Adoption of Sahiwal Cattle and Household Food Security among Pastoralist Communities: The Case of Isiria Maasai of Kenya

Abstract

Pastoralism enabled households to attain livelihood outcomes, including food security. Over the years climatic and socio-economic changes have affected livestock production practices and pastoralist have responded in a myriad of ways. Governments and nongovernmental organizations also intervened through programmes to improve pastoralists’ food security. Studies on the impact of the programmes indicated mixed results with some recording improved food security while others indicated deterioration. This study investigated the association between adoption of Sahiwal cattle and household food security among Isiria Maasai of Narok County, Kenya. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to collect and analyse information from a sample of 400 households selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize and compare respondents’ attributes. The study used Spearman Correlation Coefficient to test for the association between adoption of Sahiwal cattle and household food security. Results indicated that all households were food secure with 70.0% of the respondents having high dietary diversities. Most respondents consumed milk and milk products (91%), fruits (69%) as well as vegetables and leaves (61.7%). Sahiwal cattle adopters with high dietary diversity were more than non-adopters. There was a positive, significant weak association between adoption of Sahiwal cattle and household food security.