Climate Change Shocks Exposure Index to Drought on the Livelihoods of the Smallholder Farmers in Kinakomba Ward, Tana River County, Kenya

Abstract

Being susceptible to climate change means being unable to cope with the adverse effects of climate change especially droughts and a likelihood of experiencing harm due to its occurrence. The study sought to evaluate the effects of exposure to Climate related shocks on the livelihoods of the smallholder farmers with the intent of formulating appropriate policies to enable them cope with its impacts. A descriptive survey research design was used. Stratified random sampling was employed to select 390 households. Two methods were used to analyse exposure. Firstly the fuzzy logic in assessing susceptibility to drought involving a selection of input variables, Fuzzification, inference modelling and defuzzification and secondly DrinC Model software. The results revealed that the final value of the negative consequences of drought was 0.35.The study also established a single index as 0.45 for exposure for the entire study period of 35 years for Kinakomba Ward .The study showed that exposure was statistically significant at (0.000066). The study further revealed that the periods between occurrence of extreme droughts were reducing and at the same time that droughts were moving from being severe to being extreme within shorter periods of time leaving smallholder farmers who depend on rain fed agriculture with high exposures and risks as well as experiencing longer hunger periods with severe implications on their food and nutritional security for the vast populations in the study area. The Study concluded that the exposure to drought of the smallholder farmers in Kinakomba Ward is significantly related to their farming livelihood systems. This study recommends that the County Government in partnership with the National Government and other stakeholders develop a comprehensive disaster risk management framework to address the drought hazards and undertake mitigation and adaptation measures by equipping the smallholder farmers with knowledge on how to cope with the cyclic and vicious droughts' impacts that have led to serious irreversible harm to humans and livestock in the area.