Effect of Natural Capital on Food Security among Smallholder Tea Farmers in Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

Health and well-being of the general population, children's growth, development, and cognitive ability as well as the productivity of the workforce are all negatively impacted by food insecurity. In tea growing regions, there are records of high malnutrition, high morbidity rates, and low farm productivity and low incomes. The study aimed to describe the effect of natural capital on food security among smallholder tea farmers in Bomet County, Kenya. The study was guided by Entitlement Theory. The study adopted mixed approach design entailing exploratory design and explanatory research design. All the registered 16572 tea farmers in selected tea growing regions were the target population for this study. Multi-stage purposive and random sampling techniques were used to select a sample size of 391 smallholder tea farmers in Bomet County. Instruments of data collection included questionnaires, key informants, interviews, focus group discussions and direct observations. The Cronbach Alpha value was used to test the instrument's reliability. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26 was used to analyze the data in both descriptive and inferential ways. Thematic analysis and tables were used to present the findings from the study's qualitative data. The study findings revealed that there was effect of natural capital on food security. The study recommends that the government should subsidize tea farm inputs such as fertilizers and seeds. Organize farmers into SACCOs to enable them access farm inputs, credit facilities and market for their produce. Both national and county governments should improve road networks so as to help access food markets and also sale of farm produce.