Abstract:
Women are a major human resource and assure adequate nutrition, health and
cognitive development of their households and children in their formative years.
However, women are over-represented among the poor, suffer heavy workloads and
have little control over resources for family care. Poverty and food insecurity are
enhanced by lack of access to, and control over assets, and lack of access to
institutions that provide opportunities and buffer from shocks and crises. The need
to improve household food security and empower women in households has seen
the implementation of agricultural projects, particularly livestock projects that
target women smallholder farmers. These projects are used as one of the major
strategies to expand agricultural output in rural areas. Livestock contributes a
higher share of income to rural households, improves food security and possibly
enhances women’s participation in civic activities. Livestock development projects
seek to empower women through increased household incomes, improve household
incomes of women and nutrit ional status of women and other members of the
households. This paper sought to establish a link between participation in livestock
projects, socio-economic status and nutritional status of index women. A crosssectional
survey
with
a case-control
model
was
conducted
to
establish
the
link
between
participation
in
a livestock
project.
Socio-economic
and
nutritional
status
of
women
from
beneficiary
and
non-beneficiary
households
of
livestock
projects
in
Vihiga
District,
Kenya
was
assessed
using
both
the
Body
Mass
and
the
Brokas
Index..
A
total
of
300 beneficiary
and
non-beneficiary
women
were
interviewed
and
their
heights
and
weights
measured
during
the
study.
Results
revealed
better
incomes,
education
levels
and
nutritional
status
among
the
beneficiary
women.
Development
projects
can
attain
their
objectives
when
there
is
deliberate
effort
to
ensure
that
the
project
goals
are
understood
by
all
stakeholders,
to
create
commitment
to
resource
re-direction
and
embrace
the
purpose
of
the
project.
There
has
to
be
proper
understanding
of
the
familial
and
community
cultures
and
practices
if
the
course
of
women
is
to
be
addressed
profitably,
with
full
support
of
their
husbands
and
the
entire
household
for
the
success of
the
project.
