Climate-smart agriculture practices and their effects on Farmers' livelihoods in soy sub county, Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

Agriculture is considered to be "climate-smart" when farmers are in a position to adapt and sustainably mitigate climate risk and contribute to increasing food security. Climate variability poses serious economic challenges including low yields and high post-harvest losses leading to low income among farmers. The specific objectives of the study were to; to analyze perceived effects of climate smart agricultural practices on farmers’ livelihoods in Soy sub-County, to determine the level of adoption of Climate Smart Approaches used to mitigate the effects of climate variability; evaluate the socio-economic factors influencing the adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture among the farming households and analyze the effects of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices on farmers’ livelihoods in Soy sub-County. A sample of 196 farming households was selected using systematic random sampling technique from Soy and Kipsomba wards. Primary data was collected using structured household questionnaires, and key informants' interview schedules. The collected data was analyzed by use of both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The study found out that the adoption of CSA practices is largely dependent on the household understanding of the benefits and the cost of individual CSA practices. Further, the study found that there is a significant relationship between the adoption of CSA and age and soil type. The benefit of adoption of CSA includes increased yields and raised farm income. The Government of Kenya is encouraged to enhance awareness on terracing and Agro forestry, the study also recommends the mainstreaming of gendered climate awareness on early planting and improved animal breads through demonstration plots and field days agricultural.