Assessment of Small-scale Farmers Perception and Adaptation to Climate Change in Nyatike Sub-county

Abstract

Agriculture is the most dominant source of livelihood for rural households in developing countries. However, agricultural production is climate sensitive especially in areas that rely on rain-fed agriculture, including in sub-Saharan countries such as Kenya. More specifically, semi-arid areas such as Nyatike subcounty in Kenya have been found to elicit vulnerability to climate change by a dearth of studies yet, to my knowledge, no study has delved into the information base of the small-scale farmers in the area on climatic changes and the climate change adaptation strategies they embrace. To contribute to addressing the identified gap, this study sought to quantitatively assess the rainfall and temperature patterns in Nyatike subcounty, perception of climate change, and climate change adaptation strategy uptake among small-scale farmers in the sub-County. Understanding the aforementioned issues is vital in proposing measures that will increase resilience of small-scale farmers to adapt to the changes in climatic conditions within the region. This study used primary and secondary data. Primary data collection involved administering a semi-structured questionnaire to 150 farmers to determine their perception on climate change and how they are adapting. The study also used secondary data from the TerraClimate database to examine the rainfall and temperature patterns over two climatological periods 1961-1989 and 1990-2018. Perception and adaptation to climate change were analysed using probit and logit econometric models respectively. Regression analysis of the timeseries data revealed that the mean annual rainfall has been decreasing over the years whereas; the mean maximum temperature has been increasing. Small-scale farmers’ perception of climate change within the study area corroborated findings from the analysis of the meteorological data – increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall over the years. The probit model revealed that the perception of climate change was significantly influenced by the years of residence in the study area, whether the farmer: received regular climate information, practiced subsistence farming, had received formal education, and had experienced impacts of climate change. In regards to the factors influencing the adoption of adaptation measures, the logit model revealed that the gender of the household head, farm size, education of the household head, and whether the farmer received climate information significantly determined adaptation strategy uptake. Therefore, to improve small scale farmers’ preparedness for climate change and uptake of adaptation strategies, regular climate data and agricultural extension services should be made accessible to farmers through County or National Government’s agricultural policy.