| dc.description.abstract | This paper focuses on social protection programs
in Kenya’s agriculture. A case study approach was
used where three cases were examined: (a) emergency
seed distribution in the arid and semi-arid lands
and remote areas which are inadequately served by the
formal seed sector, (b) hunger and safety net programme
in northern Kenya, and (c) Njaa Marufuku Kenya. The
study found that while social protection programs/strategies
are necessary to cushion vulnerable groups from
covariate risk, these have not been properly domesticated
in the Kenyan policy and legal frameworks. In fact,
the national response to shocks and stresses among the
vulnerable groups has largely been ad hoc. Emergency
interventions have been implemented in rather
haphazard and knee-jerk approach with minimal strategic
policy focus. And even where social safety nets have
been implemented, these have largely been untargeted,
uncoordinated and humanitarian in nature. Hence,
although some efforts have been made in the past to
entrench social protection in the Kenyan society (e.g.,
the Equity Bill, the Affirmative Action Bill and the
Constitutional Review), these initiatives have suffered
from lack of political goodwill, ethnic and class chauvinism
and political patronage. There is therefore need
to for the Kenyan society as a whole to re-define its strategic
direction with regard to empowering poor households
to enable them cope with shocks. The starting point
would be to design a comprehensive social protection
policy which is now in progress. | en |
