Abstract:
Developing countries, Kenya included are mostly affected by food shortage and poverty as a result of
high dependence on agriculture constrained by climate variability, declining land sizes and low
agricultural technologies. Agricultural intensification is key in solving these problems to ensure
increased farm output per unit land area. This study analyzed the role of agricultural intensification on
smallholders’ poverty and food security status. The study is based on data collected from a sample of
320 smallholder households from two Sub-counties of Kenya, Makueni and Nyando. Principle
Component Analysis (PCA) was first used to group agricultural intensification practices into clusters.
The Multivariate Tobit results indicated that age of the household head, household size, and proportion
of land cultivated, number of trainings, group diversity, location and level of agricultural
intensification significantly influenced households’ food security status during the food secured and
food insecure months as well as their poverty status. The study recommended on the need for
smallholder farmers to form and join many groups which promote social networks thus reduce
information asymmetry and improves their bargaining and borrowing power. It also suggested on the
need for policy geared towards training and extension which is generation specific that can easily be
incorporated by both the old and the young farmers. Through these, there will be increase in the level
of agricultural intensification used by smallholder farmers which successfully will lead to improvement
of food security and reduction of poverty.
Keywords: Food security; Climate change; Poverty; Kenya
