Intensive Farming, Agro-Diversity, and Food Security under Conditions of Extreme Population Pressure in Western Kenya

This paper examines the impact of very high population densities and agricultural intensification on farm diversity and food security. Geertz and other researchers have suggested that intensification is likely to lead to crop specialization and a loss of diversity. Others, especially for Africa, hav...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human ecology : an interdisciplinary journal 2000-03, Vol.28 (1), p.19-51
Main Authors: W. Thomas Conelly, Chaiken, Miriam S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
Agricultural land
Agricultural Production
Agricultural Technology
Agriculture, land tenure, rural space
Corn
Crops
Economics
Ethnology
Farming
Farming systems
Food
Food crops
Food security
Food supply
Intensive farming
Intensive production
Kenya
Land use
Morphological source materials
Nutrition
Overpopulation
Population
Population Density
Population growth
Sustainable agriculture
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Summary:This paper examines the impact of very high population densities and agricultural intensification on farm diversity and food security. Geertz and other researchers have suggested that intensification is likely to lead to crop specialization and a loss of diversity. Others, especially for Africa, have argued that intensification maintains or even increases agro-diversity. The case of Hamisi, in western Kenya, one of the most densely populated areas in all of rural Africa, supports the latter scenario. Farmers engage in a wide variety of sophisticated practices that maintain exceptionally high levels of agro-diversity. Their farming system includes complex patterns of intercropping, polyvariety, an emphasis on multi-purpose crops, and the close integration of crops and livestock. Despite this agro-diversity, we find that the intense population pressure in Hamisi has resulted in such small landholdings that diet quality and food security are seriously jeopardized. Despite the diversity of their farms, most families are highly dependent on market purchases and they consume very limited quantities of nutritionally dense foods, especially protein.
ISSN:0300-7839
1572-9915
DOI:10.1023/A:1007075621007