Poverty is a fact of life in rural Kenya and its nature and causes have been well documented. The aim of this study is therefore somewhat different: to understand the strategies that small farmers use in their struggle for survival. This, it is hoped, will enhance understanding of their daily life: what they are trying to achieve, the options available, the pressures upon them and the reasons for success and failure. This, in turn, should add depth to our understanding of poverty itself and prove useful in designing strategies to help communities of small farmers to cope.

1.1 Methodology

The strategies of these small farmers will be referred to as "Coping Strategies", although it is acknowledged that the term is not perfect. Sometimes their actions are reflex responses to crises rather than consciously planned strategies. This is particularly true in relation to health crises. Moreover it is certainly the case that farmers do not always "cope". Well aware of the daunting difficulties facing them, some are reduced to a shrug of the shoulders and "All we can do is hope".

In order to reach some understanding of coping strategies, it seemed self-evident that the crucial requirement was to listen to what farmers had to say. They were therefore encouraged to tell their own stories and their words form the basis of this analysis, as will be evident from what follows. Such a methodology is time-consuming and dictates a very small sample size. Representativeness was consciously sacrificed in the interests of depth.

The survey was conducted between July and October 2000 for the Association for Better Land Husbandry (a Nairobi-based NGO) and focussed on 74 farmers in Self-Help Groups (SHGs) around the two ABLH field stations in Kerugoya (Central Province) and Kakamega (Western). Within each SHG, farmers were selected randomly within each wealth category (see below). The survey teams consisted of ABLH staff with the author as team leader. Finance was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation.

The core survey technique was a loosely structured interview probing key strategies but it was backed up by diet and income/expenditure diaries for a sub-sample. These were kept for two weeks. Most of the farmers had been included in a baseline survey conducted for ABLH in 1999, so that a good deal of basic information was already available: essentially, data on families, farms and farming. That survey also included a wealth-ranking exercise in which farmers classed themselves as Very Poor (VP), Poor (P), Average (A) and Rich (R), having first defined the meanings of these categories. The terms are, of course, relative. Even a "Rich" farmer has, on average, just 3 acres of land [1 acre = 0.4047ha.). Nonetheless the distinctions are important. The "Very Poor", for example, are either landless or nearly so, and this greatly restricts the options open to them. Not surprisingly therefore, there is a close relationship between wealth and coping strategies, as will be seen. In that baseline survey, 15% of a sample of 322 farmers were "Very Poor" and 41% "Poor". The latter will generally have less than ½ acre of land and perhaps a couple of goats (rarely a cow). "Average" farmers accounted for 30% of the sample and would have from ½ to 1½ acres, 2 or 3 goats and perhaps two unimproved Zebu cows.

Within the present survey sample of 74, a similar representation of wealth categories was maintained: "Very Poor"-15; "Poor"-25; "Average"-18; and "Rich"-16. Interestingly, over four-fifths were women farmers, this largely reflecting their predominance in farming as a result of the outmigration of men to the cities.

In this article, farmers are referred to by first name, name of self-help group and by letters indicating wealth ranking (above) and location (Western Province = W; Central = C). Generally, poverty is more widespread in Western Province and there is less scope for irrigation and cash crop production. In the study and in this paper, heavy reliance is placed on case studies of individual farmers, using their own words wherever possible. All the quotations shown in italics are taken from the records of field interviews. Local currency is referred to frequently [at the time of the survey, Kenya shillings (KSh) were approximately 75 to $1 (US), and 110 to £1 sterling].

1.2 The Need for Coping Strategies

Coping strategies are devised by farmers in an attempt to satisfy their basic needs. Five such needs are usually identified in the poverty literature: food, clothing, shelter, education and health. However, all farmers in the survey have housing and clothing of some kind and, arguably, these needs are less pressing. For this reason, it was decided to focus on the remaining three, which are pre-occupations of most families most of the time:

· Food. All farmers need to feed themselves and their families.

· Education. Schooling, in modern Kenya, requires cash. Almost all rural farmers have children (whether of pre-school, school or post-school age) and they regard their education as a very high priority. This is not only for the benefit of the children themselves but also in the hope that the children will eventually get good jobs and lift their parents out of poverty. This, in itself, is a long-term coping strategy.

· Health. Roughly a half of the sample families required significant health expenditures in the year before the survey. In contrast to the needs for food and school fees, these are often unpredictable and urgent.

Of course, there may be a high degree of overlap between the strategies evolved to satisfy these three needs. Cash, after all, can be used to satisfy any or all of them. Nonetheless, it will be helpful to examine each separately (sections 2, 3 and 4 below), identifying their potential and effectiveness. It is worth making the obvious point at the outset that these three basic needs will often be in competition with each other for available cash. Agonising decisions are frequently required by farmers as between, say, spending cash on food on the one hand, or school fees on the other.

1.3 Causes of Poverty

Although the focus of this paper is on coping strategies rather than the causes of poverty, inevitably the survey threw up some important insights into the latter. Two, both components of the social environment of farmers are all-pervading and deserve to be highlighted at the outset as they provide important context for what follows. Moreover they do not always feature prominently in the literature on poverty:

· Land Hunger and Population Pressure. There is no escaping the fact that most farmers do not have enough land, and this is because of the large size of families and an inheritance system which insists on the equal division of land between male heirs. The implications are as daunting as the arithmetic is simple. With an average of 3 sons per family, a farmer now in his 60s who inherited, say, 3 acres of land, would probably have had a grandfather who enjoyed the relative comfort of a 27 acre farm; but his own grandchildren are likely to receive just one-third of an acre each. We have a landscape which is filling with the farms of these ‘grandchildren’. Over a half in the survey are already well under 1 acre and, in some villages, most are below ¼ acre. This relentless population pressure is obvious to all who work at the household level in the field (see Annex 1). The long-term sustainability of the farming system (any farming system) is therefore a huge issue.

· School Fees. Although not always identified as a cause of poverty in the past, this is now emphatically the case, as will be seen. Primary education in Kenya used to be free and the enrolment rate nationally far exceeded 90%. No longer, thanks to World Bank policy insisting on privatisation in developing countries and the reduction of government expenditures on social services such as health and education. That policy has since been reversed for education but, in Kenya, the fees remain and poorer farmers struggle, often in vain, to put their children through primary school. Secondary education is impossibly expensive for them and even the richer farmers have seen standards of living plummet as they struggle to keep their children at school. Often they fail.

In addition to these, and other problematic socio-economic aspects of the farming environment, the rural ‘system’ is periodically afflicted by massive pressures from the natural environment. The year 2000 happened to be one in which the main rains from March to June virtually failed as also did the main maize harvest.

2.2 Farm-based Food Strategies

2.2.1 The Farm Food Production Strategy

For those who have land, subsistence production of the staple food (usually maize and beans) is an obvious strategy. Unsurprisingly the strategy is least important for the "Very Poor", who have minimal amounts of land, and most frequently adopted among the "Rich", all of whom use it (Table 1). However, given the small size of farms, this strategy has limited potential and very few farmers are self-sufficient in maize. In varying degree, virtually all have to supplement their farm food production with food purchased with the proceeds from any of a variety of cash-generating strategies. Some, indeed, prefer to sell farm produce rather than consume it, using the proceeds to buy-in food.

In part, the inadequacy of subsistence maize production is the result of poor agricultural techniques. Decades of addiction to inorganic chemical fertilisers have, arguably, resulted in poor soil structure and in recent years the high prices have put these same fertilisers beyond the reach of most farmers. This situation is reflected in unimpressive maize yields with two-thirds of the sample farmers getting less than 10 bags (of 90 kgs) an acre. There is little sign of improvement.

Anna, (P,Musasa, W) is an exception and therefore of great interest in the present context. She has focused on raising the productivity of her small ¼ acre holding and in the process has turned her life around. The secret has been organic farming, which focuses on rebuilding good soil structure and boosting yields.

As is common in Western Province, Anna is in a polygamous marriage and is largely responsible for the day-to-day feeding of her children. Before adopting organic farming, she used three strategies to try to generate enough food for her family:

· Subsistence production of maize. This never produced more than 1 bag of the 5 that she needs.

· Boosting subsistence production by renting in land. Theft of the crop, a hazard common to all who rent land at a distance from the home shamba, resulted in the failure of this enterprise.

· Casual labour at Ksh 50 per day.

Life was hard. Anna and her children frequently experienced hunger. Rarely could she afford to buy vegetables at the local market.

In 1999, Anna learned how to make compost and double-dug composted beds (DDCBs)[1], key techniques in organic farming. She made the equivalent of 4 standard DDCBs and on the remainder of her land planted 8 banana stems, again using organic methods, leaving the rest to the traditional maize.

[The standard DDCB, as taught by the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF) and ABLH, is 7 x 1.5 metres Compost is spread across the topsoil. Six sections are then marked out. The topsoil is removed from section 1 and placed adjacent to section 6. The subsoil is then dug with a ‘jembe’ (a forked pick), to break up any hardpan, and compost incorporated. It is then covered with the topsoil from section 2, and the process repeated. These beds last for at least three years. Their great advantage is that they allow deep rooting and maintain soil moisture so that crops, such as kale and spinach, can survive Kenya’s two dry seasons. (See also Annex 2)]

The change in Anna's life since making the DDCBs has been remarkable. Her family’s diet has been improved by incorporation of a variety of vegetables, including kales, spinach, pumpkins, cowpeas and onions. Since the first harvest, she has never had to return to the market to buy vegetables. Moreover, the beds have produced so well that she been able to develop a ‘farm sales’ strategy bringing in Ksh 200-300 every week. The bananas will further increase this income, all of which at present is used to buy food.

So impressed is Anna by the DDCBs that she experimented with planting maize on some of them in 2000. The crop did exceptionally well and she doubled her maize yield from 1 bag to two, thus reducing her deficit to 3 (costing perhaps ksh 3,600). Her aim now is to extend the DDCBs further into the maize plot and she is confident that she can reduce the deficit by a further bag, saving another Ksh 1200. Anna's family has not experienced hunger since this maize strategy was implemented.

Perhaps most welcome of all is the fact that Anna has not had to endure the drudgery of casual labour since initiating the new strategy. And the icing on the cake is that she has no longer had to beg for money from her husband. Her excitement at the change in her life is infectious: "Every day I'm getting more confident …"

Her experience is unusually positive but not unique. A major thrust of ABLH work in Kenya is, of course, to promote precisely this type of agricultural improvement. As Anna's case shows, introducing organic farming not only improves the food production strategy but allows a switch in supplementary strategies, in her case substituting farm sales for the unpopular casual labour. The effect can be to eliminate hunger, diversify diet and have a highly beneficial impact upon quality of life.

2.2.2 The Farm Sales Strategy

Virtually all who have land, plan to sell farm products, even though they may not be self-sufficient in the staple crop, maize. Frequency of adoption follows a similar pattern to that for the farm production strategy (Table 1) and the strategy is an important one, especially in Central Province, where it constituted the leading income source for ¾ of the "Poor" and "Average" farmers (15 out of 20) in the sample.

The rationale is obvious. The cash generated by selling a high value product (perhaps vegetables or milk) may well allow the purchase of more maize than could have been produced by growing it. For them the question is: “How much of the farm should be sown to cash crops and how much for subsistence?” Most hedge their bets. However, one dynamic young farmer, uniquely, has taken the argument to its logical conclusion.

Roseline (A, Giyofa, W) and her husband, like so many, are trapped in the end-product of the land fragmentation process. Her father-in-law inherited just 1 acre but produced 6 male heirs. There has been no formal division but, in the meantime, Roseline and her husband have been granted the use of just ¼ acre, a size of landholding more commonly associated with “Poor” farmers, such as Anna. The “Average” ranking is attributable to her husband’s success in finding permanent employment locally as a shop assistant. However, it is Roseline's responsibility to feed her family (2 small children) and her husband's aged parents, who live with them.

The family needs 6 bags (90kgs) of maize each year and Roseline knew that the ¼ acre, like Anna’s, would produce only one or two. Despite the opposition of her traditionalist father-in-law, she therefore decided to abandon maize completely and produce a high value product. She opted for milk.

To implement this decision, Roseline and her husband sold their traditional cow for Ksh 8,000 and, in 1998, bought a mixed-breed calf for Ksh 7,000. Next, they tackled the feed problem and opted for napier grass, taking the crucial decision to plant the whole of their ¼ acre plot to this feed crop. Their sloping land was planted by sections in a sequence to give a continuous supply throughout the year whilst, at the same time, the section junctions were terraced and planted with bananas. The ¼ acre does not yield enough to support the cow so the balance is purchased from the milk income and her husband’s salary.

The strategy has worked very well. The cow produces 18 cups of milk per day and 12 of these are sold giving a daily income of Ksh120 or Ksh 840 per week. After buying the extra feed, Ksh 560 is available for the family, which is comparable to that from trading and almost double that from casual labour (Ksh 300 for 6 days). But there are important extra bonuses. First, milk is added to the diet with highly beneficial effects on the health of her young children. Secondly, they have an ample supply of manure which is applied to the bananas and her small kitchen garden with positive effects upon soil structure and yield. The bananas now constitute a farm sales strategy in their own right, 36 bunches bringing in over Ksh 4,000 pa. The improved output from the kitchen garden has made her, like Anna, self-sufficient in vegetables, again with beneficial effects upon the diet of the family.

Moreover Roseline’s basic arithmetic was right. She relies on the income from her cow to buy the daily maize flour needs, usually paying Ksh 30-35 per ‘gorogoro’ (2kgs). At Ksh 35, her annual need of 6 bags will cost Ksh 9,450 and this can be covered by the income from just 17 weeks of milk production.

Roseline is unique in the survey sample. No other farmer has abandoned the cultivation of subsistence staples so completely, almost all feeling the need to produce a significant part of their household’s staple food supply. If her strategy is to be criticized, it can only be on the grounds of her total dependency on one cow. But all strategies involve risk and, arguably, she is no more vulnerable than farmers who lost most of their maize crop in the drought of 2000. Moreover, maize farming brings none of the dietary and agro-ecological bonuses of milk production.

2.3 Off-Farm Food Strategies

2.3.1 The Casual Labour Strategy

Hiring out one's labour on a daily basis is one of the commonest strategies used by small farmers throughout rural Kenya. It is particularly important for the "Very Poor", all of whom used it (15 of 15; Table 1) and for all but two, it was the leading income source. However, the experience of Janet (VP, Mutukuze, W) reveals its very limited potential to support even a minimal diet, especially in Western Province where daily rates are significantly lower than in Central (Ksh 50 per day compared with Ksh 80-90).

Janet's husband has just 0.1 acres of land and this will give them only 3 weeks’ supply of maize:

“For the rest of the year she copes with the daily food requirements by engaging in casual labour … She is paid Ksh. 50/- per day and the money is spent as follows:

· 1kg of maize flour: Ksh. 20/-

· ¼ kg sugar: Ksh.10/-

· 1 cup of milk: Ksh. 10/-

· the balance of Ksh 10/- buys either paraffin, tea-leaves or is saved for any emergency.

What is bought is utilized in the following ways:

· ¾ of the flour is used for making dinner for the whole family; ¼ is kept to make porridge for lunch.

· The milk and sugar is used for making tea for breakfast."

Clearly, life for Janet and her family is appallingly insecure. For at least 11 months in the year, it is a hand-to-mouth affair, one day of hard labour feeding her family for just one day. Moreover it provides the most elemental diet: a plate of “ugali” (a solid dough eaten with the fingers) for dinner that day, followed by a mug of "chai" (tea) for breakfast and another of "uji" (a thin liquid porridge) for lunch.

Then the process must be repeated. Seen in another context, the internationally used “poverty line” of $1 per capita per day corresponds to roughly Ksh 76. Jane’s Ksh 50/- is for a household of 5, a per capita income of just Ksh 10 (13 US cents) per day.

Worse, there will be days when Janet fails to find work and whole seasons when it becomes scarce. Opportunities are closely related to the agricultural calendar with the bulk of work (digging, planting, weeding and harvesting) concentrated around the Long Rains which are from March to June. Work tapers off from August and is unobtainable in December when she is reduced to begging. As Janet put it: "Many times we go without food, especially when there is no casual labour." Her final comment on the difficulty of finding casual labour was an unexpected reminder of the insidious effect of unrestrained population growth in the countryside. "Finding casual work becomes more and more difficult as farms get smaller and smaller."

The pathetically limited cash-generating potential of Janet’s casual labour strategy becomes even more painfully apparent when it is placed in the context of her husband, Aggrey’s, failed strategies. He again is a victim of population pressure, being one of four sons who received nothing when his father died without subdividing his 1½ acre farm. A bold attempt at a farm production strategy, based on renting land in Kakamega forest, collapsed after the second year’s maize crop (like Anna's) was stolen. He then migrated to Nairobi where he took permanent employment as a gardener, doing well and putting all his three children through primary school at a total cost of some Ksh 1,500 pa. Then, just when he needed maximum savings in an attempt to meet secondary school fees of Ksh 12,000 per child for his two eldest, he fell ill and lost his job. There is absolutely no prospect of Janet saving anything from casual labour that would contribute significantly towards the primary school fees of her third child, let alone the secondary school fees of the two eldest. They have already dropped out.

Beatrice E (VP,Neema, W) whose meagre diet is described later, is another “Very Poor” farmer who depends almost entirely on casual labour to feed her family, little or nothing coming from her polygamous husband. As a strategy it fails frequently throughout the year and, like Janet, she is reduced to begging: "From January to December, Beatrice always has to beg for food from her neighbours. She is known as an "akilipa" (Teso for beggar). The community has accepted her as this and always gives her something. Beatrice says that sometimes it’s just something to taste.”

What is stunning about her life is that, alone in the sample, she has a drastic strategy to handle the situation that may arise when even begging fails, as it often does in the difficult months at year’s end:

“During these months, Beatrice says that she … moves her children to her mother in Luhyaland at Bungoma. She leaves them to stay there until she gets a bit organised. The children miss school then but she says she doesn’t mind that so long as they stay alive. During these times, Beatrice cannot even feed herself or her husband.

“I sometimes stay for even four days without tasting something,” she says.”

Most farmers do not like casual labour but it plays a key role nonetheless. For Matlida (sic) (A, Korosai, W), casual labour is a last resort because she hates it so much. She pinpoints a common complaint: that the area of land that they have to dig or weed in a day is often impossibly large. ""It (casual labour) drains out all the blood from my veins," she said. "The measure of land is too big for the little money." She says that there have been days when she couldn't finish the stretch and her employer told her to go back the next day and finish before getting her pay. This, though, is a stand-by strategy which she can take in times of hunger - as a last resort."

2.3.2 The Trading Strategy

Trading is the buying and selling of products. For this study, it does not include the sale of one's own farm products (i.e. the "Farm Sales" strategy). Almost always the operation is small scale "petty trading" at roadsides, in markets or often from the home. The definition may be stretched to include small-scale processing (e.g. illegal brewing) and service provision such as cycle repair or a cycle taxi service. Trading was used by over a third of farmers (28 out of 74; Table 1) and was most popular among the "Poor" farmers, over a half of whom used it (13 out of 25).

Generally it should be possible to generate more cash per week from trading than from casual labour. As a strategy it requires a sharp entrepreneurial spirit and is therefore of much greater significance in terms of future development strategies than its overall economic importance would suggest.

Jane (P, Karia, C) is classed as "Poor" largely because of two problems similar to those of Janet: a disputed subdivision of a 2 acre farm that has left them landless and burdened with legal fees; and a failed permanent employment strategy. Her husband works at the National Irrigation Board (NIB) in Mwea as a clerk and his income, stable for many years, put all 5 boys through secondary school. This would normally class her as "Average" or even "Rich" but this income has subsequently been drained off by the legal fees incurred in the land dispute (by no means uncommon) and, more recently has dried up altogether as the parastatal NIB has experienced cash flow problems. For the time being, the household depends totally upon Jane. Like Aggrey and Anna in the past, she is also attempting a food production strategy based on rented land and is experiencing the same difficulties, but it is a two-pronged trading strategy based on bananas and porridge that is the main cash generator.

Banana trading is the more lucrative activity, though limited by climate and demand to the 5 months from September to January. During this period, Jane trades in nearby Kutus market on either Monday or Thursday, sometimes both. To do this, she buys up to 10 bunches in her immediate home area and transports them by hired ox-cart to be on her rented market stand at 5am. There she usually sells to retailers and almost always clears the whole stock. This is gratifying and is by no means always the case in the trading business.

Jane reckons to make a profit of Ksh 73 per bunch on a sale price of Ksh 250. If she trades once per week, this net income of Ksh 730 compares favourably with that from casual labour which, in the Kerugoya area would yield just Ksh 480 for a 6-day week. However, not all are so enthusiastic about trading. Gladys (VP, Mukinduri,C) has traded at another market nearby, Kagio, and claims that she frequently only gets Ksh45 profit per bunch on a sale price of just Ksh180. Indeed there have been days when she could not sell at all and was out of pocket after expending considerable effort. For her, trading is now a last resort, only to be used when there is no casual labour available.

For Jane, however, trading is her favourite strategy, especially as she has a blood pressure problem that rules out strenuous casual labour. In fact, as noted above, she has a second string to the bow: the making and selling of porridge (“uji”). For this she buys in the maize flour, makes the “uji” at home, loads it into a large gourd, straps it to her back, and carries it to the nearby shopping centre. One gourdful will sell for Ksh 200 giving a net profit of Ksh100 in 3 days, perhaps Ksh 200 in a week. This usefully "tops up" the banana trading income from September to January, although hardly an effective substitute for the rest of the year. Nonetheless it is a risk-free operation and she likes it.

For Beatrice O (P, Elwa, W) trading is also the favourite and most lucrative strategy, bringing in an estimated income of some Ksh 500 per week, although it has to be said that she exploits opportunities that are not universally available across rural Kenya.

The operation is well organised, even ingenious, with two totally distinct components. Twice a week she walks to market and buys some 10-12kgs of fish when it arrives by truck from Lake Victoria. This she carries back on foot and sells from her home, bringing in about Ksh 220. Then, once a week, she exploits the price differentials for cereals across the nearby Ugandan border. She pays a man the casual rate of Ksh 50 to cycle across and buy a 90kg sack of maize; and then repeat the exercise to buy a 40kg sack of beans. These she also sells in small quantities from her home, bringing in some Ksh 280 per week.

This trading example again compares favourably with the potential from casual labour, especially in Western Province where the lower rate of Ksh 50 per day means that 6 days of hard digging will only produce Ksh 300 (if available). Moreover, Beatrice has not had to exert herself physically to benefit from the cross-border trade, which accounts for over a half of that income. In addition she has the option of following a 2-day fish trading schedule, which would raise total income by Ksh 220 to Ksh 720 which makes the comparison even more favourable. More than this, she is not totally averse to doing casual labour if she has particular need for the cash. She does so on an irregular basis, pointing out that the markets for fish do not open until 3pm when the transport arrives from Lake Victoria. So she can do a full day's work before walking to market to collect her fish!

2.3.3 The Permanent Employment Strategy

At the opposite extreme to the relatively land-hungry farmers considered thus far, some “Rich” farmers have either inherited relatively large farms or successfully achieved food security by land purchase following a successful permanent employment strategy. In contrast to the modest cash incomes generated from casual labour (perhaps Ksh 300-480 per 6 day week) and trading (perhaps Ksh 500-750 per 2 day week), permanent employment can yield from roughly Ksh 1000 per week (cycle repair 45,000 pa) to over Ksh 2,000 pw for a primary schoolteacher (Ksh 120,000 pa). On the other hand a local driver might earn as little as Ksh 300 pw (15,000 pa). The Strategy was used by over a third of farmers (28 out of 74; Table 1), including well over a half of the "Average" (10 out of 18) and almost all of the "Rich" (14 out of 16).

The husband of Grace (R, Karia, C) provides a good example of a successful strategy, starting life as a landless squatter and migrating 30 years ago to Nairobi where he did well as a “matatu” (minibus taxi) driver. His strategy was to save, marry, invest his savings in land and have his wife run the farm so that they could feed their family. This they did for 30 years, producing 8 children and he retired in 2000 to join his wife on the farm.

The land acquisition strategy began soon after migration. Some 28 years ago he bought 2 acres of good coffee land. Some time afterwards, he made a further investment, buying a 6 acre block, some 5 kms away in a drier environment suitable only for cereals. Here he housed a permanent labourer to prevent theft and this block became the main maize provider, normally feeding the family.

Perhaps the only negative aspect of this example is the realisation that the commendable achievement of establishing a new and reasonably large 8 acre farm is essentially an ephemeral one. Population pressure inexorably destroys what has been created. There are 4 sons and they all want land. The 6 acre block has already been subdivided into 6 one-acre fields and two married sons have been given a field each. The remainder are still "for the mother" but two further 1-acre fields will be allocated to the two younger boys when they marry. In 20 years time, their children will be back to the father's starting point: almost landless, unless the 4 sons can emulate their father's success. Even though this story of land fragmentation is depressingly familiar, the father's achievement in providing such a start in life for his 4 sons is impressive.

2.4 Diets: The Effectiveness of Food Coping Strategies

The obvious test of the effectiveness of food coping strategies is the diet that results. It is for this reason that food diaries were kept for two weeks by a small sample of farmers. Three of these represent the range within the sample and are described below. In doing so, the concept of "food item" is used. It refers to a major component of a dish. Thus a plate of "ugali" with a vegetable constitutes a 2-item dish. A mug of "black" tea is one item, but if both sugar and milk are added, it constitute a 3-item "dish", both milk and sugar being expensive ingredients for the very poor.

At one extreme, Beatrice E. (VP, Neema, W) (see 2.3.1 above) is at the margins of survival. She is in a polygamous marriage but is entirely responsible for feeding her family of 5 children. Her diet is typical of the "Very Poor", who depend on casual labour and begging for survival. The food diary recorded that she and her family had to skip meals on 9 occasions during the 14 days (i.e. 42 possible meals), her family starting the day on empty stomachs on 6 occasions, there being no breakfast. The three other skipped meals were all lunches. The worst day was the 28^th of August when there was nothing for breakfast, nothing for lunch and a plate of boiled potatoes for dinner. Her best day was 24^th August when she managed three 2-item meals: breakfast of boiled banana and mashed groundnuts; lunch of ugali and cowpeas; and dinner of ugali and dried "omena" (whitebait from Lake Victoria). That was never repeated.

Normally, Beatrice managed 2-item lunches on alternate days, but on the others they were either skipped or were 1-item affairs such as a bowl of boiled cassava. As is the norm, priority was given to the evening meal, which very occasionally (twice) was a 1-item preparation but for the rest (12 times) had two. However, meat never featured. It was far too expensive for her and the only animal protein consumed was when, on two occasions she cooked omena. The family lives with hunger, especially Beatrice herself, who always makes her children the priority.

Ruth (A, Neema, W) has a wealth rank of “Average” and her diet is greatly superior to that of Beatrice, although still barely satisfactory. She is married and also has 5 children but they have two acres of land and employ the two farm-based strategies, growing maize, beans and finger millet and selling a few mangoes, some timber and a few poultry. Even so they experience seasonal hunger and both she and her husband have to resort to casual labour in order to buy food (and save for medicines) 4 days a week in the pre-harvest months May to July.

In contrast to Beatrice, Ruth's family missed just one meal out of the 42 and although breakfast was simply a drink (usually "uji", a thin liquid porridge) on half of the recorded days, for the others it was more substantial, perhaps roasted maize or boiled bananas. Her family therefore faced the day in better shape. Main meals also were more substantial. Lunches, in contrast to those prepared by Beatrice, were almost always 2-item meals (12 times), often ugali with a vegetable but on three occasions including meat. The evening meals were again more substantial than those of Beatrice. There were no 1-item affairs. Slightly more than half had 2 items and almost a half consisted of 2, 3 or even 4 items. Onions and tomatoes featured strongly and twice she cooked fresh fish (from Lake Victoria). This is certainly not a starvation diet but is still very basic. Her food coping strategies, we might feel, are modestly successful.

Finally, Felistas (R, Ukulima,C) is an example of a “Rich” farmer in a similar position to Grace (see 2.3.3 above). Her husband inherited 1 acre but also used the permanent employment strategy to buy land, in this case 9½ acres, 9 of them with his retirement lump sum. He worked as a store manager with a French Company in Nairobi while his wife ran the farm and raised the children, two of whom are at Primary School and five are permanently away. When she ran the 1½ acre farm, Felistas used the ‘Farm Production strategy’ exclusively, growing maize and beans, and keeping cows, pigs and poultry. She did not bother with a Farm Sales strategy, her husband in Nairobi providing for anything extra that was needed. His ‘Permanent Employment’ strategy kept their standard of living high.

For her family, breakfast in 2000 was usually modest but other meals were more substantial than Ruth's. Whereas Ruth’s lunches and dinners were normally 2-item meals, for Felistas these were rare, the norm being 3 items for lunch and 5 items for dinner. The dietary peak of the fortnight was the 25^th August. Breakfast had consisted of roasted maize cobs with tea, milk and sugar and this was followed by a lunch of rice, beef and white cabbage, the day concluding with a 6-item dinner of beef, ugali, tomatoes, onions, a traditional vegetable and avocado. This is hardly ostentatious living but is, nonetheless, poles apart from the diets of her poorer neighbours. This range is well illustrated by the fact that, in total, Felistas’ family consumed 141 food items in the two weeks of the diary, compared with only 93 by Ruth's and a paltry 56 by that of Beatrice. Whereas Beatrice placed 1 to 6 food items onto her family's dining table on an average day, Felistas managed from 2 to 6 for each meal! Clearly, her food coping strategies were successful whereas those of Beatrice were wholly inadequate.

This range of diets is partly the result of the different food coping strategies adopted by farmers and these in turn reflect the family's physical and human resources. In addition, it is important to appreciate that diets also reflect the other pressures on farmers and their disposable cash. Food has to compete with other demands, above all the need to educate their children and meet health crises. These greatly reduce the availability of cash to spend on food, and sections 3 and 4 will explore these two additional sources of pressure.

2.5 Conclusion: Food Strategies

2.5.1 Wealth and Food Strategies

The relationship between wealth and coping strategy was summarized in Table 1 and has been amplified in the foregoing analysis. Given its importance, it may be helpful to summarize again:

The "Very Poor" are virtually or actually landless and must therefore rely on off-farm strategies. Casual labour is the leading income source, complemented by begging and borrowing.

The "Poor" also use the casual labour strategy heavily, but it is rarely the leading income source. Having a little land, they have farm-based options. Almost all produce for the kitchen and, for almost a half of the sample, farm sales are the leading cash source. About a half use the Trading strategy.

The "Average" farmers retain the option of casual labour but do not generally get involved in trading. Over a half successfully obtain permanent employment of a relatively menial kind (e.g. gardener, shop assistant). In addition they have greater scope for farm production and farm sales strategies, the latter being the leading income source in Kerugoya, with its irrigation potential.

The "Rich" farmers never need to use the casual labour strategy (They may well be the employers). Almost all use the lucrative permanent employment strategy, and, in addition, they will usually have relatively large farms which allow the two farm-based strategies (production and sales) to meet most of their subsistence needs and provide a cash flow.

2.5.2 The Long Term Future

The farm-based examples of the two "Poor" farmers which were used to illustrate the Farm Production and Farm Sales strategies (Anna and Roseline) are by no means typical. They are exceptionally good small farmers. However, they do indicate an important potential to expand production by improving soil quality and yields and there is now widespread acceptance that the diffusion of this technology (organic or conservation farming) throughout the small farmers of Africa must be a priority. Unfortunately it remains the case that this will only buy time, given the relentless pressure of land fragmentation.

The future role of the farm, and hence of farm-based food strategies, is therefore problematic. Carried to its logical conclusion, the settlement pattern in rural Kenya will reduce eventually to nothing more than house plots with gardens of perhaps 1/10 acre, a state reached by some villages already. There will then be no farms as such. Houses will simply accommodate families supported by absentee fathers (and mothers) or retired couples. Alternatively, they may only be occupied at week-ends or seasonally; or they may be abandoned.

Against this, one process working in the opposite direction is land purchase out of urban savings, as exemplified by Grace's husband (See 2.3.3). It is difficult, however, to see this as anything other than a temporary stemming of the fragmentation process. Another alternative scenario would be for farmers to abandon the traditional inheritance system, preferably before fragmentation reaches such an acute state. It is possible that this could happen. There is, of course, an obvious implication with regard to the flow of migrants to the cities, which would accelerate.

If the future of farm-based strategies is problematic, so also is that of casual labour. Currently it is hugely important, being used by all wealth categories except the "Rich" i.e. by some 86% of farmers, even though only the "Very Poor" depend upon it almost exclusively. The demand for this off-farm cash income is likely to become ever more pressing as farms continue to fragment and their contribution to family food supply shrinks. But, as Janet noted (2.3.1 above), the availability of this form of employment is itself diminishing as a result of this same trend. The ever-smaller farms have less and less need for casual labour to help work them. How will the poor react to the "turning off" of this "safety valve"? The prospects are daunting, especially when the existing nutritional state of the rural population is taken into account (2.4 above).

A conclusion might therefore be that, unless the inheritance system is abandoned (or families get smaller), the only food-generating strategies with a long-term future are trading and permanent employment in the cities.

3.1 Introduction

It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of the school fee issue in relation to the quality of life in households throughout rural Kenya. It is all-pervasive, even if some parents are temporarily free of direct involvement in the problem as a result of their stage in the family life cycle i.e. the children are either pre-school or post-school in age.

Education and poverty are closely related in two, seemingly contradictory, ways. On the one hand, education provides a route out of poverty so that all parents want to obtain the best possible education for their children. On the other, education can drive farmers into poverty. This is because schooling is expensive. Given its perceived importance, farmers will go to almost any lengths to stop their children from being sent home from school. They may sell off assets, such as land, trees, and livestock, which are irreplaceable and upon which the standard of living of the farmer's family partly or largely depends. They may even sell essential maize, thus risking hunger in the months ahead. ‘Coping strategy’ becomes a distinct misnomer in too many such cases.

3.1.1 The Level of School Fees in Rural Kenya

Primary schooling used to be free in rural Kenya, as noted at the outset. The level of fees has already been alluded to in relation to Janet and the inadequacy of casual labour as a generator of cash. Fees for primary school (which runs from Standard 1 to 8) range between Ksh 1,500 and 1,800 pa. but these do not cover text books, exercise books and materials which may add another Ksh 4,000 pa in the upper grades; nor school uniforms, another Ksh 2,500. It is the fees, however, that are crucial. If unpaid, the child will usually be sent home, which is a mortifying experience for both child and parent.

The government sets an upper limit for state secondary schools (Forms 1 to 4) which in 2000 was Ksh 22,000, but it was raised by a massive 24% in 2001. A crucial difference between the two levels of schooling is that fees for primary, with certain exceptions, are ‘per family’, regardless of the numbers attending but, dauntingly, those for secondary are ‘per pupil’. This imposes a very severe penalty on all households who have aspirations to secondary education, especially those with large families.

Given the level of income that can be produced by the various cash-generating strategies, it is immediately obvious that secondary education is out of the question for children in “Very Poor” and “Poor” families. Even Roseline’s milk and banana strategy, which was successful in terms of food security, barely leaves room (maybe Ksh 23,000 pa) for secondary school fees for one child, even if there were no other demands upon the surplus. Two broad propositions will not be far from the truth: firstly, the problem of paying secondary school fees is a problem of the “Average” and “Rich” farmers. The “Very Poor” and “Poor” (the majority in most SHGs) simply have to opt out. Secondly, the problem of paying primary school fees is a problem of the “Very Poor” and “Poor”, above all the former.

3.2 Primary School Fee Strategies

It is the “Very Poor” farmers, dependent as they are on casual labour, who have a particularly hard time paying primary school fees. Some, like Peris (VP, Wiyumiririe, C), a widow, succeed because of the importance of labour-intensive crops in the neighbourhood, in her case potatoes. The bill for her 4 children is somewhat high at Ksh 2,000 pa. “Peris pays school fees in instalments. In December and January the potato harvesting season begins. She and her children go out and seek casual labour. A little money is kept for immediate needs and all the rest is taken to the school (the school clerk is available during school holidays) until the bill is cleared.” Peris succeeds but the price is high. She relies entirely on casual labour for her food supply and frequently has to borrow from the local store. At Ksh 80 per day, it will require 25 more days of casual labour to cover the Ksh 2,000 bill. This is money that could have been spent on desperately needed food and clothing.

Some do not succeed and it will be no surprise (see 2.3.1 and 2.4) to learn that Beatrice E (VP,Neema, C) falls into this category, given her acute food insecurity. She has 5 children (in a polygamous marriage), the eldest in Standard 6. “She says that her children are often sent away from school for lack of fees, so they are left behind by their agemates .... So far (in 2000) she has been digging the headmaster’s garden and in return, reducing the burden of fees. But she says that the fees have been increasing as the children move into higher classes so she has to dig for many more days. Doing this means that she earns no cash for her family’s food. She is now getting to a point where she has to choose between digging to offset school fees and digging for cash for her family’s food.” This “Food versus Fees” conflict is by no means unique to the “Very Poor.”

Susan, at Mukinduri SHG (VP, Central) has also failed to cope. Abandoned by her husband and landless, she has paid just Ksh 700 of the Ksh 1,500 needed and her daughter has been sent home. “Susan has no hope of ever raising this money in her current condition. The daughter may never complete primary school.”

One saving grace in this matter can be the strength of family ties. Eunice, (VP,Wendani, C), also in a polygamous marriage, could not afford the primary school fees for her large family of eight. All dropped out except her eldest, a daughter, Theresa. This happened because her brother-in-law decided to help. More than this, he financed her through secondary. She is now married with her own job in Nairobi and has “rescued” her youngest brother, not only financing the rest of his primary but also now supporting him at secondary school.

Polygamous marriages sometimes create their own problems and also solutions, if only partial. It is not uncommon for one wife to be left to feed and educate the children of another. This happened to Benatta (VP,Ukulima, W), the fourth wife of seven (one inherited) who between them produced 48 children, no mean feat! Wives 3 and 5 migrated with the husband in search of urban employment, leaving 5 of their children of primary age for Benatta to feed and, given subsequent abandonment by the husband, to educate. She still has one of her own in primary school. Some help with school fees, however, has come, not only from her eldest son before he lost his job, but, more surprisingly, from the eldest son of the first wife, Clementine. Nonetheless, school fees present an on-going nightmare for Benatta, given that she is virtually landless, and her children, like those of Beatrice, are frequently being sent home. On one recent occasion it was because of a shortfall of just Ksh 240.

3.3 Secondary School Fee Strategies

If it takes 25 days of casual work to cover primary fees of Ksh 2,000 at Ksh 80 per day, then it would take 275 (49 weeks at 6 days per week) to meet a secondary bill of Ksh 22,000. In Western, where the daily rate is only Ksh 50, the corresponding figures are 440 days and 73 weeks! And that would be for just one child!

Farmers such as Peris, whose eldest is reaching the top grade in primary, realistically acknowledge that they have no hope. Likewise Margaret (A, Kirimaini,C) insisted that “... she has no hope of raising Ksh 20,000 to take... [her son] ... to secondary school.” Others have already experienced the failure to make the transition and do not like it. Margaret (VP, Wendani,C) “... is not happy with the way she lives ... Her children are not able to continue with school after Standard 8 and she feels bad, as she would wish to educate them and for them to get jobs and help her. Her daughter is employed as a housegirl and one of the boys stays home and does casual jobs around the home.” Another, Petronilla (P, Mukumu W), is still distraught that her eldest (of eight children), a bright lad, cannot go to secondary: “Petronilla seems to worry more about her children dropping out of school than of what they will feed on. For instance, she kept on lamenting about her eldest son who completed standard 8 but cannot get a job. She says that he did well in school and was admitted to Yamuhuhu Boys school but they could not afford the fees.” In only one case in the survey did a farmer who was able to afford secondary education, deliberately not make the investment. This was the decision of Grace’s husband, the “Rich” ex-matatu (taxi) driver in Karia. It may be assumed that the vast majority would wish their children to go if they could.

The payment of fees of Ksh 20,000 per child per annum cannot be seriously contemplated unless there is either a lucrative cash crop on a reasonably large farm or unless one or both spouses have permanent employment. These may be backed up by the sale of assets or borrowing.

Some farmers have succeeded. Lucy (R, Wendani, C) has a school teacher husband earning Ksh 120,000 pa and they managed to put 5 children through secondary. Much, of course, depends on the spacing of the children and Mary (R, Senende, W) with a husband who is a manager, reported that her family's worst year was in 1992 when they had 5 children in secondary school at the same time. For that year the family at home were eating only one meal a day. Most struggle and some, perhaps after a year or two of success, admit failure and their children drop out.

Of those who have attempted to finance secondary education from farm sales, a striking example is Jamleck (R, Kiangagirwa, C). Faced with secondary school bills of some Ksh 54,000 for his two children in 1999, he boldly attempted to finance this by a farm sales strategy: the contract farming of French beans, renting in irrigated land to do so. This brought in some Ksh 35,000. The balance was made up by a borrowing strategy, obtaining Ksh 20,000 from the coffee cooperative. Unfortunately, in 2000 the price of French beans plummeted by a third. He sold his only bull and cow, yielding Ksh 25,800 but has been quite unable to keep the strategy going into 2001. Both children have dropped out and Jamleck’s life strategy is now in total disarray. Selling of key assets, such as cattle, in an attempt to finance secondary education, is by no means uncommon among richer farmers.

Out in Western, Audesta (R, Neema, W) provides the only other significant example of a farm-based secondary fee strategy. She was unfortunate to be the second of two wives because her husband succeeded in putting all 4 children by the first marriage through secondary schooling largely by asset stripping, in this case by selling off 6½ acres of his 15 acre farm. He also had some 30 cattle, which would have allowed for Audesta’s 5 children but unfortunately an attack of tsetse-born “nagana” killed off all but two of the animals in the early 1990s. All of her children have had to drop out after primary.

Much more common is the attempt to finance secondary schooling by migrating to permanent employment but, as we have seen in the case of Janet (see 2.3.1), this strategy is not immune from disasters, the biggest being loss of the job. Jedidah (P, Ukulima, W) is another example. She has resorted to illegal brewing in order to cover the crisis but knows that if her husband is not re-employed soon, she will have to give up as they are already in debt at the school. For her, the Food v Fees issue is a constant worry: “She is getting to the point where she has to choose between the two – and she says that her family’s food needs to come first.”

Sometimes, the crisis in the permanent employment strategy can come quite late in the day. Gladys V (R, Mutukuze W) was able to put 5 of her 6 children through secondary on the income from her husband’s trading kiosk in Nairobi. But this business recently fell foul of new licensing laws and the youngest child has been left stranded. Two others have had to drop out of post-secondary vocational courses. In a desperate exercise in cost-cutting, Gladys has been reduced to seeking casual labour and has cut back her diet, being “…almost reduced to living on strong tea!”

Felistas (R, Ukulima, W), the “Rich” farmer whose diet was described earlier (2.4), is in a similar position for a different reason. Her husband retired before the secondary education of the two youngest children (of 8) had started. Not only will they have difficulty when they go to secondary but a daughter is in the middle of a nursing course and they have only paid Ksh 50,000 of the Ksh 150,000 that are needed. Felistas has sold two cows and, this year, has cut back their diet to ugali and vegetables. Wistfully she observed that: “It was better while our children were still young and in primary school. We were well in control of all family matters.” Here, then, is a "Rich" farmer, like Gladys, whose standard of living has plummeted as a result of the pressure from secondary school fees.

Even when the husband remains in employment, the stress can be extreme. Mary (R, Ukulima, W) also has a teacher husband earning Ksh 120,000 but she insists that the bill of Ksh 50,000, for the two eldest children, is too big a proportion of his salary. They used to have a useful income from milk but have already, in desperation, sold off 4 of their 5 milk cows, so that this has decimated the cash flow. They have sacked a labourer and have even been forced to sell maize for school fees, despite an 8 bag deficit each year. Mary “appeared helpless and discouraged” at interview. Like her poorer neighbours she now has no long-term food strategy and faces the search for food on a day-to-day basis. She is reduced to hoping rather than coping.

One final variation on the theme is Jenifefer (sic) (P, Ukulima SHG, W), mother of 10, whose husband is a voluntary worker (a pastor) in the local Catholic church. Not only is feeding such a large family a problem but so also is their schooling. He inherited a 1 acre farm and has done remarkably well in putting the middle 3 of his 10 children through secondary school, although it has left him seriously in debt and there are three further children near the top of primary. His strategy has been unusual. Asset liquidation is normal, and this has played its part with the sale of four cows and, unusually, with the felling of a small plantation of trees that his father had planted. What is more unusual is that he has a borrowing strategy: "In 1998 her son was sent out of … (secondary) … school and was requiring over Ksh 10,000. Her husband went and beseeched the priest to offer him this money to save his son from being discontinued. After a few days, the priest gave him Ksh 10,000 – to be paid in instalments.” Further heavy borrowings of over Ksh 10,000 in 2000 ensured that the couple remain deeply in debt and the strain is telling on both. Jennifefer acknowledges the high cost of a large family and the school holidays are extremely difficult when the children return from boarding school and need to be fed:

"She says that life was enjoyable until 2 of their children were admitted to secondary schools. “Now we are constantly quarrelling over these children” – something that has never happened. When schools close it is a beginning of sad faces with children demanding food every other hour. She regrets why she had to have 10 children instead of “just 3.”"

3.4 Conclusion: School Fee Strategies

Clearly, the issues that have been raised by the case studies in this section are fundamentally important for the standard of living of rural Kenyans. It is also impossible to avoid the conclusion that the burden of school fees constitutes a massive millstone around the necks of farmers. Moreover, it is not just the "Very Poor" who are involved. As has been shown, the traumatic effects are evident at every wealth level. The "Very Poor" may be the only group to struggle to pay for primary education but all groups, even the "Rich" struggle to provide secondary. The only households that are free from this burden are those who have opted out. None would do this in relation to primary education, such are the economic consequences but many escape the traumas of paying for secondary education because they have no choice. They simply cannot afford it. Those who do accept the challenge, often see their standard of living plummet as a result.

The nature of the burden imposed by school fees is perhaps best appreciated by imagining a world in which Kenyan education were free. For the farmers, as has frequently been reported in this section, the economic and social impacts would be immediate. The "Fees versus Food" dilemma would disappear. Farmers could once again invest in their land and move not only towards food security but also to the expansion of farm sales. Their children would all receive primary and secondary education, reversing national trends for both. This would not only have massive long-term implications at the scale of the national economy but would also have equally profound impacts within families. Farmers would then be justified in planning for a future in which their children could help to lift them out of poverty. Currently all the trends are in the opposite direction.

Of the three "basic needs", food, education and health care, the last-named is generally the least demanding on rural households, although for some it is by no means insignificant. Only a half of the sample farmers had to spend on health in 1999-2000 and, for two-thirds of these, the expenses were below the level of primary school fees. Only two of the sample of 74 spent at the level of secondary school fees i.e. over Ksh 20,000. Unlike the other two, health expenditures are usually (though not always) unpredictable and for this reason farmers frequently say that they do not have a ‘coping strategy’ for their family. In fact, only in those relatively rare cases of chronic illness does the burden become an on-going one that really demands one. In the analysis that follows, the term "strategy" refers to the way in which farmers react to health crises, even if these reactions are essentially spontaneous and unplanned.

4.1 Strategies for Minor Health Expenditures

Given the conclusion reached in relation to the paying of primary school fees, it is no surprise to find that the same applies in the case of minor health costs of less than Ksh 2000. The “Poor”, “Average” and “Rich” farmers usually cope and it is only the “Very Poor” who struggle. Some fail.

Beatrice E (VP, Neema, W) ) again exemplifies the problem. She uses traditional medicine and, if that fails, like many, she uses borrowing as a first response, repaying with casual labour. Sometimes even this fails:

"The diseases that trouble Beatrice’s family most are malaria, diarrhoea and headaches. Most times, she uses traditional herbs which she collects herself from the neighbourhood. “If I see that this is not working, I go to the lady who I always dig for and ask for some cash in advance to take my child to Kocholia Health centre,” she says. At Kocholia, she’ll spend something like this:

Ksh 3 - For a registration book

Ksh 10 - For registration

Ksh 20 - For consultation.

Ksh 20 - For medicines.

But she says that the amount of payment for the medicines can really shoot up depending on the illness. So most times, even when she thinks that the illness is serious, she downplays it so that they can give her affordable medicines.

Her health strategy has failed before and she lost a baby boy (her fourth born) through diarrhoea and vomiting. That time, she had no money and even borrowing yielded nothing. She just watched her boy die."

She is not alone in having experienced this sort of appalling trauma. Jedidah (P, Ukulima, W) lost a child by paying a “quack” doctor in the neighbourhood who gave the child an overdose by mistake.

Both of these examples illustrate the tragic situations that can develop for mothers of young children, who are particularly vulnerable to disease. The aged are the other highly vulnerable group. Jane, (VP, Karia, C) is a widow in her 70s who lives in a squatter settlement. She does casual work but often is reduced to begging. Like Beatrice, that also fails on occasion and she is left without a strategy:

"This has been her worst year healthwise. In the months of April and May she suffered from scurvy, malaria, boils and worms. She stayed at home in bed since she had no money to go to hospital. A good samaritan gave her Ksh100 and this is how she used it: Went to the general hospital, paid Ksh20 for a card, Ksh 40 for stool test, and the remaining Ksh40 for a blood test. Now hear this: she had no money to proceed to the next and most crucial stage of buying medicine! So she went home and prayed to God to heal her. “Surely He healed me.” Another time, her daughter and the child were down with malaria and none went to hospital due to lack of money."

Borrowing and begging are the standard response of the “Very Poor” to a sudden need for cash. Borrowing is also common among “Poor” and “Average farmers, as also the sale of small livestock such as poultry. In most cases the loans will be paid off by casual labour. Gladys W, (VP, Mukinduri, C) is typical: " One of the two brothers who she helps to raise has a nose bleeding problem. He needs constant medication. She borrows money from the people she works for to pay [back] with labour. Some of them give her the money for free. She received Ksh 200 last month from a friend to pay for some medication for the boy. She also sold two chickens last year for Ksh. 300 to buy medicine for the same boy."

Marata, (VP, Wendani, Cl) does likewise: "She does not have any strategy for health. When she gets sick, she uses some of the money earned from casual employment. When she is sick and she does not have money, she borrows from neighbours."

A variation on the theme, is the borrowing arrangement that Peris (VP, Wiyumiririe, C) has set up with the local Catholic Mission: "If one is sick and there is no money, she goes to the Catholic mission dispensary and explains to the priest. She can obtain half the dose of medicine. The rest is given upon payment. She seeks casual labour to pay up."

Grace, (P, Mukumu, W) does the same: "Health has not been a big issue in her family. However, the common disease is malaria and she has an outstanding balance of Ksh 300 owed to a nearby clinic. She plans to sell her labour at Ksh 50 to pay off the balance." Jedidah (A, Wendani, C) has the same reaction: "There is no definite health strategy, and they use money earned from casual work for medicine or medical services."

4.2 Strategies for Major Health Expenditures

Expenditures of more than Ksh 2,000 may result from either a serious illness or accident that requires hospital treatment or because of a chronic ailment that requires on-going medication throughout the year. Whereas a strategy of borrowing and repaying with the cash income from casual labour may cope with minor ailments, these major expenses demand more drastic action. Borrowing will probably still feature but the net will have to be cast wider and it will have to be backed up by other strategies such as the sale of assets and even begging, especially from the extended family. Some, of course, will simply opt to forgo non-critical treatment, being unable to meet the cost. An example is Jane, the “Poor” trading farmer from Karia (2.3.2), who seriously damaged a vein in her hand and cannot afford the Ksh 10,000 treatment.

Options for the “Very Poor” are, of course, limited. Normally they cannot contemplate the level of expense involved and, if they do, the results can be catastrophic in terms of standard of living. Susan, (VP; Mukinduri, C) decided to sell assets and has been reduced virtually to destitution as a result: "Susan is very ill. She has a back problem which has seen her admitted in hospital for 3 weeks. It cost her Ksh 2,100 without drugs. To raise this money she sold her only 2 goats, her bean crop from last year, kitchen utensils and her few pieces of furniture. A few friends have assisted her with money.”

Wealthier farmers will frequently use the sale of assets to meet health bills. Whereas secondary school fees require the sale of cattle at perhaps Ksh 10,000 per head, health costs can usually be met with the sale of smaller animals: sheep and goats at perhaps Ksh 1,500 and hens at Ksh 250 per head. Thus Matlida, (A, Korosai, W) who had two crises in rapid succession in 2000: In March “… Matlida herself got ill. She was in her early months of pregnancy and got very sick. She was rushed to Kocholia Health Centre and referred to Bungoma District Hospital for specialised care. She later had a miscarriage. This time, the family sold the family sheep at Ksh 1500 to raise the medical fees needed – Ksh 1,200. In May, her husband got sick. He had nagging headaches and was taken to Malaba Hospital. He ended up paying Ksh 500 which they raised by selling two chickens. Matlida also has an aunt who works in Malaba and she helped meet some of the bill.”

For Margaret (A, Kirimaini, C) the bills obviously required more drastic asset disposal, also involving a relative. She “… has no strategies but reacts to situations. For small illnesses, money from casual labour is used. For serious diseases, livestock could be sold or land rented out for some time to clear hospital bills. In 1997, her mother-in-law was very sick and admitted to hospital. Margaret had to sell her pigs and her mother-in-law’s sister sold a cow and together they were able to clear the bill.”

The extended family often plays a key role in medical crises, as can also be the case with school fees. Sometimes the money may be borrowed but frequently it is a gift ie a special case of begging. This was the case in the biggest financial outlay on health reported in the survey. This hit Eunice (VP, Wendani, C): “Two years ago was the time when she needed help and one of her sister’s sons helped her out of it. Her own son was admitted to hospital and later died with typhoid. The bill had risen to Kshs. 50,000 and there was no way she could have been allowed to take the body for burial without first clearing the bill. Her sister’s son raised the money and they were able to clear the bill."

Less dramatically, Ruth (A, Neema, W) was very sick in 1995. “She spent over Ksh 2,500. Since her husband could not afford to pay for treatment, she had to look for assistance from her parental home. Her brother took her to hospital at Kocholia where she received treatment as an inpatient for 2 weeks and at the outpatient clinic for 1 month. Her brother paid the entire amount.”

Brothers also came to the rescue of Francisca (VP, Elwa, W) when she had to go to hospital with malaria in 1999. On that occasion the Self-Help Group itself played a key role:

“She was unconscious for several days and could not recognise anyone. During this period the members used to visit and take food to her and took care of her children. They consoled her and her family more than anyone else.”

Self-Help Groups are crucially important institutions in the villages of rural Kenya, playing a key role in poverty alleviation. This example of a traditional function (they may also work the farmer’s land during a period in hospital) has been extended in some particularly progressive groups to the lending of money. Thus both Joyce (A) and Lydia (VP) in Kirimaini SHG (C. Province) belong to the SHG’s welfare group, which helps clear hospital bills.

Finally, the level of need can sometimes be so great and continuous that a permanent change of strategy is called for. Jerida (A, Musasa, W) is one of those burdened with on-going and substantial health costs as a result of her husband developing diabetes. With great enterprise she developed a completely new strategy to cope with the resultant food deficit and health costs: the trading of fish from her roadside kiosk, adding value by frying it. Her husband has an ongoing need for tablets costing Ksh 200 per week and the kiosk covers this in 2 days trading. He also requires special food and, worse, from time to time develops complications which require hospital treatment. The kiosk will not cover the latter and she falls back on strategies already described: selling calves in an attempt to cover a Ksh 6,000 bill in 1999 and, more recently falling back on her sister, who works in Nakuru, to cover an Ksh1,800 bill when her son went down with malaria.

4.3 Health Expenditures: Conclusion

Health care costs compete with food purchases and school fees for the limited resources of all farmers. It has been shown that the burdens placed by these costs are generally less than those imposed by school fees but that, for some, they are highly significant. Although, in contrast to food and educational needs, there is a degree of unpredictability in relation to health expenditure, there is nonetheless some order, as the examples show.

First, expenditures are likely to be related to the family life cycle. Before parents have children, costs are likely to be minimal. Their arrival will usually mean an increase in health expenditures and the bigger the family, the larger the outlay is likely to be. After children have grown up and flown the nest, the parents, in due course, enter the most vulnerable stage of their lives: old age. The examples cited in this section illustrate this pattern.

Secondly, there is an obvious relationship between health crises and wealth. Wealthier families are likely to have better diets and therefore be less vulnerable to disease. These same families will also be able to handle the costs better than poorer ones who therefore labour under this double disadvantage.

In addition, wealth influences the strategies open to farmers in attempting to meet their health costs. The "Rich" are able to fund both major and minor medical costs without great difficulty. At the opposite extreme the "Very Poor" struggle even to meet relatively minor costs and major ones are usually beyond them. The difficulties faced by the "Very Poor" are daunting given that casual labour is usually their only cash income source and that a small bill of, say Ksh 200, represents 4 days labour in Western Province. Moreover, the income from those 4 days of casual labour is already committed to providing the very basic food supply for the household, not to mention school fees. The three needs are most emphatically in competition with each other.

"Poor" and "Average" farmers generally have little problem covering minor health costs. Like the "Very Poor", their immediate response to a health crisis is to borrow but they have more options open to them to generate cash and repay the debt. They are not confined to casual labour, most having the option of farm sales and perhaps trading. Nor is casual labour the only means of providing food and paying school fees so that the competition between the three is slightly less severe.

Nonetheless, the "Poor and "Average" farmers encounter major difficulties when faced with major health bills, as has been seen. Borrowing may be enough but, if it isn't, then more drastic action is necessary and the most obvious option is to liquidate assets, most commonly by selling livestock but also, as was seen, by renting out land and disposing of household furnishings. The only alternative to such drastic action is to call in the family. Here it must be allowed that there may well be an advantage in having a larger family than a smaller one. With a large family there is a higher probability that at least one member will obtain a good job and be able to assist in such times of crisis. Seen in this context, a large polygamous family has much to commend it and although no examples were encountered in relation to health care, it will be recalled that there were gratifying examples of co-operation and support between different branches of polygamous families in relation to school fees. They do constitute quite powerful support systems.

Finally, the role of the self-help group, as a support system, surfaced in this section. They often play a key role in relation to health care, looking after children when a mother is in hospital, making contributions to help feed that mother and sometimes organising borrowing facilities to help pay health bills. In the worst case, they will usually contribute to funeral costs. The psychological importance of this support is often attested to by farmers.

Endnotes

1. (a) This partial summary of the full report was formerly circulated, in an A5-size orange cover, as: ‘ “GOODBYE TO HUNGER!” EFFECTS OF COMPOSTED DOUBLE-DUG BEDS ON SMALL FARMERS’ LIVELIHOODS IN KENYA .Conservation Farming with Near-Nil Investment ‘.

- The subtitle and wording in these "Brief Extracts" has been slightly amended by the original author for reasons of conformity with the main report.

(b) The standard DDCB, as taught by the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF) and ABLH, is 7 x 1.5 metres. Compost is spread across the topsoil. Six sections are then marked out. The topsoil is removed from section 1 and placed adjacent to section 6. The subsoil is then dug with a "jembe" (a forked pick), to break up any hardpan, and compost incorporated. It is then covered with the topsoil from section 2 and the process repeated. These beds last for at least 3 years. Their great advantage is that they allow deep rooting and maintain soil moisture so that crops, such as kale and spinach, can survive Kenya's two dry seasons.

(c) (from the main report, p.17): Rather than take a ‘hard line’ against use of any chemicals, ABLH/OMMN took a somewhat less-severe attitude, and preferred to use the label ‘Organic Conservation Farming’ (and a ‘Conservation Supreme’ standard), not only to suggest that distinction, but also to stress the ‘organic-rich’ basis of its recommended practices. In no way does this limit any farmer who chooses to become completely ‘organic’ in the strict sense, but nor does it exclude those who cannot – or who do not wish to - achieve formal Organic status.

The survey included not only Self-Help Groups which had been taught organic conservation farming by ABLH but also many who had been taught by other NGOs: some "pure" organic farming (e.g. by KIOF), others variations on the theme such as the bio-intensive agriculture taught by Manor House Agricultural College (near Kitale).

2. The full report, which has data in the form of both tables and quotations of farmers' own comments, is one of the most striking and encouraging papers concerning the improvement of small-scale farmers' livelihoods that I have read for a very long time. Groups served by ABLH were among those covered in the survey. ABLH is actively involved in the promotion of these organic conservation farming techniques together with Government staff and other NGOs; and its Smallholder Marketing and Certification Project is specifically directed towards the marketing aspects.

T F Shaxson, past Chairman, ABLH.

.oOo.

Requests for copies of the original 210-page complete report “Goodbye to Hunger” should be made to:

The Treasurer, Association for Better Land Husbandry,

12 Laurel Drive, Tilehurst, Reading RG31 5DY, UK. intdev@onetel.net.uk

Productive double-dug composted beds. Kerugoya, Kenya. (Photo: ABLH. 4082)

.oOo.

A DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

“It is farming that makes the best use of nature’s goods and services while not damaging the environment. Sustainable farming does this by integrating natural processes, such as nutrient cycling, nitrogen fixation, soil regeneration and natural pest control, within food production processes. It also minimizes the use of non-renewable inputs that damage the environment or harm the health of farmers and consumers. It makes better use of farmers’ knowledge and skills, thereby improving their self-reliance, and it makes productive use of people’s capacities to work together to solve common management problems. Through this, sustainable agriculture also contributes to a range of public goods, such as clean water, wildlife, carbon sequestration in soils, flood protection and landscape quality”.

Pretty J.N., 2002. Agri-Culture : Reconnecting People, Land and Nature.

(London: Earthscan Publications. ISBN 1-85383-925-6 pbk. 264pp.. p.56)

.oOo.

For further information about The Association for Better Land Husbandry please contact:

Dr. John Coulter, Lower Cowden Farm, Five Ashes, Mayfield, E.Sussex TN20 6HL, U.K.

Richard Baker esq., 12 Laurel Drive, Tilehurst, Reading, RG31 5DY, U.K.

The General Secretary, ABLH(K), P 0 Box 601, Village Market, Nairobi, Kenya, E. Africa.

.oOo.

PUBLICATION DETAILS: ”ENABLE” IS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR BETTER LAND HUSBANDRY, U.K.REGD. CHARITY 1025653. AUTHORS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THEIR PAPERS WHICH ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE ASSOCIATION. THE NEWSLETTER FUNCTIONS AS A FORUM FOR NEWS AND DISCUSSION OF ISSUES RELATED TO PROMOTING BETTER LAND HUSBANDRY, AND WELCOMES CONTRIBUTIONS ESPECIALLY FROM ABLH MEMBERS AND ALSO FROM OTHER INTERESTED PERSONS. CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED – PREFERABLY BY E-MAIL, OR ON DISKETTE IN MS-WORD FORMAT – TO THE EDITOR: FRANCIS SHAXSON, GREENSBRIDGE, WINTERBORNE KINGSTON, DORSET DT11 9BJ, U.K.

FShaxson@aol.com

[1] The standard DDCB, as taught by the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF) and ABLH, is 7 x 1.5 metres. Compost is spread across the topsoil. Six sections are then marked out. The topsoil is removed from section 1 and placed adjacent to section 6. The subsoil is then dug with a "jembe" (a forked pick), to break up any hardpan, and compost incorporated. It is then covered with the topsoil from section 2 and the process repeated. These beds last for at least 3 years. Their great advantage is that they allow deep rooting and maintain soil moisture so that crops, such as kale and spinach, can survive Kenya's two dry seasons. (See also Annex 2).

	*Wealth rank*
	Very Poor	Poor	Average	Rich

*Farm-based Strategies*

Farm Food Production (subsistence)	0.46	0.92	0.94	1.00
Farm Sales	0.33	0.96	0.94	0.94

*Non-Farm Strategies*

Casual Labour	1.00	0.88	0.72	0.06
Trading	0.26	0.52	0.16	0.31
Begging and Borrowing	0.66	0.04	0.11	0
Permanent Employment	0	0.16	0.56	0.88

INDICATION OF AVERAGE DAILY NETT INCREASE IN NUMBERS OF PEOPLE, ACCORDING TO BASE POPULATION AND ANNUAL % RATE OF INCREASE (‘Nett increase’ = number of arrivals (births+immigration) minus number of departures (deaths+emigration)
	% Rate of net population increase per year
	+1%	+2%	+3%	+4%

Base population at start	Average daily nett increase e.g.: (30,000,000 x 2%) /365 = +1644
20,000,000	+548	+1096	+1644	+2192
30,000,000	+822	+1644	+2466	+3288
40,000,000	+1095	+2191	+3287	+4432