FOOD SECURITY THROUGH PERMACULTURE: A CASE STUDY OF SAMBURU COUNTY BY WANGARI THIONG’O 644870 A Thesis Submitted to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in International Relations (Integrated Studies) UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY- AFRICA SPRING SEMESTER 2016 STUDENT’S DECLARATION I, the undersigned, declare that this is my original work and has not been submitted to any other college, institution or university other than the United States International University- Africa in Nairobi for academic credit. Signed: ________________________ Date: __________________ Wangari Thiong’o This thesis has been presented for examination with my approval as the appointed supervisor. Signed: ________________________ Date: _____________________ Mr. Dan N. Odaba Signed: _________________________ Date: ____________________ Dr. Tom L. S. Onditi Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) Signed: _______________________ Date: _________________ Amb. Prof. Ruthie C. Rono, HSC Deputy Vice Chancellor- Academic Affairs (DVCAA) ii © Copyright 2016 by Wangari Thiong’o All Rights Reserved iii Abstract There is a serious threat posed to human survival by food insecurity, especially among vulnerable communities such as nomadic pastoralists. Food security remains a key developmental agenda, evidenced by its inclusion in the global sustainable development goals. The second goal seeks to end hunger and achieve food security. Therefore there is need for viable solutions to the global hunger problem, particularly focusing on sustainable agricultural practices that will increase yields and also protect the environment. This paper will look into food insecurity among nomadic pastoralist communities in Kenya who live in arid areas and propose permaculture as a model of smart farming. The paper will then look into the implementation of the permaculture model in Samburu County of Kenya. There is limited literature on the application of permaculture in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid as a means to sustainable food security as well as additional income sources. This study looks into alternative methods of agriculture that are sustainable as well as environmentally friendly. It relies heavily on primary data collected from Samburu County residents. This will allow for sound conclusions on whether the permaculture model can be used to bring food security to the nomadic pastoralists of Samburu County. iv Acknowledgement To my supervisor, Mr. Dan N. Odaba, who guided me through this journey The USIU fraternity, thank you for your guidance and support. Sadhana Forest Kenya, you embraced me as one of own and allowed me to bank on your resources, Special mention goes to Bruce, Nicholas and Mark Mr. Thiong’o Gatheru, as my other supervisor, for the invaluable academic guidance and moral support throughout this journey. Mrs. Bilha Gatheru, for checking up on me and urging me on. Shiru, Sylvia, Tusmo and Victoria, for keeping me on my toes so that we graduate together. v Table of Contents STUDENT’S DECLARATION ii Abstract iv Acknowledgement v List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ix Definition of Terms x Chapter 1 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background Information .......................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Food Security ................................................................................................................... 2 1.1.2 Nomadic Pastoralism among the Samburu .................................................................. 4 1.2 Problem Statement .................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Objectives of the Study ............................................................................................. 9 1.3.1 General Objective .............................................................................................. 9 1.3.2 Specific Objectives ............................................................................................. 9 1.4 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 10 1.5 Significance of the Study......................................................................................... 10 1.6 Organization of the Study ...................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 12 Literature Review 12 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Samburu County .............................................................................................................. 13 2.2.1 Overview of Samburu County ..................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Geography and Climate ............................................................................................... 13 2.2.3 Demography and Economic Activities ........................................................................ 15 2.3 Food Security .................................................................................................................... 17 2.3.1 Hunger, Food Insecurity and Malnutrition ................................................................ 17 2.3.2 Climate Change and Food Insecurity ......................................................................... 18 2.3.3 Government Measures to Address Food Insecurity and Climate Change .............. 20 2.4 Climate Smart Agriculture ............................................................................................. 23 vi 2.4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 23 2.4.2 Permaculture as a climate-smart farming model ...................................................... 27 2.4.3 Case Study: Implementation of Sadhana Forest Kenya in Samburu County ........ 31 2.5 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3 36 Methodology 36 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 36 3.2 The Site of the Study and Units of Analysis .................................................................. 36 3.3 Research Design ............................................................................................................... 37 3.4 Study Population and Sample Selection Procedures .................................................... 38 3.5 Data Collection Methods and Procedures ..................................................................... 39 3.6 Data Analysis Methods .................................................................................................... 40 3.7 Limitations of the Study .................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 4 41 Research Findings 41 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 41 4.2 An Overview of Farming Practices in Samburu County ............................................. 42 4.3 Data Collection and Analysis Process ............................................................................ 43 4.4 Results of the Study ......................................................................................................... 44 4.4.1 Demographic Data and Household Characteristics................................................... 44 4.4.2 Food Security ................................................................................................................. 45 4.4.3 Farm Characteristics .................................................................................................... 47 4.4.3 Adoption of Good Farming Practices ......................................................................... 48 4.4.4 Sadhana Forest Kenya Interventions .......................................................................... 51 4.4.5 Benefits of Improved Methods and Support Needed for Adoption of Practices .... 53 4.5 Summary of Results ......................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 5 57 Recommendations and Conclusions 57 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 57 5.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 58 vii 5.2.1 Water Conservation ...................................................................................................... 58 5.2.1 Fencing ........................................................................................................................... 59 5.2.3 Access to Farming Inputs ............................................................................................. 59 5.3.4 Management and Conservation of Rangelands ......................................................... 61 5.3.5 Permaculture ................................................................................................................. 61 5.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 62 References 63 Appendix 1: Location