Implications of coastal tourism on food production in Kwale district.

Abstract

This is an exploratory study to investigate the implications of the expanding Coastal Tourism on food production in Kwale district. The study focuses on the emerging behavioural pa t t.exne around major socio-economic factors of production including land, labour, income and the market for farm produce among the farmers and other stakeholders in the tourist industry and their possible implications on farming and other food production practices in Diani Location of Kwale district. The units from which the study population was obtained were the households in Diani location. In the light of various theories on Social Change and Development, several aspects of tourism and agriculture were investigated . Specifically, this study set out to establish the: (1) occupations and income levels among the local people; (2) market outlets for 'farm produce and the problems faced in the market; (3) emerging structure of land ownership and; (4) emerging structure of family labour in terms of age and sex. v It was established that tourism is the largest employing sector in Diani location. Most labour was however employed in sectors that are not directly related to this industry. The male children were found to spend most of their time along the beach line and also around the market centres not necessarily doing any work; a practice that had negative affects on labour in the farms. Majority of the households were not self-sufficient in labour during the rain season. Data analysis shows a strong relationship between output and the type of family labour. The effects of tourism on household income distribution was found to influence farmers' cr-ophuabandr-y practices. The analysis shows that the higher the income level the higher the degree of farm modernisation as well as output. Emerging land use patterns have had negative effects on the acreage under crop farming. Most of the beach land has been taken away by speculative land developers and the pressure on the remaining land where the residents can practise agriculture is mounting. Vl Other resuits show that although land in most parts was surveyed in the late 1960s, the local farmers complained of a second survey that had reduced their land from 5 to 3 acres. Cases of squatting and eviction were also reported. There was no significant relationship between tourism and the market for farm produce. Despi te the potential to produce some foodstuffs for sale at the tourist hotels, the local farmers were not active participants in the formal tourist market. Middlemen and a certain foreign owned farm; the Darad Farm, had for instance excluded local farmers from selling at the beach hotels. Thus, exploi tation by middlemen and inadequate market outlets were problems cited by most farmers. The study recommends that: (a) the government should evolve a clear policy on land ownership in Diani location. The land registration 'process should be completed, and title deeds given to the residents to enable them invest in their farms without fears of eviction. Residents evicted from their farms by the Darad Farm and other speculative land developers should be resettled and compensated for the loss of property. In addition, the on-going second survey should be nullified; (b) the Ministry of Local Government should nullify the allocation of public beach plots along Diani beach to give the residents access to the Indian Ocean where they can carry out fishing; vii (c) the local farmers should be encouraged operative societies from which they credit facilities to improve food pract.i.ces and to which, they can sell produce and; to form cocan enjoy producticl1. their farm (d) the government should implement the recommendations of the 1974 task force set to study the possibili ties of establishing an intergrated tourism development plan that would not compromise on the existing socio-economic life aspects of the local communities in Diani.