Agrobiodiversity conservation enhances food security in subsistence-based farming systems of Eastern Kenya

Abstract

Background: Globally, there is great concern about expanding agricultural activities due to their impact in the conservation of agrobiodiversity. African continent is known for its richness in biodiversity. In Kenya, there is a continuous unabated expansion of agriculture into natural habitats due to demographic and economic pressures posing a significant threat to biodiversity. Therefore, there is a need to study biodiversity loss and its regain through practices in agricultural landscapes. In this study, we assessed the status of agrobiodiversity and its contribution to food security in four agroecological zones of Eastern Kenya. Sixty households were sampled from two selected agroecological zones (upper and lower midland zones) in Embu and Tharaka-Nithi counties. Structured questionnaires and checklists were used to collect the data.Results: Thirty-nine crop species were identified dominated by vegetables, fruits, legumes and cereals with relative densities of 28.8, 20.5, 18.3 and 8.3 %, respectively. Embu Lower Midland and Tharaka-Nithi Lower Midland zones had relatively higher crop species richness of 243 and 240, respectively, and Shannon-Wiener diversity indices (H′) of 3.403 and 3.377, respectively, compared with Embu Upper Midland and Tharaka-Nithi Upper Midland zones with species richness of 229 and 207, respectively, and H′ of 3.298 and 3.204, respectively. Conclusions:Households from lower midland zones with high crop diversity and richness were more food secure compared with those from the Upper Midland zones with low crop diversity and richness. These findings suggest that farm production systems with high agrobiodiversity contributed more toward food security among smallholder farmers in the selected sites.

Diversity of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L., Fabaceae) landraces in parts of southern and eastern Ethiopia

“…Since then, BORA remained both a dominant and an expensive landrace in Sire District. Similarly, the dominance of few varieties in response to market demands has been reported by Mburu et al, 37 in eastern part of Kenya; leading to low common bean diversity that these authors recorded in the area. Major common bean landrace market flow is commonly found at sub-district and or district levels, but considerable informal trade also takes place across neighbors of different districts.…”

“…36 They grow local varieties with no or little inputs and are well adapted to local climatic conditions, which may account for the high dominance of the local farmers' varieties. 37 Hence, crop diversity increased with the number of years a farmer had been engaged in farming activities in a traditional farming system. 38 A low level of diversity was detected in the collections of common bean landraces from Boloso Sore District where only two landraces were recovered revealing cases where few common bean landraces dominate.…”

Supporting plant diversity and conservation through landscape planning: A case study in an agro-tourism landscape in Tampusu, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

“…The implementation of a food diversification policy needs appropriate strategies. Various strategies related to diversification of food consumption that can be implemented (Mburu, Koskey and Kimiti 2016) include: (i) Diversification of household businesses is directed toward increasing the income of producers, especially farmers, ranchers and small fishermen through the development of integrated farming; (ii) Diversification of business or food production and diversification of food consumption are carried out through the development of diversified integrated farming in the fields of food, plantations, animal husbandry, fisheries; (iii) Development of local food in accordance with regional wisdom and uniqueness to increase local food diversification; (iv) Human resource development in the field of food and nutrition is carried out through education, training and counseling in a more comprehensive manner. This study applies point no (iii).…”

Spatial variations of household food insecurity in East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia: implications for agroecosystem-based interventions

“…Agroecosystem characteristic is one of the factors that may create a spatial variation of household food insecurity [20]. A study from Kenya indicated that households from lower midland zones with high crop diversity were more food secure compared with those from the upper midland zones with low crop diversity [21].…”