Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T15:15:26.306Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The impact of political crisis on smallholder pig farmers in western Kenya, 2006–2008*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2011

Cate E. Dewey ,
Jared M. Wohlgemut ,
Mike Levy  and
Florence K. Mutua
Cate E. Dewey*
Affiliation:
Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1, Guelph, Canada
Jared M. Wohlgemut
Affiliation:
Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1, Guelph, Canada
Mike Levy
Affiliation:
Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, N1G 2W1, Guelph, Canada
Florence K. Mutua
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, University of Nairobi, PO Box 29053–00625, Nairobi, Kenya
*
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Farmers and families in western Kenya have grown increasingly dependent on the pig industry as a primary resource for savings and income. The post-election crisis in 2008 had a serious impact on people living in western Kenya because the region was the stronghold of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). The pig industry was affected in a number of ways, including an increase in the price of food and farm inputs, sale of pigs to provide food and other essentials for the family, or because of forced migration, leading to a drastic decrease in numbers of pigs. This will have a negative effect on the long-term viability of the pig industry due to decreased availability of growing, breeding and market weight animals.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 49 , Issue 3 , September 2011 , pp. 455 - 473
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Collaboration with International Livestock Research Institute (Kenya) was greatly appreciated. We thank all the smallholder pig farmers, local pig butchers and government extension workers for their participation and cooperation in this study. Funding for this project was provided by Veterinarians without Borders-Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (Canada), and the University of Guelph through the Bull Travel Fund. The research work was approved by the Director of Veterinary Services in Kenya; the Board of Postgraduate Studies, University of Nairobi; and the Animal Care Committee and the Research Ethics Board of the University of Guelph.

References

REFERENCES

Bohnstedt, A. 2008. ‘Anatomy of the crisis’, African Business 339: 16–20.Google Scholar
Campbell, E. 2006. ‘Urban refugees in Nairobi: problems of protection, mechanisms of survival, and possibilities for integration’, Journal of Refugee Studies 19, 3: 396–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chege, M. 2008. ‘Kenya: back from the brink?’, Journal of Democracy 19, 4: 125–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crisp, J. 2000. ‘A state of insecurity: the political economy of violence in Kenya's refugee camps’, African Affairs 99, 397: 601–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dagne, T. 2008. ‘Kenya: the December 2007 elections and the challenges ahead’, CRS Report for Congress 17/9, available at: http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34378_20080917.pdf.Google Scholar
Gonzalez, M. A. & Lopez., R. A. 2007. ‘Political violence and farm household efficiency in Colombia’, Economic Development and Cultural Change 55, 2: 367–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregory, N. & Grandin., T. 2007. Animal Welfare and Meat Production. Wallingford: CABI.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kagira, J. M. et al. 2010. ‘Characteristics of the smallholder free-range pig production system in western Kenya’, Tropical Animal Health Production 42, 5: 865–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kerner, D. O. & Cook., K. 1991. ‘Gender, hunger, and crisis in Tanzania’, in Downs, T. E., Kerner, D. O. & Reyna, S. P., eds. The Political Economy of African Famine. Philadelphia, PA: Gordon & Breach, 257–72.Google Scholar
Kiai, M. 2008. ‘The political crisis in Kenya: a call for justice & peaceful resolution’, Review of African Political Economy 35: 140–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilonzo, S. 2009. ‘Ethnic minorities wedged up in post-election violence in Kenya: a lesson for African governments’, Critical Arts 23, 2: 245–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klopp, J. & Kamungi., O. P. 2008. ‘Violence and elections: will Kenya collapse?’, World Policy Journal 24, 1: 11–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lekule, F. P. & Kyvsgaard., N. C. 2003. ‘Improving pig husbandry in tropical resource-poor communities and its potential to reduce risk of porcine cysticercosis’, Acta Tropica 87, 1: 111–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levy, M., Dewey, C., Weersink, A. & Mutua., F. K. 2009a. ‘Challenges of rural and peri-urban pig butcher businesses in western Kenya’, in Proceedings of the 12th Symposium of the International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, Durban: 366.Google Scholar
Levy, M., Dewey, C., Weersink, A. & Mutua., F. K. 2009b. ‘Comparative profitability of pig butcher businesses in western Kenya’, Proceedings of the 12th Symposium of the International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, Durban: 544.Google Scholar
Mueller, S. 2008. ‘The political economy of Kenya's crisis’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 2, 2: 185–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mutua, F. K. et al. 2010a. ‘Farmer perceptions on indigenous pig farming in Kakamega District, Western Kenya’, Nordic Journal of African Studies 19, 1: 43–57.Google Scholar
Mutua, F. K. et al. 2010b. ‘Pig management in rural villages of Busia and Kakamega District in Western Kenya’, Proceedings of the 21st International Pig Veterinary Society Congress, Vancouver: 278.Google Scholar
Mutua, F. K. et al. 2010c. ‘Performance of sows in rural villages of Western Kenya’, Proceedings of the 21st International Pig Veterinary Society Congress, Vancouver: 1099.Google Scholar
Mutua, F. K. et al. 2011. ‘Prediction of live body weight using length and girth measurements for pigs in rural Western Kenya’, Journal of Swine Health Production 19, 1: 26–33.Google Scholar
Nasongo, J., Achoka, J. & Wamocha., L. 2009. ‘Is forgiveness and amnesty a panacea to Kenya's postconflict crisis?’, African Journal of Political Science and International Relations 3, 4: 122–32.Google Scholar
Obonyo, C., Omondi, D. & Mwinzi., P. 2008. ‘Public-health crisis after the election violence in Kenya’, The Lancet, 371: 1319–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Okitoi, L., Ondwasy, H., Siamba, D. & Nkurumah., D. 2007. ‘Traditional herbal preparations for indigenous poultry health management in Western Kenya’, Livestock Research for Rural Development 19, 5, available at: http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd19/5/okit19072.htm.Google Scholar
Oluoko-Odingo, A. 2009. ‘Determinants of poverty: lessons from Kenya’, GeoJournal 74, 4: 311–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rajan, M. 1974. ‘Road to detente: a synoptic view’, International Studies 13, 4: 567–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosset, P. 2008. ‘Food sovereignty and the contemporary food crisis’, Development 51, 4: 460–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornton, P. K. et al. 2002. Mapping People, Livestock Production Systems, Livestock and Poverty: the East African picture. Available at: http://www.ilri.org/InfoServ/Webpub/fulldocs/Mappoverty/index.htm, accessed 30.1.2011.Google Scholar
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2005. MDG Status Report for Kenya, 2005. Nairobi: UNDP.Google Scholar
Wadhams, N. 2008. ‘Kenya's road to recovery: can the parks be saved?’, National Geographic Adventure Magazine, available at: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2008/04/special-report/kenya-tourism-text/2, accessed 11.10.2009.Google Scholar