Comparison of Complementary Feeding Between Children in Households with and Those Without Kitchen Gardens in Kakamega County, Kenya
Abstract
Sub-optimal feeding and nutrition among infants and young children less than 59 months old are leading causes of under nutrition in least developed countries. Recent agri-nutrition interventions, focused on kitchen gardening in developing countries revealed its impact on children’s complementary feeding and nutrition status, despite insufficient empirical evidence. This study aimed at comparing nutrition status and complementary feeding of 64 children aged between 6 and 23 months in households with and 64 others without kitchen gardens in Lurambi Sub-County, Kakamega County. The study used a comparative cross-sectional and analytical research design. The findings on nutritional status were compared with WHO, 2006 Child Growth Standards. Researcher-administered interviews for selected study participants households, key informants and focus group discussions. Data on infant and young child feeding (IYCF), nutrition assessment, and kitchen gardening was elicited and analyzed using SPSS, comparing variables from households across the groups. The results indicate that kitchen gardening households were four times more likely to grow kales (OR=4.058) and three times more likely to grow both jute mallow (OR=2.524) and cow peas (OR=3.246). Most households without kitchen gardens did not grow micronutrient rich vegetables. Minimum dietary diversity was the only index that was statistically significantly different across the groups, (p-value=0.013); with 71.9% and 53.1% meeting MDD in kitchen and non-kitchen gardening households, respectively. Diet among children in households without kitchen gardens was mainly consisting of cereals (maize), obtained from their farms. Majority of kitchen gardening households had a high crop diversity grown, which resulted in attaining a higher children proportion having MDD. Organizations implementing agricultural programs should collaborate with the Ministry of Health and focus on improving household nutrition, health and food security through agri- nutrition, including kitchen gardening.
Keywords
Infant and Young Child Feeding, Complementary feeding Nutrition, Kitchen Garden, Dietary diversity
Citations
IRE Journals:
Bilha Naandi, Sophie Ochola, Irene Ogada "Comparison of Complementary Feeding Between Children in Households with and Those Without Kitchen Gardens in Kakamega County, Kenya" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 9 Issue 8 2026 Page 383-396 https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I8-1714145
IEEE:
Bilha Naandi, Sophie Ochola, Irene Ogada
"Comparison of Complementary Feeding Between Children in Households with and Those Without Kitchen Gardens in Kakamega County, Kenya" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 9(8) https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I8-1714145
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