Viability of Urban Agriculture for Food Security During Pandemic Situations in Nairobi County

Abstract

There has been an increase in migration from rural areas to urban areas, which has resulted in food insecurity and brought about the need for the expansion of urban agriculture. Acknowledging the scarcity of research on urban agriculture in the country, the research looked at urban agriculture as a means for enhancing security of food in Nairobi County. In spite of the increasing knowledge of urban agriculture as a means for reducing food insecurity in major cities, it is still considered an informal act that is not consolidated into Kenyan policies for urban agricultural practices, leading it to be vulnerable and threatening its feasibility. The goal of this review was to gather and analyze available evidence on the influence of urban agriculture in meeting the food supply needs of urban homes, as well as to assess its viability in urban areas. The ultimate goal is to develop a model for urban agriculture that is suitable for urban households. The main informants for this research consisted the population of Kasarani, Roysambu, Westlands, Dagoretti south, Embakasi south and Langata sub-counties, particularly those who practice urban agriculture. The interest in this population will be driven by the fact that these residents stay in the periphery areas of the county, where agriculture is practiced, unlike the central sub-counties within the county. The other set of the target population comprised of the key informants including, the county physical planner, a representative from the ministry of agriculture, agricultural officers from the sub-counties and extension officers in each sub-county. From the findings, the average land size that is sufficient to supplement a household’s food needs is 2.123 acres. The most suitable enterprises for practicing urban agriculture are poultry farming, crop farming and mixed crop and livestock farming in that order. In terms of food security status, 31.09% of the respondents are food secure, 25.21% are mildly food secure, 21.12% are moderately malnutritioned, and 12.76% are acutely malnutiritioned. In terms of the findings of the model, only 40.31 percent of the region of interest is befitting for farming, while the remaining 59.69 percent is permanently and currently unsuitable for agricultural production