Perceived Benefits of Livestock Ownership among Female Smallholder Farmers of Mixed HIV Status in Nyanza Province , Kenya

Background Although livestock is thought to contribute to household food security, dietary quality, and income, the extent of these benefits is highly variable. To date, evaluations of livestock programs have failed to clearly elucidate the pathways by which livestock affect the welfare of smallholder farmers in low‐income settings. One important reason for this may be that many livestock interventions fail to consider and adequately measure the outcomes that matter most to smallholder farmers themselves. We therefore 1) explored the benefits and disadvantages of livestock ownership as perceived by urban and peri‐urban smallholder farmers in Nyanza Province, Kenya, and 2) characterized how gender modified these benefits. Methods To achieve these objectives, we used a mixed‐methods approach with a subpopulation of pregnant and lactating women of mixed HIV status participating in an ongoing cohort study (Pith Moromo). We conducted a secondary analysis of in‐depth interviews with 24 women in the cohort who owned livestock, 10 of their household members, and one key informant who discussed the role of livestock in livelihoods (from the National Environment Management Authority ). We then expanded on emergent themes with other women from the cohort using PhotoVoice (a participatory photo elicitation method, n=20), focus group discussions (n=20), and pile sorting (n=20). Results Of the 364 women in the cohort with household assets data, 28.0% owned livestock; among them chickens were most commonly owned(82.7%). The most commonly mentioned reason for owning livestock was to sell the animals; however, animals were typically said to be sold in response to an urgent need for cash rather than for regular income generation. While the majority of participants responded that animals were eaten at home, livestock did not appear to comprise a regular portion of their diets; rather, they were most commonly consumed to honor a visitor, as part of a celebration, or when other foods were unavailable. Additionally, livestock played an important role in the maintenance of social relationships and reinforcement of social status. Most participants agreed that women are highly involved in livestock care but rarely have equal input in decision‐making around selling or slaughtering animals, especially for larger livestock. Most women also agreed that when animals were slaughtered for home consumption, men were preferentially allocated the most desirable portions. Conclusions Our results suggest that pathways between livestock ownership and household welfare are indirect and complex. Participants in this study valued livestock primarily as an economic and social safety net to strengthen household resilience, rather than as a regular source of income or food. Our results additionally suggest that cultural norms limit the benefits that female farmers obtain from livestock. Future livestock interventions must therefore take into account how livestock is used and valued by farmers and carefully consider the modifying effect of gender norms to maximize livestock ownership benefits for women. Support or Funding Information NIH T32 OD011000 (SED)NIH K01 MH098902 (SLY)