Maize Value Chain for Food Security and Poverty Reduction in Bungoma County, Kenya

Abstract

Worldwide, 75% of the people lack adequate food while 47% in Kenya and 70% in Bungoma County are food insecure. Kenya has applied agricultural extension approaches to enhance food security and poverty reduction but to little avail due to their concentration on increasing agricultural production. This calls for an alternative approach that emphasizes agricultural innovation systems that enhance land productivity and increased incomes. The objective of this research was to establish the importance of value chain approach to food security and poverty reduction in Bungoma County. The research design was triangulated and crosssectional survey. Purposive, stratified and simple random sampling strategies were used to give a sample size of 347 out of 65,707 maize value chain smallholders. Data collection instruments included; questionnaires focus group discussions and key informants. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was used to analyse data. The research revealed that the degree of development of the maize value chain in Bungoma County is as low as 31% indicating that there is limited capacity for identifying challenges and their solutions as well as identifying investment opportunities vertically and horizontally along the chain. Based on the study findings, it is recommend that the maize value chain players should be mobilized and sensitized on the needs of maize value chain development