Factors affecting food security of households: the case of Lodwar, Turkana County

Abstract

The issue of food security has been of fundamental importance in Kenya. As a basic need, food has been a major discussion issue in many round tables held by food organizations like FAO, WFP and governments around the world. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how livelihood, poverty, conflicts and policy implementation affect food security 'of households in Lodwar. The site of the study was Lodwar in Turkana County. The study objectives of the study were; to establish the extent to which livelihood affects food security, to determine the extent to which poverty influences food security, to establish the extent to which conflicts affects food security and to determine the extent to which implementation of policies affects food security of households in Lodwar . The conceptual framework has also illustrated the moderating variables (food aid) and intervening variables (weather conditions) and their effect on the main variables under study. The study adopted a mixed mode research approach with a descriptive survey design. The target population is 48, 316, the sample size was 397 i.e. 66 households and was determined using Yamane Taro's (1967) formula. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Triangulation was done to ensure validity by rephrasing the questions to ensure validity and the data collection instruments were pretested using peers to ensure reliability. The questionnaires were collected after which the data was analyzed, checked for errors in response, omissions, exaggerations and biases.Operationalisation of variables was presented to show the overview of the study. The data collected was processed through tabulation and tallying, thereafter it was coded and analyzed by use of measures of central tendencies, dispersion, percentages as well as content analysis. The data was presented using tables and frequency distributions. The summary of the findings have also been outlined and discussed based on the variables under study. Conclusions have been made based on the information obtained. Finally study recommendations have also been made and suggestions for further research recommended as such will add great value to this project research.