Abstract:
Most of the world’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) are found in the
developing countries. These ASALs face many challenges some of which are as
a result of the declining availability of water resources and increasing threats
from climate change. Climate change is expected to affect the availability of
freshwater worldwide, the productivity and fertility of soils, and amount of
food produced by farmers in the tropical countries majority of which are
developing countries. While contributing the least to global warming, it is the
developing countries that will suffer the most from it, having the least capacity
to adapt. Kitui District is one of the semi-arid districts in Kenya where the
impact of climate change has been seriously felt. This paper examines the effect
of climate change on food production and security among small scale farmers
in the semi-arid region of Kitui District. Various methods were employed in
data collection among them structured questionnaires, oral interviews with key
informants, focus group discussion and direct observation. The collected data
was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results show
that most farmers (87.5% n=350) had less than five acres of land which was not
enough to grow adequate food for the household, did not have an alternative
source of income (78.5%, n =314) and experienced reduced agricultural
production due to reduced rainfall (97%, n =388). There was a significant
difference between the size of the farm and land use (χ2=143.492, df=1,
P=0.000). The results indicate climate change has had a negative effect on food
production; the temperatures are increasing, extreme climatic conditions have
become more frequent while the amount and frequency of rainfall have reduced
considerably. This has led to a reduction in agricultural production in the
district which has consequently resulted in food shortages in the household.
The results also show that very few of the farmers have adopted coping
strategies against the effects of the changing climate. It recommends that small
scale farmers need to be assisted financially and technically to enable them
employ coping strategies that would cushion their agricultural activities against
the harmful effects of climate change.
