Browsing by Author "Cyrille Samson Awuonda"

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    Effects of Climate Variability Adaptation Strategies on Kenyan Agro-Pastoralists’ Resilience and Food Security: a Case of Laikipia West Sub-County
    (Egerton University, 2025) Cyrille Samson Awuonda
    Climate variability is a global phenomenon that negatively affects agricultural production. Kenya is one of the countries with livelihoods, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas, that depend on natural resources sensitive to climate variability. ASAL agro-pastoralists are constantly engaging in adaptation strategies whose effectiveness relies on the extent of adoption to mitigate the negative impacts of climate variability. Generally, the study aimed to contribute towards improved livelihood through enhancing agro-pastoralism adaptation strategies to climate variability in Laikipia West sub-county, Kenya. Specifically, identifying and characterizing dominant adaptation strategies used by agro-pastoralists, analyzing socio-economic and institutional factors influencing the number and choice of adaptation strategies adopted, examining the effects of adaptation strategy packages on resilience to climate variability, and lastly, determining the effects of adaptation strategy combinations on food security. Data from 308 households were analyzed through Factor Analysis, Poisson Regression, Multivariate Probit, Principal Component Analysis, Instrumental Variable Regression, and a generalized ordered probit model using Stata and the R program. Exploratory factor analysis results indicated that seven packages explained 57.4 of % variation in the data. Household dependency ratio, education level, gender of the household head, group memberships, and household wealth positively influenced the intensity of the package used. In contrast, age, interaction between gender and farming experience, years of education, and unmet credit needs negatively affected package use. The marginal effect of Multivariate probit revealed mixed effects of the dependency ratio, education, and distance to extension agents. Group memberships, lack of credit demand, and wealth index for households positively influenced the choice. In contrast, age, gender, farm size, and livestock holdings had negative impacts. Farm risk reduction practices, diversification practices, adult equivalent household size, years of education of the household head, and access to agro weather information were associated with higher resilience. Consumption equivalent household size, farming experience of household head, household education stock, tropical livestock unit, access to agroweather information, and a combination of risk reduction, cultural farm, and sustainable agricultural practices were associated with a higher food security score. The study recommends that interventions intended to manage agroweather shocks in ASAL should account for improved resilience and food security. There is a need for future studies to analyze the role of quality education when integrated with indigenous knowledge on adaptation.