The east pokot community’s food security situation: an analysis of A marginalised community of east pokot in kenya

The Pokot community inhabiting the eastern part of Baringo County in Kenya has for a long time experienced enduring periods of food insecurity. This experience has at times culminated in severe hunger and malnutrition. As a coping mechanism, women have, on several occasions, resorted to boiling poisonous fruits from wild trees to feed children and the aged people. Furthermore, the community faces harsh environmental conditions and challenges of cross-border conflicts with its neighbouring counties aggravating the already serious food insecurity situation and marginalising it further in terms of food production and accessibility. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the frequency of access to food by household members, to assess the role of the government in food security to establish the level of the agricultural extension services in food production, and to establish the structural impact of food security on the community. Using a survey design, data was obtained by use of an interview schedule from a sample of 100 respondents drawn from a sample frame of desegregated households selected using a proportionate sampling technique. The study hypothesised that there is an association between food insecurity and access to education, that there is a relationship between food insecurity and conflict. Data was analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The Chi-Square χ2 was used to test the variables at a significance level of 0.05. This study is significant because a section of the Kenyan population, in a number of marginal districts is faced with challenges related to food security. Furthermore, it is more significant in view of the rising national population without food which calls for increased food production to meet the increased demand. The study will assist the government to redesign its food distribution policy within the framework of national food security policy particularly for marginal communities.