Climate Change Impacts on Small Scale Farmers in North Kinangop Location, Kenya
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Date
2014
Authors
Njenga, N. W.
Mucheru-Muna, M.
Muriuki, J.N.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses
Abstract
Climate variability and change has been considered to be posing the greatest threat to agriculture
and food security in many of the poor, agriculture
-
based countries in Africa. In recognition of t
his, an
assessment of climate change impacts on small
-
scale farmers was conducted in Nyandarua South
District to assess the impacts of climate variability and change on the small
-
scale farmers in the area.
The area is nationally known as a high agricultura
l potential area producing all year round
horticulture produce. Data was obtained through administration of questionnaires, observation and
focused group discussions. Through systematic random sampling the researcher administered 375
households’ questionna
ires representing 10% of the total households in the study area. Descriptive
statistics (frequency, mean, percentages) and inferential statistics (chi square) were used to produce
associations between variables assessed. The results indicate that small
-
sca
le farmers in North
Kinangop Division are struggling with impacts of climate variability. According to analysis, there was a
strong association between perceived rainfall intensity variations and impacts on small
-
scale farmers
in North Kinangop (X2 = 15.41
1, P =0.05) and strong association between rainfall distribution and loss
of crops and reduced freshwater (X2 = 41.226, P=0.001). Extreme climatic events occurrences had a
strong association with impacts on small
-
scale farmers (X2 = 32.692, P = 0.001). It
can therefore be
concluded that small
-
scale farmers have perceived climate variability to be impacting heavily on their
agricultural activities as rainfall intensities, reliability and distribution continue to vary in time and
space. Other meteorological e
xtreme events (droughts and frost) have been observed to intensify in
the area with consequent impacts on crop production. This paper therefore recommends more
capacity building programmes to be initiated in the area to enhance awareness of climate variati
on
and change, impacts and adaptation measures to enhance the farmers’ resilience
Description
Keywords
Perceptions, Climate Variability, Impacts, Small - scale Farmers, Rainfall Variations, Extreme Events, Agriculture, North Kinangop, Kenya
Citation
The International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses, Volume 4, Issue 2, pp.19 - 28.