Determinants of Livelihood Strategies among Forest Dependent Households in Mt Elgon Region, Kenya

Abstract

The majority of the world's poor people live in rural areas of low-income countries, and their main source of income is subsistence farming. Low productivity in agriculture and limited access to non-farm income sources, have increased these people's vulnerability to livelihood shocks and stress. In order to respond to these challenges, many rural households diversify their livelihood portfolios to include extraction of environmental resources and non-farm activities. However, the understanding on the choice of livelihood strategies rural households living near forest margins make and their determinants remain outstanding. This is in part because the choice of livelihood strategies rural households make, vary by context, including geographical region and household conditions. While many previous studies have categorized forest extraction decisions as either for survival (for the poor) or for accumulation (for wealthier households), recent evidence has found that the poor can engage in forest extraction for accumulation. The majority of studies also do not take into account heterogeneities in rural household’s context based on gender, wealth categories and geographical locations. This study therefore sought to assess the rural households’ livelihood strategies and their determinants among forest dependent households in Mt Elgon region, Kenya. The study implemented three interrelated objectives, namely; i) to assess the livelihood strategies employed by rural households in Mt Elgon region, Kenya; ii) to assess the determinants of choice of livelihood strategies among forest dependent households; and iii) to assess the determinants of forest extraction among forest dependent households in Mt Elgon region, Kenya. Multistage, simple random sampling designs were used to select a sample of 924 households from Bungoma and Trans-Nzoia counties in western Kenya. Data was collected through administration of questionnaire, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews to the respondents. Quantitative data were then coded, edited and entered in Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) and analyzed using Stata version 14 software. The household choices on livelihood strategies was analyzed using Principal Component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, whereas the drivers of livelihood strategies were analyzed using Multinomial logit. A Double Hurdle model was also used to evaluate the factors influencing intensity of forest extraction. The findings of the PCA and cluster analysis show that, households engaged in three main livelihood strategies: farming and forest extraction (75.7%), business-based strategies (19.7%) and farming + business + wage employment (4.6%). Institutional characteristics, including access to markets, all-weather roads, education, credit and extension increased the households’ diversification to high income generating activities. The findings also reveal that households with lower asset value, membership in forest user associations, lower levels of education, male headed, lower access to credit, and those further away from markets and all-weather roads were more likely to engage in forest extraction. While majority of households in low-wealth category were involved in forest extraction, households in the middle-wealth category extracted relatively higher-value products. Similarly, the study shows that household diversification into forest extraction differs depending on differential access to entitlements, and opportunities as well as incentives and wealth disparities. In order to address the challenges of forest degradation in poor nations, it is critical to incorporate diversification knowledge into forest management strategies. In the view of the above findings, the study recommends the promotion of formal education, specific safety nets, social networking programmes, social amenities such as all-weather roads and access to credit facilities to promote rural livelihood diversification in rural areas. Additionally, extraction regulations should be enforced to reduce environmental degradation. The findings from this study provide policy insights that will help in putting in place intervention that will strengthen sustainable rural livelihoods among forest communities in Kenya.