Devolved Funds Allocation and Enhancement of Food Security in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

Food security revolves around the primary need of any human being. Devolution was born to address the short comings of the national government by making sure services, resources, opportunities are close to its citizens. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of devolved funds allocation on enhancement of food security in Uasin Gishu County. The target population was residents of six sub counties in Uasin Gishu County. Probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling techniques were used in the study. The sample size was 383 households. Primary data was the main source of data. Pretesting was done in chesumei sub county, Nandi County. This study adopted content validity and factor analysis was performed to assess convergent validity. Cronbach`s alpha coefficient was used to test for reliability. The empirical results were (β = .624, p = .000, α < 0.01) implying that devolved funds allocation has a significant effect on enhancement of food security. The study concluded that food security funded projects increases agricultural productivity and the availability and accessibility of safe and nutritious food. Prioritization of allocation of funds for eligible nonprofits, public private partnerships, and food program service providers promotes self sufficiency and food security. The study recommended that the Kenyan government should build a platform to promote dialogue and cooperation among relevant institutions and programmes in all sectors with the aim of developing an extension and information services network for food security.