In Yatta sub-County, a semi-arid land, there is scanty information on the causes and effects of climate change, as well as agricultural adaptation strategies. This scanty information assessment of climate related risks, and decision making about appropriate adaptation measures. A survey was conducted in two wards of Yatta, Kenya, to identify opportunities for building farmer capacity in dealing with climate variability. A semistructured questionnaire was administered to 60 households randomly distributed in the two wards and data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Results showed that farmers in the region were aware of climate change (98%) with the known indicators reported to be erratic and low rainfall (50%), drought (33%), and rising temperatures (14%). Farmers mentioned deforestation (73%) as the main cause of climate change, and reported major impacts on crop production in the region, such as the introduction of drought tolerant crops (45%) reduced yields (43%) and changes in planting time (38%). As a result, farmers prepared the land early using organic and inorganic fertilizers, planted early-maturing crop varieties and carried out water and soil conservation practices. Even though farmers in Yatta sub-county are aware of climate change its impacts and different coping and adaptation strategies, crop production in the region continues to decline. There is need, therefore, to increase farmer's capacity to better adapt to the effects of climate change to ensure sustainable agricultural production and improved food security.

In Africa, climate change exerts significant pressure on the agricultural sector. Current changes in climate for most parts of Mozambique have resulted in increased frequency of droughts, dry spells and uncertain rainfall. This has resulted in loss of food production and smallholder farmers are most vulnerable to these climatic disasters as they affect the food security status of the household. Despite an increased number of country level case studies, knowledge gaps continue to exist at the level of impact analysis. In addition, while adaptation and coping strategies with climate change and variability have become key themes in current global climate discussions and policy initiatives, literature on adaptation in Mozambique appears to be limited. The objective of this study was to assess the perception of smallholder farmers to climate change and adaptation strategies in Lichinga and Sussundenga districts of Mozambique. Using data obtained from a survey carried out in Lichinga and Sussundenga districts in Mozambique descriptive statistics analysis was undertaken using SPSS software to characterize the households, in terms of perceptions and coping strategies of the household to climate change. The farmers from both districts sited rainfall variability and higher temperatures to have severely affected maize production. Due to the late onset of rains, in Lichinga the planting period has changed from November (47.5%) to December (70%) while in Sussundenga the planting period has changed from September/October (40%) to November (62.5%). The rain seasons have become shorter and dry seasons are longer. Some farmers have switched from growing maize to growing drought tolerant crops, such as cassava, sweet potato and cultivation of horticultural crops in wetlands as strategies to cope with the climate change.

The study was carried out at Lichinga and Sussundenga Research Station to assess the effects of cow manure and inorganic fertilizer on height, Stover yield, grain yield, yield quality for both maize and legumes of a maize/legume intercrop. A factorial design experiment with a split plot arrangement and replicated three times per site was used. The treatments comprised two intercropping systems of maize/bean and maize/soybean and five fertilizer application rates: Control, cow manure (5 ton ha -1 ), cow manure 1.25 ton ha -1 + 100 kg NPK ha -1 , cow manure 2.5 ton ha -1 + 50 kg NPK ha -1 and 200 kg NPK ha -1 . Results showed that the Stover weight, plant height, hundred grain weight and grain yields had significantly differences (P ≤ 0.05) when cow manure was combined with NPK fertilizers. Maize grown in Sussundenga gave higher values of Stover weight, plant height, hundred seed weight and total grain yield compared to Lichinga. In fact, higher maize growth parameters were improved by intercropping with common bean than in soybean in both locations, a fact attributed to the better utilization of the available resources by maize/common bean intercrop. Combination of 1.25 ton ha -1 of cow manure and NPK 100 kg ha -1 fertilizers significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased the yield of maize over application of cow manure or NPK alone and farmers are recommended to adopt this production system in the two sites.

Soil moisture stress is a limiting factor in crop production particularly in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) as it affects many physiological and biochemical processes of plants. Research on moisture conservation measures is thus imperative. The current study used CropSyst model to simulate soil moisture under different tillage practices (oxen plough, tied ridges and furrows and ridges), cropping systems (monocropping, intercropping and crop-rotation) and organic fertilizers; farm yard manure, rock phosphate (RP) and Farmyard manure (FYM) combined with rock phosphate (RP+FYM). The study was conducted in Matuu Division, Kenya for two seasons; October 2012 to February 2013 short rain season (SRS) and March to August 2013 long rain season (LRS). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block design with a split-split plot arrangement and replicated three times. The main plots were tillage practices whereas the split plots were cropping systems and split-split plots were organic fertilizers and a control (nothing applied). The test crops were sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) and sweet potato (Ipomea batatas L. lam) rotated and/or intercropped with dolichos (Lablab purpureus) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum). The CropSyst model was calibrated using measured soil texture, permanent wilting point, bulk density and initial soil moisture at the experimental site. Model validation was done using Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), percentage differences (PD) and willmott index (WI) of agreement. CropSyst model was reasonably validated as indicated by the low RMSE (0.5 to 1.3), PD (less than ±15) and WI index (close to 1). In the first season and second season, simulated soil moisture (101.91 and 108.3 mm) was significantly (P < 0.05) high in sorghum/dolichos intercrop with RP+FYM application under tied ridges and least (13.52 and 15.4 mm) in control treatment of sorghum mono crop under oxen plough. In sweet potato plots, both individual treatment and treatment interaction significantly influenced simulated soil moisture. Sweet potato-dolichos rotation (75.32 and 79.63 mm), with application of RP+FYM (75.03 and 79.39 mm) under tield ridges (95 and 100.24 mm) had highest simulated soil moisture levels under oxen plough (32.49 and 34.36 mm), sweet potato monocrop (53.46 and 55.26 mm) and control (52.52 and 55.39 mm) having the least during the first and second season, respectively. In both sorghum and sweet potato based cropping systems, soil moisture was correspondingly highest in tied ridges, intercropping and rotation systems involving dolichos and application of FYM+RP and least in control of monocropping under oxen plough. Information on effects of tillage practices, cropping systems and organic inputs could be very useful for soil water conservation purposes. Thus, using simulation models to attain the same could be the ultimate solution. A good agreement between observed and simulated soil moisture implied that CropSyst model is capable of investigating sustainable alternatives of increasing soil moisture in...