Sustainability and gender implications of peri-urban on-farm conservation of crop resources for food and agriculture

Abstract

Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) which form a large proportion of biological diversity are under threat. Sustainability of such crop resources can only be assured through their ex situ and/or in situ (on-farm) conservation. Farm households (market gardens as referred to in the article), play a key role on in situ conservation. This article recognises this important contribution of on-farm conservation of crop resources in urban and peri-urban areas and examines the effects of household size and reproductive health services on-farm crop conservation as well as strategies in place to deal with the issue of increasing household size. Gender equity and equality is underscored in ensuring manageable household population and the conservation of PGRFA. In this article, crop resources diversity, productivity and sustainability is a function of socio-cultural-economic and political factors and biophysical variables in accordance with the human-ecological systems approach. The study was carried out in peri-urban area of Nairobi using a sample size of 400 farms or market gardens. The main objective was to examine the effect of household size on crop resources conservation in peri-urban areas as well as measures taken by market gardens to reduce household size including gender implications of such efforts. The Chi-square statistic was employed in investigating whether there was any association between number of children (household size) and the conservation of crop resources (crop diversity within the farm) and also to establish an association between use of Reproductive health services (as a major population control mechanisms) and experiences of gender-based violence. In both cases, the null hypothesis of no association was rejected. The findings showed that market gardens with fewer children were better in crop resources conservation, with more diversity found in market gardens with less than six children. The null hypotheses tested established an association between household size (number of children) and crop resources conservation as well as methods of population management (use of Reproductive health services) and gender-based violence. Education and awareness creation on the importance of fewer children on crop resources conservation and sustainability and the need to reduce gender-based violence formed part of the recommendations.