Preface : challenges and opportunities for enhancing food security in Kenya
Date
2012
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Abstract
Achieving sustainable food security in Sub-
Saharan Africa is one of the main challenges facing African
governments and the international community. The 2007–
2008 food crisis and ongoing chronic hunger problems
clearly demonstrate that millions of people on the continent,
including in relatively stable countries such as Kenya, are
dangerously vulnerable to economic, political and climatic
shocks that threaten food availability and accessibility. At
the heart of the strategies to build resilience and tackle food
insecurity is the need for effective institutional and policy
frameworks that can support local innovations while taking
into account the biophysical, social and economic constraints
within which rural livelihoods operate. The papers
included in this Special Issue of Food Security support the
view that for food security initiatives in Kenya to be effective,
they must embrace solutions that are equitable, generalizable
and ecologically sound to ensure sustainability.
Ultimately, to improve innovation and technology adoption,
a systems approach that allows women and men, wealthy
and poor farmers to engage with scientific and political
elites in the design and implementation of food-related
research and development initiatives must be embraced.
There is also the need to develop tools and approaches that
can assist smallholder farmers, researchers, policy makers
and other stakeholders to share a better understanding of the multiple factors driving food insecurity and hindering the
implementation of effective policies and institutions.
Description
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Journal Article (peer-reviewed)
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Keywords
SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, COMPLEXITY, ARID AND SEMI-ARID LAND, ADAPTATION, RURAL LIVELIHOODS, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD POLICY, KENYA, SEMIARID ZONE, ETHNOBOTANY, RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Citation
Hickey, G. M., Pelletier, B., Brownhill, L., Kamau, Geoffrey M., & Maina, I. N. (2012). Challenges and opportunities for enhancing food security in Kenya. Food Security. doi: 10.1007/s12571-012-0203-2