Assessment of Household Expenditure Patterns and Their Effects on Food Security: the Case of French Beans Producing Households in Mbooni Sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

One of the major cash cropping practices in Kenya is horticultural production, and includes French beans, for export. Over the years, production and export of French beans in Mbooni Sub-county, Makueni County, has shown a high increase in income but still the area remains largely food insecure. Despite the increased incomes, it is not known how the income is distributed within the households. The degree to which household expenditure patterns affect food security of the French beans producing households is also not known. This study was therefore carried out to fill this gap in knowledge. The specific objectives were to identify the household expenditure patterns, the food security situation and the effects of household expenditure patterns on food security in Mbooni Sub-county. The study used a sample size of 149 respondents. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to elicit household expenditure patterns in French beans producing and non-producing households while exploratory factor analysis was used to group and condense the household expenditure items. A seven-day recall method was used to collect information on food consumed which was then used to determine the per capita calorie consumption and the household dietary diversity score (HDDS), comparing French beans growers and non-growers. Finally, OLS regression model was estimated to assess the effect of household expenditure patterns on food security. It was found that there were three distinct expenditure patterns (savings, investment on shares and entertainment) of the French beans producing households. On average, both growers and non-growers were food secure with growers having a significantly higher HDDS in comparison to that of the non-growers. Regarding the effects of household expenditure patterns on food security, the study found that an increase in entertainment expenditure pattern tended to improve food security. The study recommended that programs that aim to increase farmers' household income, such as introducing new cash/export crop enterprises, should have a clear strategy to promote food security and nutrition. The study suggests an assessment of how intra-household control of farm income affects expenditure decisions and household food security.