Browsing by Author "Khisa, Gladys V."
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Item Coping Strategies against Climate Change in Agricultural Production in Kitui District, Kenya(World Science and Research Publishing, 2014-10) Khisa, Gladys V.; Oteng’i, S. B.; Mikalitsa, S. M.The aim of this paper is to assess the coping and adaptation strategies that have been employed by farmers in their agricultural activities against the effects of climate change in Kitui district. It also looks at the factors that determine the coping strategies employed by the farmers. The study assessed the strategies which the farmers employed in an effort to mitigate against the negative effects of climate change on agricultural production. Kitui district is one of the semi- arid districts in Kenya where the effect of climate change has been felt in almost all sectors of the economy. The study utilized a descriptive research design in order to bring out the relationship between climatic elements, mainly rainfall and temperature and agricultural production and the coping strategies employed by the farmers to cushion their farming activities against the negative effects of climate change. Data was collected from 400 small scale farmers who owned less than five acres of land which was used for agricultural purposes. The data was collected using structured questionnaires, observation, interviews and focus group discussions. The data collected was on whether the farmers employed coping strategies, the factors that determined the strategies employed and why some farmers did not employ any strategies. The results of the study indicate that very few farmers 26% (104) employed coping strategies against climate change effects while majority of them 74% (296) did not. The results also show that the main strategies employed so as to mitigate against climate change were irrigation, digging of zia pits, planting drought resistant crops among others. The main factors that determined the coping strategy employed were availability of capital and proximity to the rivers.Item Effect of Climate Change on Small Scale Agricultural Production and Food Security in Kitui District, Kenya(World Science and Research Publishing, 2014-10) Khisa, Gladys V.; Oteng’i, S. B.; Mikalitsa, S. M.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.Item Tobacco Growing Condemning Tobacco Farmers to Poverty in Malakisi, Bumula Sub-County(World Science and Research Publishing, 2019-07) Khisa, Gladys V.This paper examines the relationship between tobacco production, food crop growing and food security in Malakisi sub-county of Bungoma County with a view of establishing the effect of tobacco growing on household food security. Bungoma County is one of the major tobacco growing zones in Kenya where tobacco was introduced as a cash crop by British American Tobacco (BAT) in the seventies. The main aim of the study was to assess the effect of tobacco production on food crop growing and household food security in the sub-county and how this has affected household nutrition. Malakisi is one of the nine sub counties that make up Bungoma County, which receives high rainfall and favourable conditions for cash and food crop growing. However, Malakisi sub-county has been food insecure raising questions as to whether tobacco growing is beneficial to the farmers. In this study, data was collected from 138 farmers who grew tobacco together with food crops and those who grew tobacco only in order to make a comparison on their household food security status. Data was collected using questionnaires, oral interview, direct observation and focus group discussion (FGDs). The results indicate that the region is food insecure with majority of the tobacco farmers living below the poverty line as a result of low returns from tobacco growing. The results also indicate that farmers grow tobacco because of the farm inputs that are given on credit basis by the tobacco companies which is later deducted from the farmers’ payment when the cured tobacco leaves are delivered to the contracting companies. The study found out that farmers devote too much of their time tending the tobacco crop at the expense of food crops, leaving almost no time to grow food crops. This has resulted in food shortages in the area.