Influence of Crop Diversification On the Resilience Of Smallholder Farmers in Bungoma South Sub- County, Kenya

Abstract

Recognition that many agriculture-based economies have few other livelihood strategies has generated the desire to build resilience among smallholder farmers. Globally, due to rapid population growth and continual urban sprawl, average arable land per household is shrinking and hence crop diversification is gaining increased importance in the quest for solutions to the perennial food security problems in most of Sub-Saharan countries. Crop diversification is seen as the most viable strategy that should be embraced by the global poor farmers. However, the relationship between crop diversification and farmers ‘resilience is unclear, hence the need for further research. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of crop diversification on the resilience of smallholder farmers in Bungoma South Sub County. The objectives of this study were to: examine the influence of crop diversity on food crop yield among the smallholder farmers; assess the influence of crop diversity on food affordability among the smallholder farmers; and examine the influence of crop diversity on costs of farming among the farmers. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The study population comprised of all smallholder farmers, agricultural service providers, Sub-county agricultural officer and local administration chiefs in Bungoma South Sub County, from which a representative sample of 384 participants was drawn from the accessible 3,895 subjects to participate in the study using proportionate sampling technique. Primary data were collected through: Questionnaires, key informant interviews and observation. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics: percentages, means and standard deviation.Inferential statistics:chi-square and simple linear regression analysis were used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses. All the tests of significance were conducted at α=0.05. The results showed that 61% (r2=0.609), 60.9%