Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA) in Nairobi County is up scaling and is undertaken by residents across the social - economic strata for different reasons. However, for the residents in the informal sectors it is undertaken as a survival strategy and in response to the high food prices, food shortages and as an income generating activity. There is inadequate basic data on UPA farmers and available resources for use in service improvement. The purpose of the study was to provide a broad overview data by characterizing the city farmers and resources available to them in order to improve provision of resources and services. A cross-sectional survey method was undertaken in13 of the 17 sub counties in Nairobi where questionnaires were used to collect data. A sample of 150 respondents was sampled of which 149 responded. Descriptive statistics indicated that 87% of the farmers affirmed that UPA contributed to household food security. Gender analysis indicated 58.4% were male and 41.6% were female and that majority (30.2%) of the farmers were middle-aged at 41-50 years. Most farmers (70%) were educated above secondary level. There was evidence of UPA growth in Nairobi whereby 23% of the farmers had entered into farming in the last 5 years. Results on availability of resources indicated that 35% of the farmers did not own any land and farmed on rented, public or institutional land while 46% farmed on personal land. Results on time spent on the farm indicated that 38% spent over 6 hours on UPA activities, 34% spent 4-6 hours while 28% spent less than 4 hours. Analysis on the cost of labour indicated that 31% of the workers earned less than the Kenyan Government recommended agricultural wage for unskilled workers. During the dry season 10% of the farmers withdrew from farming since they did not have a water source, 26% used water provided by the County Government which is not reliable for farming and 20% indicated having a reliable source of water. Majority of the farmers (68%) expressed adequate market availability for their produce. 60% of farmers were aware of credit availability but felt not empowered to apply while a similar percentage of the respondents indicated willingness to partial payment for provision of resources and better services. This information may be useful to stakeholders for improvement of policy for the provision of services and resources to the UPA farmers. This data may be useful towards achievement of a systems approach towards city planning and can be used as baseline data for future research.

Agriculture, Characteristics, Farmers, Nairobi, Resources, Urban and Peri-Urban