GENDER EMPOWERMENT AND SEAWEED VALUE CHAIN IN MWAZARO AND KIBUYUNI VILLAGES, SOUTH COAST OF KENYA

Abstract

Gender plays a crucial role in seaweed farming in East Africa, though the aspect across different value chain stages has been overlooked in Kenyan research. This research focuses on assessing the role of gender empowerment in the seaweed production value chain on the south coast of Kenya. As a result, specific objectives that served as a basis for the study were, among others, to examine the nature of gender empowerment in the seaweed value chain, document various gender empowerment activities in the nodes of the seaweed value chain of Kenya, establish the various gender empowerment opportunities at various seaweed value chain villages along the south coast of Kenya and to establish the various gender empowerment associated challenges embedded in the seaweed. The study took place in Mwazaro and Kibuyuni in Kwale County on the south coast of Kenya. A study employed a mixed research design involving exploratory and explanatory methods, using qualitative and quantitative approaches based on the research problem's comprehension issues. Social Package for Social Science and Excel 2016 were utilized for data computation. The study was carried out following a brief pilot study, which allowed the feasibility of the research design to be tested. In the interviews, 155 active farmers were sampled along with 3 key informants well-versed in the connection between gender empowerment and seaweed value chain production. The simplified formula proposed by Yamene and Israel was utilized to calculate the target sample size n. The results revealed that there are other influences of income other than gender in the seaweed value chain, including training, which has disparities between men and women. Further, the study revealed the perceived gender empowerment, including autonomy in decision-making over using income (90%) and participation in seaweed production. A smaller but notable portion (10%) of respondents (17) need their husband's permission to manage and budget the income from seaweed farming. This suggests that for some individuals, there are cultural or household power dynamics that limit their financial independence. Additionally, it would identify areas where gender discrepancies exist between women and men. Their roles could guide development efforts to achieve gender parity in the seaweed value chain. These results will be applied academically in faculties for students researching the seaweed value chain and gender dynamics at the graduate and undergraduate levels and in other fields of study. Additionally, it will help governments, agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations formulate gender-based policies for Seaweed Value Chain Production.