DEVOLUTION AND FOOD SECURITY IN WAJIR COUNTY, KENYA
DEVOLUTION AND FOOD SECURITY IN WAJIR COUNTY, KENYA
Suada Abdirahman Ali - Student, Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Patrick Mbataru - Lecturer, Department of Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Based on the subsidiarity principle, devolution is a mechanism of governance that transfers certain responsibilities that were formerly carried out by the central organization to a smaller, more manageable sub-center at a lower level. Devolution was meant to promote socioeconomic development, especially improving people's access to food. Access to adequate and safe food is a critical factor in the achievement SDGs including the good health and wellbeing. Food security is a dynamic area of research. The achievement of Kenya Vision 2030 also is anchored on a food secure country. Additionally, the Constitution of Kenya 2010 puts food access as basic human right. However, majority of households in Kenya remain food insecure. The research thus sought to explore the effect of devolution on enhancing food availability, to assess the effectiveness of devolution in enhancing food access and to evaluate the effect of devolution on food utilization practices. Three theories anchored this study and include public choice theory, fiscal federalism theory, entitlement theory of famine and agency of theory. The research utilized a descriptive research design. The targeted population was formed by the county's residents within the age bracket of 20 to 59 years. Both stratified simple random sampling techniques were utilized. Stratified sampling was utilized to pick participants from the different strata (sub-counties) of Wajir while simple random sampling was done to choose individuals randomly within each strata. Data was mainly gathered via structured questionnaires. After collection of data, cleaning of data took place to find and rectify any incomplete or partial responses. Initially, the data was key in into Microsoft Excel, and afterwards it was imported into SPSS version 26 for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistical methods were applied to the quantitative data, which included calculation of percentages, frequencies, means, and standard deviations. The outcomes were displayed in the form of tables, charts, and graphs. From the results, the study concluded that devolution has significantly influenced food availability by decentralizing agricultural functions, aiming to enhance local production and food security. Devolution has empowered local governments to address region-specific challenges in food security. Devolution has enabled localized interventions that address dietary diversity and nutritional outcomes in a predominantly pastoralist region. To enhance food availability in Wajir County, the research recommends that the county government should focus on expanding climate-smart agricultural practices and infrastructure tailored to the region’s arid conditions. The county government of Wajir should also prioritize sustained investment in climate-resilient agricultural infrastructure and capacity-building programs. Expanding irrigation schemes can boost of crops. Wajir county government should prioritize community-based nutrition education and capacity-building programs.
