Assessment of Climate Variability in Kisii Kenya and Its Implications on Food Security

Abstract

Climate change and variability have been singled out as one of the modern challenges that affect economies of several countries leading to food scarcity and food insecurity in various parts of the world and represent a fundamental contemporary environmental shock. Kenya is no exception. This research was conducted in Kisii County, a perceived Kenyan national bread basket and investigated the trend in climate variability between the years 1983-2013. The objective of the study was to examine the precipitation and temperature trend in Kisii County. The research question was to find out whether there was any significant trend and pattern of rainfall and temperature as indicators of climate variability. The study examined climate variability for thirty one years (1983 to 2013). Data was obtained from Kenya Meteorological Department and their annual means were computed. Mann Kendall statistic test was applied to establish whether the observed trend of precipitation and temperature was significant. From the analysis, rainfall did not show any significant trend in Kisii County whilst temperature revealed a significantly upward trend over the years, at 95% confidence level. The study recommends a need to incorporate weather prediction and early warning systems by the Ministry of Agriculture in Kisii County and also promote afforestation programmes to protect water catchments. To build resilient systems to climate shocks, introduction of high temperature tolerant food crops as well as adoption of climate smart agriculture (CSA) should also be explored.