Incorporation into the Market Economy and Food Security among the Gusii: Paradise Lost or Paradise Gained?

Abstract

This article loOks at the Gusii's movement into the market economy and its impact on the region's food security. The primary aim is to capture shfls in the Gusii 's food security position vis-à-vis incorporation into the market economy and in particular, the weakening

of cultivation as a source of food, and the challenges that surround markets as an emerging alternative. The overall observation is that once the Gusii entered commodity markets, and the more such links were established, their food needs, until then secured largely through cultivating land, faced new challenges. The discussion is based on data from the national archives, district agricultural records, oral narratives and empirical literature.