FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION OF URBAN AGRICULTURAL INTERVENTIONS AMONG HIV AND AIDS AFFECTED HOUSEHOLDS IN NAKURU MUNICIPALITY, KENYA

ABSTRACT

This study focused on the socio-economic, social cultural and project design related factors affecting the adoption of urban agricultural (UA) intervention for the poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households in Nakuru Municipality. Objectives of the study were; to assess the link between socio-cultural and socio-economics status and adoption, to evaluate the link between project design’s related factors and adoption and to capture individual’s social life history and relate it to adoption of intervention. Shortage of food and of good quality is a common phenomenon in the slums where these kinds of households are found. It is disheartening to observe that only a few are embracing UA. Theoretical framework used were; Innovation- Diffusion and Rational Choice Theories. Cross-sectional survey and case study research designs were employed for the quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Sixty two households were sampled for the survey using multi-stage sampling and six in-depth case studies. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed for the survey by SPSS version 15. In-depth interviews for the case studies were transcribed and individual cases reported. Based on results, majority 43% of the respondents’ age ranged from 40-49 years. Respondents’ age had a significant relationship with adoption of the intervention. On gender of the household’s head, majority (78%) were women and showed a significant relationship with adoption of the intervention. Majority (63%) sourced labour beyond self. Labour source had a significant relationship with adoption of the intervention. Most households (63%) reported to increase their income by embracing the UA intervention and showed a significant relationship. Majority (63%) gained social benefits by embracing the intervention. They singled the benefits as; reduced stigma raised their social status and enhanced scope of friends. Socio-economics factors such as age, gender of the head of household, accessibility of labour and impact of intervention on income featured prominently to influence the adoption. A project on UA for HIV and AIDS affected households should target elderly persons mostly women and integrate socio-psychological counseling in their programs. Non-rain fed UA is most appropriate for HIV and AIDS affected households and sustainability of the project. Apart from medical treatment a HIV and AIDS individual should have an access to quality food as well. Further research on adoption of other crops and livestock and ranking them by their social role in alleviating food insecurity in urban poor HIV and AIDS affected households and recommend the most suitable and sustainable urban agricultural intervention for poor urban resource limited HIV and AIDS affected households.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

This study examined factors affecting adoption of urban agricultural intervention for poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households in Nakuru Municipality. The issues that motivated the study were that, these kinds of household are living in the slums where they frequently experience shortage of quality food, inadequate income, unsecured livelihood while most of them are weak to provide productive labour and others are on antiretroviral drugs.

It appears that the prevalence of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is increasingly linked to the inability of a part of the population to achieve or keep up a sustainable livelihood. Poverty and food insecurity are key drivers of spread of HIV and AIDS, it follows that these need to be addressed in order to bring the pandemic under control and mitigate its devastating impacts (Verheijen & Minde, 2007). In SSA, people living with HIV and AIDS live in resource limited settings like the informal urban slums and are often unable to follow optimal food and nutritional recommendations for antiretroviral therapy because of lack of access to foods required (Castleman, Seuman-Fusso & Cogill, 2007). Currently, SSA is hosting the highest number of HIV AND AIDS affected persons and they are coupled by frequent food shortage (Swindale, 2004).

In Kenya, among adults 15-49 years, one in every five is infected with HIV and AIDS in urban and rural areas respectively. This has ranked Kenya to be one of the countries worst affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic (National Aids Control Council [NACC], 2001). However, Kenya’s HIV and AIDS prevalence has halved in a decade, a dramatic and sustained decline that has rarely been seen in Africa. This turnaround can be attributed to greater awareness and resulting behavior change as well as a lower incidence of new infections and higher death rates (NACC, 2008). HIV and AIDS related illnesses have caused death to 1.2million Kenyans. It is further estimated that 1.4 million Kenyans are currently living with HIV with 105,000 being children (NACC, 2009).

According to Ministry of Health [MOH] (2009) Nakuru Municipality hosts 22,564 people living with aids (PLWHA). Among them, a big number is poor and are living in the urban informal settlements (slums). They often experience food shortage. They are unable to link nutritional support to aids treatment since they do no have an access to quality food. At community level, most of them have come together to seek emotional and financial support through formation of support groups, especially the poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households. Nakuru Constituency Aids Control Committee [NCACC], (2009) states that there are 42 registered community based organizations (CBOs) in the Municipality and ten of them are support groups, whose membership are PLWA. Badili Mawazo self-help group (BMSHG) is an output of this endeavour. “Badili Mawazo” is a Kiswahili word meaning “change your thinking”. It is a name that HIV and AIDS support group in Nakuru, municipality has given itself. The name is meaningful on very many levels; to the founders of the group, they meant acknowledging their illness to family, to friends and community; challenging the stigma that attach those with the disease and taking a proactive role to meet their needs and improve their lives rather than depend on handouts. This is a psycho-social and welfare development group, with a population of two hundred registered poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households in Nakuru municipality. The members of Badili Mawazo support have come together to look for financial and emotional support.

At the beginning of 2006, collaborators in the Sustainable Environments and Health through Urban Agriculture (SEHTUA) project assessed the food and nutrition needs of people living with HIV and AIDS in Nakuru municipality. They implemented an urban agriculture intervention project which worked with eighty households through BMSHG to achieve improved food, health, nutrition and livelihood. Urban agricultural interventions were two; dairy goat keeping and production of African indigenous vegetables.

The group was trained before the introduction of vegetables. It was participatory based, since the project beneficiaries were allowed to choose conventional vegetables that they proposed for production, utilisation and marketing. High quality fodder planting materials include; sweet potatoes vines, Napier grass and expertise were sourced from Kenya Agricultural Research

Institute centre-Lanet. They were established before the arrival of goats. Also before the goats were brought a capacity building training workshop on dairy goat keeping was conducted.

Although the project implementers facilitated the provision of urban agriculture intervention free off charge all through out the project period, it is disheartening to observe that some of the urban poor HIV and AIDS affected households rejected the intervention. Others fall short of expectation in the adoption level of the intervention.

Statement of the Problem

The Sustainable Environments and Health through Urban Agriculture (SEHTUA) project implementers provided free training and production inputs such as dairy goats, land, vegetable seeds to the poor urban HIV and AIDS affected household in Badili Mawazo Support group. Despite of the project implementers making the dairy goats keeping and vegetable growing an easier option for HIV and AIDS affected households to improve their food security, health, nutrition and livelihoods, many had fallen short of expectation in the adoption levels(acceptance) of intervention. Project Implementer expected the HIV and AIDS affected households to embrace the intervention instead of them living on handouts but to their surprise some rejected the intervention. It is worthwhile to find out why some of the households accepted and others declined in taking it up and what are the factors affecting the adoption levels of this intervention.

Objectives of the Study

Broad Objective

The study examined the factors (sociological and project design related) affecting the adoption of vegetable growing and dairy goat keeping (urban agricultural interventions) among the HIV and AIDS affected households in Nakuru Municipality, Kenya.

Specific Objectives

i. To assess the relationship between socio-cultural and socio-economic status of the poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households, and adoption of the agricultural intervention.

ii. To evaluate the relationship between the urban agricultural intervention project design related factors and adoption of the agricultural intervention.

iii. To capture an individual’s social life history from poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households and assess its influence on the adoption of the agricultural intervention.

Research Questions

The current study answered the following questions:

i. Does socio-cultural and socio-economic status of poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households affect their adoption of the agricultural intervention?

ii. Is there a relationship between the urban agricultural intervention project design’s related factors and poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households’ adoption of the agricultural intervention?

iii. Does the social life history of the participant in urban agricultural intervention from poor urban HIV and AIDS affected households have influence of the adoption of the agricultural interventions?

Justification of the Study

There is need to study more on the sociological context of the urban poor HIV and AIDS affected households which comprises of the social cultural and socio-economic and project related factors in order to enhance the adoption of the intervention. This is because interventions that link nutritional support to HIV and AIDS treatment are increasingly becoming recognised by donors, program implementers and clinical care providers. There is critical importance of integrated programs that provide services beyond clinical care for HIV and AIDS-positive individuals. Interventions in this particular study were; dairy goat keeping whose milk is easily digestible by the sick unlike cows’ milk. The other one is, growing of African indigenous vegetables, which is a cheap source of vitamins to the HIV-positive individuals who are living in the informal settings in the urban with very limited resources.

The findings of the current study are expected to add knowledge in the areas of HIV and AIDS, urban sociology and urban agriculture. It contributes to the current debate of integrating nutritional support with clinical treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS. Also the experiences acquired from agricultural intervention as a strategy in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS in urban areas will provide practical lessons for modifying program delivery of similar initiatives and else where in the world.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study was focused on low-income HIV and AIDS affected households who are members of BMSHG and were selected for urban agriculture intervention programme in the Nakuru Municipality area. It was limited to sociological variables; socio-cultural, economic and project related and it involved two categories of samples; for the survey and in-depth case studies respectively. This is because of inadequate funds, time and the study was structured to address specified objectives.

The study encountered some limitations. The nature of respondents, where majority of them were HIV and AIDS infected, and could have affected the total sample size due to mortality or bed ridden sickness status. For the case of such incidents, replacement was done by researcher to fill the gap left in the sample. Other respondents failed to provide adequate information as required due to conservativeness. To address this kind of limitation the researcher assured the respondent confidentiality before they were interviewed. Sometimes absence of the respondent for the interview was encountered. The researcher made call backs for data collection later. Despite the constraints, the study achieved its objectives by incorporating secondary data.

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Item Type: Kenyan Topic  |  Size: 109 pages  |  Chapters: 1-5

Format: MS Word  |  Delivery: Within 30Mins.

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