Impact of Terraces in Maize and Pigeon pea Intercrop on Wellbeing of Smallholder Farmers in Semi-arid lands in Kenya.

*1Stella Jane Matere, 2Oliver L E Mbatia, 2Jonathan Makau Nzuma, 3Sospeter O Nyamwaro

Abstreact

 

Accepted 21^st May, 2016

 

Climate change is expected to have economic impacts on semi-arid lands of Kenya, particularly on rural farming households whose livelihoods depend on rain-fed agriculture. Fanya juu terraces have been promoted for soil and water conservation and as an adaptation strategy to climate change in semi-arid lands of South Eastern Kenya. However, the impact of adoption of terraces as an adaptation strategy has not been explored. Propensity Score Matching approach was used to evaluate impact of adopting fanya juu terraces in maize and pigeon pea production on farmers’ per capita income and poverty. Survey data was gathered from Machakos, Makindu and Mutomo Sub-counties. Results showed that adopters would have increased cost of production; significant increase in per capita income and reduction of poverty compared to non adopters. The study recommends government involvement in facilitation of establishment of terraces on the farms by providing technical knowhow of rainwater harnessing and harvesting; improve farmers access to seeds and other farm inputs to enhance their adaptation to climate change; improvement of market environment as an incentive to adopt the adaptation strategies to enable yields have easy access to functioning markets.   

 

Keywords: Adaptation; Climate change; Fanya juu terraces; Semi-arid; Kenya: Propensity Score Matching.

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