Food Security and Devolved Governance in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: A Case of Mandera County

Abstract

The general study objective was to assess the effect of devolved governance in strengthening food security Mandera County. The study was guided by the following research questions: How does devolved governance affect provision of credit facilities to farmers in their pursuit to supporting food security in Mandera County? What is the effect of devolved governance on capacity development of farmers in enhancing food security in Mandera County? Lastly, how does devolved governance affect provision of farming inputs towards food security in Mandera County? The study used descriptive research design. From a target population of 69 participants, the study attained a response rate of 83%. Both interview and questionnaire techniques were utilized in data collection and analysis of findings was based on both descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis indicated that capacity development had strong correlation with food security (r(57) 0.724, p <0.05); followed by provision of farm inputs (r(57) 0.695, p <0.05); and finally, credit facilities (r(57) 0.434, p <0.05) which had a weak correlation. Linear regression analysis showed that there was a statistical and significant linear relationship between capacity development, provision of credit facilities, and provision of farm inputs against food security (F((1,57) )=38.997,p < .05). Linear regression analysis further showed that capacity development, provision of credit facilities, and provision of farm inputs explained 68.8% of the variation in food security, which statistically and significantly positively affected the capacity development, provision of credit facilities, and provision of farm inputs in Mandera County (R^2=.688, β=.5121, t(57)=5.849,p<.05). For food security was highly dependent on credit provision, which empowers farmers to engage in food production. Capacity development was therefore an important component in the strengthening of food security ecosystems in counties, with any laxity in the provision of training interventions translating to low food production. The further study concludes that provision of farm inputs had a strong positive and significant association with the level of food security in devolved systems of governance. The County government need to resolve the current stalemate on availability and access to the La-Riba (non interest) in line with the Islamic religious belief system. The study recommends that the county government should encourage blending of indigenous technical knowledge and scientific techniques in various farm management practices. Moreover, the county leadership need to develop grain storage facilities across all the sub-counties.