Agriculture and Livelihood Diversification among Rural Kenyan Households: Evidence of Agricultural Transformation?

INTRODUCTION: Governments throughout the developing world have a keen interest in diversifying their rural economies. One basis for this desire concern that reliance on a few crops for cash income can lead to instability in income that threatens rural livelihoods – has undoubtedly been accentuated by the worldwide price crises of 2007/08 and 2010/11. It is also true that, for many households that produce primarily for their own consumption, diversifying by adding cash crops (e.g., cotton, tea, coffee, fresh produce) while continuing to produce for their own consumption can lead to greater incomes; diversification into offfarm activities can also greatly increase (and stabilize) total household incomes. Thus, from the perspective of managing risk and associated vulnerability of rural households, and in some cases from a desire to increase incomes, farm diversification makes sense as a policy goal.