Are food insecure smallholder households making changes in their farming practices? Evidence from East Africa

We explore the relationship between farming practice changes made by households coping with the huge demographic, economic, and ecological changes they have seen in the last 10 years and household food security. We examine whether households that have been introducing new practices, such as improved management of crops, soil, land, water, and livestock (e.g. cover crops, microcatchments, ridges, rotations, improved pastures, and trees) and new technologies (e.g. improved seeds, shorter-cycle and drought-tolerant varieties) are more likely to be food secure than less innovative farming households. Using data from a baseline household survey carried out in five sites and 700 households in four countries of East Africa (Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia) across a range of agricultural systems and environments, this study contributes to the
evidence base of what smallholders are doing to adapt to changing circumstances, including a changing climate.