas of low human
population and has to be transported to areas of low production and
of high food demand.
Though the green revolution had succeeded in developed countries
and some Asian economies, food production in Africa and
particularly Sub-Saharan Africa has stagnated if not declined
(Asiema, 1994).
People living below the poverty line are net buyers of food. In
terms of quality man needs other types of food besides cereals.
Fruits and vegetables are perishable and have a short vase life
compared to the cereals. Transporting them to great distances
requires expensive processing and refrigeration which highly
increases their prices. Besides the fruits and vegetables, meats
and animal products are also highly perishable. This perishability
further compromises the relative availability of a balanced diet
food to the vulnerable. Before the recent draught in northern Kenya
last year, which resulted in Kenyans for Kenyans food campaign,
excess milk in central Kenya and central Rift valley was poured
into open drains (Wambugu, 2011).
The availability of food is not just about the inadequacy and
the immediate entitlement but has to do with paucity of the
household as without assets to liquidate and buy food one will go
hungry (Maxwell, 1992).
Despite the bill of rights in Kenyas constitution guaranteeing
food (National Council for Law Reporting, 2010) as adopted from the
Universal Declaration human rights (United Nations, 2013) we are in
private ownership market economy where entitlement (read
availability) and relations of persons are determined by what they
own, what they generate, what they can trade, what they can accede
to or are given.
Food Deserts have emerged from the current food retailing
structures in America large supercentres in suburban areas where
food is scarce for disadvantaged consumers (Thomas, 2010). Most of
the imported foods in developing countries are found in
supermarkets which are located away from the marginalized
people.
As eluded earlier in this paper, the world food production is
above its utility needs. The late Roger Revellie of Harvard
University claimed that Africa, Asia and Latin America could feed
35- 40 billion people(seven to eight times the current world
population) if they used water more efficiently(Richman, 1995). The
kitchen garden uses part of domestic water thereby improving
growing conditions for plants.
Gardeners directly experience nearby nature by 'getting their
hands dirty' and growing food. They enjoy the way vegetables taste
and form emotional connections with the garden. The physical and
social qualities of garden participation awaken the senses and
stimulate a range of responses that influence interpersonal
processes (learning, affirming, and expressive experiences) and
social relationships that are supportive of positive health-related
behaviors and overall health. This research suggests that the
relational nature of aesthetics, defined as the most fundamental
connection between people and place, can help guide community
designers and health planners when designing environment and policy
approaches to improve health behaviors. Young people trained to be
the farmers through the kitchen gardens can produce and process
food for tomorrow, not just to feed themselves and their villages,
but to grow the food to feed our cities (JFAD, 2012).
Food insecurity in a household can be seen as a combination of
two distinct problems: a problem of acquirement and a problem of
utilization. Below is a four dimensional angle of looking at the
food insecurity; the ability to improve and maintain the level of
acquirement, the ability to cope with shocks to acquirement, the
ability to improve and maintain the level of utilization; and the
ability to cope with shocks to utilization
These elements above are not independent of one another but are
rather interrelated and hence complex. Other external factors like
national policies variables will have their effects on the
household which lies at the end of the chain.
2.4. Theoretical Framework
Two theories were relied upon in this research are
Techno-Ecological theory and the adoption theory as explained
below.
2.4.1 Techno-Ecological Theory
Techno-ecological theory of Berry and Cline (Scanlan, 2003) best
captures the Kitchen garden innovation. This theory opines that
technology and human ingenuity are the greatest resources available
and are not being threatened with scarcity. The theory further says
that as it has been in the past, future challenges confronting the
worlds carrying capacity will be met.
Kitchen Gardens are a result of human ingenuity and were
instrumental in the shift of humankind from the hunters and
gatherers stage to domesticated agriculture where seeds selected
from the forest were planted near the dwelling places in the
domesticating process. The success that this garden has had in the
past can be used to address food and nutritional diversity.
Combining this with organic farming techniques will have a garden
producing sufficient food for years from a small area.
2.4.2 The Adoption of Innovation Theory
The Adoption of Innovation Theory (Rogers, 1995) gives light to
how innovations are adopted or not. The elements of diffusion are
very important in respect to the type of innovation, the
communication channels, the timing and the social system that would
determine the success of adoption. This answers the process
question important in evaluation of who was involved in decision
making, how the decisions were made, whether new networks have been
made and who benefits from the innovation. Typical top-down
innovations are short lived as the recipients do not own the
process. Rogers refers these kinds of decisions as Authority
Innovation-design. JFK used this system but due to sustained
reinforcement, the timing, and by use of village champions
(communication channels) the project has been successful to a
greater extent. The project used old employees as opinion leaders
and gate keepers to the society.
Figure 2:2 Conceptual Framework
(ImpactHealth and fulfilled Families)
(OutcomeImproved food supply to the familyImproved nutritional
diversityImproved disposable income) (OutputsSmall productive
organic gardens for every householdImproved no of varieties of
vegetables and fruitsImproved production and consumption of
indigenous vegetables)
(ActivitiesDevelop a kitchen garden policy, plan and
budget.Mobilize and train the households on kitchen gardeningSet up
demonstration plots and workshopsSupply inputs like seeds, manure
and information)
2.4.3 Conceptual Model.
The Kitchen garden project was set up using result chain logical
framework typical of result based management as shown above. This
provides a way of indentifying measurable indicators which helps to
recognize changes attributable to the innovation. The activities
were well defined and form a basis of expectations in terms of
short term outputs like seeing the actual physical garden and
workers supplying the household labor. The outcomes desired were
the improved food supply and nutritional diversity. Replication of
these gardens outside Finlays would be a good indicator of the
uptake of the innovation. Happy and healthy families are the
greater why the kitchen garden was started.
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY3.0 Introduction
The chapter presents the research design and methodologies used
in this study. The areas that were reviewed under this chapter
include; the research design, site description, unit of
observation, sample size, data collection techniques and data
analysis were discussed in this chapter.
3.1 Research design
This study was designed to understand the roll of the kitchen
gardens to the JKF workers by interviewing them, their leaders and
the stakeholders in the area. This was done through administering a
structured questionnaire to the workers, three focused discussions
in three villages, Observations, Key informant interviews and desk
review of information from stakeholders.
3.2 Site Description
The study was carried out at JFK Kericho both the tea and the
flower section. The purpose of this study was to documents the
geographical features of the villages, infrastructures, social
backgrounds and social composition of the population. This site was
selected because of the researchers urge to survey how the people
use the land resource in formal kitchen gardens. Moreover, JFK is
one of the few farms that still house its employees. The employees
live deep in the farm cut from the normal market supply which
ideally would make them vulnerable.
The population of the workers was 14,314 at the time of the
study. The tea estates section employs over half (56.4%) of the
population while the rest are in tea factories and services
departments. JFK is situated in Kericho County which has a total
population of 758,339 people. Kericho County has five
constituencies namely, Kericho, Kipkelion, Londian, Litein and
Kabuti. It covers 2479 square kilometers and a population density
of 309 people per square kilometer. It has a poverty rate of 44.2
%(USAID, 2012).
Temperatures range from a minimum of 16C to a maximum of 20C.
The average rainfall ranges between 1,400 mm and 2,000mm per annum.
This choice has been done because JFK has adopted the kitchen
garden innovation. Though Kericho is a high rainfall area where
food should be plenty, most of the land is put on cash crops at the
expense of the food crops. JFK has recorded an average of 1867.mm
of rainfall for the last ten years.
3.2.1 Unit of observation
Unit of observationis the unit upon which one collects or
analyzesdata (OECD, 2005) term analogous withunit of measurements.
The unit of observation is the JFK workers in the lower cadre
usually referred to as unionisable staff.
3.2.2 Unit of analysis
Theunit of analysisis the majorcomponent that is beinganalyzed
in the study (Trochim, 2006). It is the 'what' or 'whom' that is
being studied. The unit of analysis in my study is the perceived
role of kitchen garden is in food security and nutritional
diversity of James Finlays workers in Kericho.
3.3 Target population
The target populations for this study were the JFK workers in
the lower cadre who were about 1100 households living in the farm.
In this case one hundred and forty two (142) households were
sampled.
3.4 Sampling procedure
Sampling is the process of selecting a group of subjects for a
study in such a way that the individuals represent the larger group
from which they were selected (Yount, 2006). When one is studying a
population it may be logistically and economically impossible to
study the full population, but looking at a group that represents
the population may help one to make inferences and extrapolations
to the whole population. Sampling is the process of collecting
information from the sample.
The study population (JFK) is about 1100 households (Finlays,
2011) who live in the farm. According to Small sample technique
(Morgan, 1970) a 280 sample would be most ideal at 95 level of
confidence. However this puts a very big impact on the cost of the
study as to administer the questionnaire alone will require in
excess of 2 months having in mind that the workers may only be
available for not more than a three hour window when workers are in
their houses after work. One hundred and forty (140) households
were sampled for this study.
To avoid biasness a stratified random sample was used. This was
done to help cover the stratified nature of the workers and in turn
help to capture all the possible perceptions across the groups.
Various income groups have different perceptions about food and
this can only be captured by a random stratified sample. This
probability element allows the findings of the study to be used to
infer to the JFK population. Eighty three households in tea, twenty
five in flowers, nineteen in factories and fifteen in services were
sampled. The tea villages were taken from two productive estates
(Tiluet and Kaproret) and one low production estate (Kapsongoi).
The factories were represented by Kitumbe, Medical team was sampled
from Miwani village and the flower section was represented by
Master D village in Flowers Two.
3.5 Types of data
The study used both primary and secondary data. The primary data
was collected from the respondent on their perception of their
state of food security and their dietary diversity. Five research
assistants were recruited, trained and helped to fill the
questionnaires to the households under my supervision. Secondary
data was sourced from the human resource department, food prices
treads from the ministry of agriculture, and timelines from the
elderly people in Kericho.
3.5.1 Data collection
Household interviews, key informant interviews, focused groups
discussions; desk review, photography as well as observations were
used to carry out this study.
3.5.1.1 Household interview
The household is central to the development process not only as
a production unit but it is also consumption, social and
demographic unit. This is so because the household is the basic
unit of influence to the members well-being. This study uses the
Malawian definition of household which is as follows; the household
was defined as consisting of one or more persons related or
unrelated who make common provision for food and who regularly take
their food from the same pot and/or share the same grain store
(Nkhokwe) or pool their incomes for the purpose of purchasing
food." Malawi 1987, 1998, (Coast, 2008). A structured questionnaire
was used to get the respondent household perception on various
issues about the kitchen garden
3.5.1.2 Key informants
Key informants are individuals with knowledge of the community
under review in terms of their needs. They provide key information
on the subject matter in the community. The informant should be
well versed with information about the community. A key informant
interview guide structured to shed light on the JFK kitchen gardens
discussions was prepared. Those interviewed were;
1. Eight JFK personnel managers
2. The project consultant
3. Four Women leaders
4. Five Section heads
5. Kericho District Agricultural Officer
6. Two JFK Medical Personnel
7. Union leader
Union leaders are in the political front and are more critical
on any developments initiated by the management. A note taker
accompanied me during the key informant interviews.
3.5.1.3 Focus Group Discussions
Focused groups discussions (FGDs) aregroup of individuals
selected and assembled by researchers to discuss and comment on,
from personal experience, the topic that is the subject of the
research(Gibbs, 1997). They entail organized discussions aimed at
gaining information from the individuals about the topic at hand
and organized in such a manner that all the perspectives of the
subject will be covered. This is important in qualitative research
where the indicators in review are perceptions difficult to
quantify and can only be captured in emotions and where visual and
body language and weight to spoken or written words. FGDs help to
gain insight gaining insights into peoples shared understandings of
everyday life and the ways in which individuals are influenced by
others in a group situation. A moderator was required to control
and guide the discussions and will be employed for this study. An
FGD guide was used to restrain the discussions from digression.
In this research 3 focused group discussions were done, in Mara
Mara club. The discussions included managers, section heads,
village champions, medical personnel, ground men and welfare
representatives.
3.5.1.4 Desk Review
Desk review also known as secondary research is done by
collecting information from existing data from other researches and
government organs as well as stakeholders in the area. The
stakeholders in this research were the JFK management executives,
the project consultant and village committee members. A check list
was used to ensure all possible data is collected.
3.5.1.5 Observation
Observation helps in gathering information primarily through
close visual inspection of the natural setting. Here the research
tries to be unobtrusive and detached from the setting. Participant
observation where the researcher and the assistants will try and
observe and experience the world as a participant, while retaining
an observer's eye for understanding, analysis and explanation will
be applied in this study(Smith, 1997). Field notes were taken and
maintained throughout the research. Observations were done in an
open mind to avoid bias interpretations of the situation. The
information gathered here was of snapshot nature and cannot be
conclusive. A structured checklist was used to guide the
observation. However it helped to build a good picture of the
subject as well as identifying outliers during the data cleaning
exercise.
3.6 Data analysis
The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods but
with a bias on the former. Quantitative data was coded and
summarized in tables and analyzed in frequencies and percentages.
Descriptive Statistics of The Statistical Package for Social
Scientists (SPSS) was used to analyze some of the data. Findings
were presented in tables, narratives and bar charts. Qualitative
data was analyzed by screening all the notes taken and presented in
narratives where necessary. In many areas the qualitative data was
used to give meaning to the findings to the quantitative data.
The biggest challenge in this study was the vast size of the JFK
with villages located several kilometers from one another. To cover
the as many perceptions as possible the researcher avoided
neighboring villages which further added to the challenge. As an
employee of the flowers section it took a lot of discipline not to
direct the research to the flower section only.
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the research findings obtained from 142
respondents who are workers selected from the JFK workers
households, observations seen in the gardens, information from
focused group discussions and Key informant interviews as well as
secondary data from stake holders. The data generated contained
enough information which can effectively answer the research
questions. The survey focused on assessing whether the Kitchen
gardens have influenced food security and nutritional diversity of
the practicing households.
4.1 Demographic Characteristics 4.1.1 Respondents Household
Distribution
The structured questionnaire was administered to 142 households
in seven villages at JFK. The factory was represented by Mamba
village in Kitumbe, Master D village for flowers, Barrier village
for Kapsongoi estate, Miwani village for the medical section,
Dimboli and Umoja village for Tiluet estate and Kaproret Tea Estate
as shown in the table 4.1 below.
Table 4.1 Village Distribution of the Respondents
Frequency
Percent
Flowers
35
24.6
Kaproret
19
13.4
Kapsongoi
30
21.1
Kitumbe
23
16.2
Medical
5
3.5
Tiluet
30
21.1
Total
142
100.0
I had more flower workers available and hence a slightly higher
percentage sampled than it would normally be in a purely stratified
sense.
4.1.2. Distribution of Respondents by Sex
From the 142 respondents thirty six point six percent of the
respondents were females while the rest were men. No data was
available to compare with the households gender data and hence this
is not a reflection of the farm but for those who were available in
their homes at the time of survey. The higher male percentage was
perhaps due to the different tasks done by both women and men. Many
men work in areas that set them free during daytime when the study
was done. Machine tea harvesters who are predominantly men work
early in the morning and are back in their homes in mid morning
Table 4.2 Gender
Gender
Frequency
Percent
Female
52
36.6
Male
90
63.4
Total
142
100.0
4.1.3 Marital Status
Majority of the respondents (83.1%) were married which would
point to some level of seriousness in handling household needs.
About 13% of the respondents were single as shown in Table 4.3.
Table 4.3 Marital Status
Marital Status
Frequency
Percent
Married
118
83.1
Separated
4
2.8
Single
18
12.7
Widowed
2
1.4
Total
142
100
The higher percentage of married gives the research more weight
as married people are normally directly involved in food provision
to their households.4.1.4 Distribution of Respondents by
AgeMajority of the workers fall in the so called youth group with
respondents aged between 21 and 40 years making a total of 71.1% of
the respondents.
The high percentage of the youthful workers agrees with the
national outlook where the youth forms the majority of the nation
(United Nations Development Programme, 2013). The youthful range
could also be a result of turnover of old workers who could be
going for greener pastures away from the low paying agricultural
sector.
Table 4.4 Age Group Distribution
Age group
Frequency
Percent
21-30yrs
48
33.8
31-40yrs
53
37.3
41-50yrs
29
20.4
51-60yrs
6
4.2
Above 61yrs
1
.7
Total
142
100.0
4.1.5 Education level
Majority of the respondents had the primary level of education
(47.9%) with almost an equivalent number with secondary (43.7%).
Seven % have tertiary courses while 1.4 % had only pre-primary
education. The high level of secondary school graduates in JFK
agrees with the availability of skilled manpower in Kenya which
places the country at a comparative advantage over its neighbours.
This could also be an indicator of high level of un-employment in
Kericho forcing educated people to take the only available slots in
the agricultural sector
Table 4.5 Education level
Education level
Frequency
Percent
Pre-primary
2
1.4
Primary
68
47.9
Secondary
62
43.7
Tertiary
10
7.0
Total
142
100
4.2 Main Findings4.2.0 Introduction
The research was able to answer all the questions that it sought
to answer in the objectives as detailed below.
4.2.1 Kitchen Garden Set Up
The first objective sought to understand how the Kitchen gardens
were set up. To do this a reflection of the food security status
was sought from the Kericho District Agricultural Officer (DAO).
Kericho district is a high productive area and save for the workers
in plantations the district is relatively food secure. The district
was 60 % food secure in 2012 according to the DAO. A Kipsigis elder
helped to lay a background of food security perception of the
community.
One 83year old Kipsigis elder says, to the Kipsigis food
security involved the availability of Finger millet, milk from cows
and African leafy vegetables like black nightshade (soyik), spider
plant ( kilchik)
To the Kalenjin extreme lack of food like in major draughts is
referred to as rubeti. Moderate food availability where staple food
accompaniment like vegetables and milk are lacking is referred to
as Munyasta. People who live in abject poverty with meager food
availability are said to experience Sineti.
Before colonization the Kalenjin did not use sugar in their
diets and its only much later by around 1930. Table salt in the old
times was not available and instead water was made to pass through
the ashes to serve as the food sweetener. Kalenjins have seen three
major famines, kimauto Sigiri( where the draught was so severe that
the Kipsigis ate the donkey an animal they abhor). The other famine
was Kimauto Kisii where the Kalenjins sold their children to the
Kisiis in exchange of food. The other famine was Kimauto muhogo
(where cassava flour was the only food available). Floods in 1961
swept a lot of food away and whatever remained developed into
manure inside the stores). On the overall the Kipsigis people
occupied a very productive land and food has been in abundance
until recently due to population pressure.
The idea of formal kitchen garden was approved by the management
to reduce the Munyasta condition among its workers in 2003. It was
not until 2006 when the first gardens were set in Masobet village
occupied by Finlays Flowers employees. A consultant, Ms Grete Davey
was engaged to lead the program with an objective to help employees
in the villages improve on family food supplies and nutrition year
round, through sustainable kitchen gardens.
As observed by many stake holders during the FGDs, the villages
before the onset of the program were untidy and messy with free for
all outlook with only the very industrious people who had
resemblance of gardens and which were mainly with one crop (kales)
on the periphery of the villages. The same gardens were poorly
cultivated and as result soil erosion had taken its toll.
Plate 4:1 Demarcation of the Gardens at the onset of the Project
(the fencing was done to mark out areas for garden and other uses
of the ground area as spelt out in the policy)
There were no demarcations of the play areas or individual
private areas and people were roaming all over depriving the
residents of any sense of privacy. Every place was a playground or
drying space for the laundry. Any attempts of recreation were
bringing in social conflicts between the families.
The company strategized to provide information on improvements
employees can make through a kitchen garden so that they are able
to improve their wellbeing.
By and large tidy, pleasant and attractive villages with well
kept and well cultivated sustainable organic kitchen gardens would
be realised. Neat compounds with tidy hedges and well defined paths
which introduced privacy and aesthetics would improve the workers
self esteem. The vegetables and fruits from the gardens would bring
a necessary nutritional diversity required for a healthy family.
The size of the garden was done to give sufficient production for
the family but small enough to fit in the ever decreasing land
sizes at home.
To jumpstart the program the company initially provided
seedlings like Cabbage, spinach, Sukuma wiki (kales), tomato,
indigenous vegetable seedlings, sweet potato slips, climbing
spinach, bunching onions, marigold flowers, gooseberry fruit
seedlings. Beans and soya seed were given for direct sowing.
Climbers like pumpkin and cucumber were provided. Tree tomato,
loquat, mulberry and pawpaw seedlings were provided for fruits.
Indigenous trees were provided for aesthetics. Plenty of mulch was
provided from the company organic waste (tea and flowers) program
while labor was mobilized from the camp workers and household
owners.
(Entrance )
(Side Garden)
(Hibiscus edge)
Plate 4.2 Kitchen Garden Layout (showing the agreed positioning
of various activity areas in relation to the house meant to create
order and harmony in operation)
Plate 4.3 Hibiscus Hedge used for Demarcation (the fence was
meant to protect the garden and bring in beauty and sustainability
compared to the wooden fence)
Demarcation of the compound was done with red hibiscus hedge as
shown in plate 4.3 above. This was a big contrast from the previous
tea hedges which were at the periphery of the villages as shown in
plate 4.4. The recommended measurements were 4 meters to the front
of the house, 2 meters at each side (See plate 4.6), 3 meters at
the back of the house. These measurements are not always possible
round some of the houses, so these measurements are a guideline.
The sides and back of the compound to be dug up and the grass
removed. The front should not be dug up, as this area is used for
recreation needs.
Plate 4.4 Tea Hedge as Appeared before the Program (this hedge
was monotonous and especially to the tea workers who spend the
whole day in tea plantations)
Once the back and sides are dug, then compost manure was
scattered over the dug up area, and then re-dug to a depth of at
least one foot, more if it is possible resulting in a good soil
manure mix. In any side of the house, digging would not be allowed
within 2 feet from the foundation.
Plate 4.5 Workers in One of the first Gardens (as with every new
innovation the participants put in their best and soon blooming
gardens were realized)
As with all pioneers the first group was very enthusiastic with
the gardens and the palte above(4.5) explains it all.4.2.2 Size of
gardens
JFK has different kinds of houses which have been set up in
different times of company history. The circular houses have bigger
garden area and the households there in have gardens in excess of
10 square meters. The newer villages have block houses which have
more families together. As a result their gardens are smaller
but
Table 4.6 Size of the Garden
Size
Frequency
Percent
