Coping with the food crisis in Kakamega County, Kenya. Global causes and local action

Master's Thesis from the year 2023 in the subject Earth Science / Geography - Geopolitics, grade: 1,1, University of Bonn (Geograhisches Institut), language: English, abstract: When following the news and scientific publications over the years it became evident that humanity faces an increasing number of global crises that affect many regions all over the world. The objective of this master thesis is to examine: 'What constitutes the food crisis in Kakamega County, Kenya?'. Climate change, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and the COVID-19 pandemic were the main global crises considered in the research in this thesis. The data were collected during a three-week research stay in Kakamega County, which was supported by the German NGO Welthungerhilfe. Kakamega County in Western Kenya is of particular interest because it is part of the so-called 'food basket' of Kenya which is considered to be the fertile region of the country. The main method was set on interviews with different actors in the local food system. These revealed the current state of food security in Kakamega County, the factors influencing it and the different coping strategies. For the interpretation of the results the main concept of food security was applied: It examines the food availability, access to food, its utilization and stability. The conceptual work was completed with the critical view of political ecology and vulnerability approaches.