| dc.description.abstract | Gender disparity is a general global and regional concern. Locally, nearly 80% of
Kenya's population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. However, agricultural
production has been declining due to constraints such as gender participation in crop
production leading to poverty and food insecurity in the country. Generally gender
mainstreaming is essential for increased food production. Most studies have attributed
food insecurity to physical, economic, technological and administrative factors
forgetting gender participation as a problem. In principle, existing laws provide for
equal rights and privileges for both men and women. However, it is difficult to
interpret existing laws ultimately compromising the equality enshrined in them. The
main purpose of this study was to establish the influence of gender roles in crop
production on household food security. Specific objectives are to establish the existing
gender roles in the study area, assess the influence of socio-cultural practices on crop
production., determine the influence of access, control and ownership of production
resources on crop production and food security, and established the hunger gap in the
study area guided by the functionalist perspective, which views a part of society as
functional if it maintains and contributes to the survival of the society. The study area
was North West Kiswnu Location consisting of four sub-locations which were
considered as the basic sampling unit. The total IDeational population is 6,075
households; the study population was 4075 farming households. The unit of analysis
was the household heads. The sample population was 364 calculated using Taro
Yamaneis (1967) formula (of n=N/l+N (el Simple random sampling was to reach
households and purposive sampling was to get respondents for Focal Group
Discussions and Key Informants. Intensive interviews, household questionnaires and
observation were used to collect quantitative data, while Focus Group Discussions and
key informant" interviews were used to collect qualitative data. Quantitative data
analysis was through descriptive statistics, while qualitative data was analyzed by
categorizing relevant responses to answer research questions. Research results indicate .
that education plays a role in women's engagement in crop production and that
females generally engage in reproductive, productive and community activities, giving
females less time to work on the farms effectively, unlike their male counterparts who
mostly engaged in productive and community activities. Study results indicate division
of labour by crop and by task between the males and females and heavier work-loads
on females than males. The study revealed discriminatory practices and norms against
women characterized by differences in power which determine access, control, and
ownership of property, crop production resources, decision-making and a hunger gap
in the community. Findings of this study will be of relevance to gender and food
security policy and decision-makers, individuals and also improve the existing body of
literature on gender roles and food security in the Location as the existing literature
have their focus at the national level. | en_US |
