Many countries experience the negative impacts of climate change especially in the decline of agricultural productivity leading to decreased national and household food security. This study assessed smallholder farmers' perception of climate variability and change and their adaptation strategies in Masaba South Sub-County, Kisii County, Kenya. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from 196 smallholder farmers. Additionally, focused group discussions and key informant interviews were used. The study revealed that most farmers perceived climate changes. 88.3% of the respondents noted a decrease in rainfall, 79.1% reported poor rainfall distribution, 88.3% perceived a late onset of rainfall while 76.6% perceived an increase in temperature. The farmers' perception mirrored the actual climatic data trends for the area obtained from the meteorological department. The major climate-smart agriculture practices adopted by farmers in the area included; diversification of crops, change of planting time and crop rotation/mixed cropping. The adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices significantly correlated with the household size, monthly income, access to credit and farmers' perception of climate change. The study recommends the incorporation and prioritization of climate change in the county and government development agenda as a means of enhancing the uptake of climate-smart agricultural practices.

This paper examines impacts of Prosopis juliflora (hereinafter may be referred as 'Prosopis') invasion on livelihoods of agro (pastoral) households using detailed household data in rural Dire Dawa Administration of Ethiopia. Cross-sectional data were collected from a total of 450 sample households whereby 250 were from Prosopis-invaded households and the remaining 200 from non-Prosopis-invaded households. The major research question of the study was, 'what would be the livelihoods of Prosopis-invaded households had they not been invaded by Prosopis?' To answer this question, descriptive and econometric tools were employed. The study results revealed that family size, dependency ratio and access to irrigation had negative and significant relationships with Prosopis invasion. On the other hand, age of the household head, Tropical Livestock Unit (TLU) and engagement in food for work programmes were positively related to Prosopis invasion. The results of this study show that the positive effects of Prosopis invasion were pronounced in terms of education expenditure, average annual income from crop production, off-farm income, food and non-food expenditure and physical food consumption, whereas there has been negative effects of Prosopis invasion due to reduced income generation from milk products. In this study, possible recommendations were drawn for stakeholders in order to reverse Prosopis adverse effects and optimize the positive impacts of this species in the study area.

Aims: This study evaluated determinants that influence choice of Climate-Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices among smallholder farmers in Masaba South sub-county, Kisii, Kenya. Study Design: This study used a multivariate probit model to evaluate determinants that influence farmers’ choice of CSA practices. Place and Duration of Study: Masaba South sub-county, Kisii, Kenya between the second week of April 2019 and the last week of May 2019. Methodology: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire from 196 households, 3 focused group discussions and 7 key informant interviews. Information such as socio-economic, land ownership, climate change perception, crop production practices and institutional characteristics were collected from the households. Results: The results showed that crop diversification, change of crop varieties and crop rotation and/or mixed cropping are the dominant adaptation strategies in the study area. Access to credit, farm income, climate change perception and household size have a significant positive influence on adoption of most CSA practices. Small-sized farms, lack of access to extension services, level of education and inaccessibility to weather and climate information were major barriers influencing adoption of CSA practices. Conclusion: To reduce vulnerability of smallholder farmers to impacts of climate variability and change, the study recommends the need to enhance increased access to extension services and timely dissemination of climate information to farmers in the form they can easily understand and decode.