Conservation agriculture (CA) is defined as a practice that aims to conserve, improve and make more efficient use of natural resources through integrated management of available soil, water and biological resources combined with external inputs. It contributes to environmental conservation as well as to enhanced and sustained agricultural production. It can also be referred to as resource efficient or resource effective agriculture. Majority of Kenyan farmers lack awareness of the benefits of CA thus influencing their commitment to this relatively new practice. Of particular concern is the fact that CA has been marketed in Kenya for over a decade and ground tilling methods in most parts of the country have not yet evolved to CA standards. Uptake of CA technologies is highest amongst wealthier farmers and commercially oriented producers. This is because of stronger risk aversion on the part of the small holder farmer. The number of crops at a given time on a farm was between 4-6 percent for 47% of respondents and 7-10 for 33% of respondents. Only 12.1% of respondents recorded crop diversification of 1-3 comprising planned biodiversity on farm. The role of Conservation agriculture in promoting soil health is tested. 82.3% of respondents credited the reduced erosion on their farms to conservation agriculture. This combined with other benefits of Conservation Agriculture has motivated farmers to integrate conservation agriculture to the management of their farms. Out of the 24 indicators selected for this study, 10 indicators scored best performances. The study was done in Eastern Part of Kenya that fall between 50 to 100% arid and semi-arid areas (ASAL) categories. The counties in the study included Kitui, Machakos, Tharaka Nithi and Makueni counties which are home to 14 million residents [1]. The objective of this research was to assess Conservation Agriculture (C.A): areas of improvement in the adoption of C.A practices in eastern Kenya. In conclusion, 14 out of 24 indicators show good to best performance while six indicators show moderate performance. There are areas that need urgent attention to improve the sustainability of CA agro-ecosystems. An overall score of 3 (indicating moderate performance) was awarded to the agro-ecosystems under CA. The Social dimension and the diversity property of the ecosystem scored the highest performance. The least performance was recorded in the Environmental dimension and the functional properties of the agro-ecosystem. It was therefore recommended that the government through the ministry of agriculture should investing in promoting improvement in the adoption of Conservation Agriculture practices especially in arid areas such as that of eastern Kenya.

Conservation agriculture (CA) is fronted as the solution to sub Saharan Africa food insecurity problems in light of climate change. Sustainability of agricultural landscapes has become a primary issue for policy-makers and land managers at different hierarchical levels including farmers, advisors, policy-makers, and scientists as reflected in many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs focus on ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity for all, as part of the new sustainable development agenda initiated in 2015 to precede the Millennium development goals. With the recognition that Sustainability assessment needs to move from global and regional scale to local scales to enable people measure their progress towards sustainability, a conceptual model guides the sustainability assessment approach adopted for this study. The AESIS framework is adopted for indicator selection and representation. This study sought to evaluate the agro-environmental and socio economic sustainability of Conservation Agriculture as practiced in Kenya. Results show that 8 out of 24 indicators performances are rated as best, 5 indicators performances are rated as good, 4 indicators performances are rated as moderate while 7 indicators performances are rated as either unacceptable or limited forming a basis for the points of improvement in agro-ecosystems under conservation agriculture.

Climate variability poses a major challenge for small holder rain fed agricultural production with a relatively greater impact on small scale farmers worldwide. Kitui County, Kenya, particularly remains relatively less focused on climate change and farmer understanding of climate variability response strategies. This study sought to assess variability in climate (rainfall and temperature) in Kitui County from 1980-2012 and assess influence of household socio-economic factors on farmer’s level of knowledge on climate variability adaptation techniques. The study also investigated the challenges faced by farmers in applying climate variability adaptation techniques. To achieve the objectives outlined above, a survey design was employed and a sample of 387 respondents selected. Majority of the respondents were small scale farmers in Kitui County. Questionnaires were designed and administered to the selected subjects to solicit data on climate adaptation techniques and socioeconomic factors influencing farmers’ knowledge levels on climate variability adaptation techniques. Data were statistically analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and results discussed and presented in tables, charts and graphs. The study found that climate has over the years varied with temperatures having increased by 2⁰C in the 1980s and early 1990s. The rainfall has reduced to less than 600mm with the lowest rainfall (226mm) being recorded in 2006. This implies that the Kitui County is becoming drier and hotter. These findings were ascertained by majority of the respondents (91.1%) who agreed that rainfall patterns had varied in the last ten years. The study found that there were no significant differences on how local farmers adapted to the changes in climate with regard to income, age and even ownership of land. An exception however, was on education levels with the study finding significant statistical differences (p<0.005) on how farmers with different levels of education adapted to climatic variability and change.