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Climate and Development, 2020
The development of Sub-Saharan Africa will become increasingly constrained by the acute climate s... more The development of Sub-Saharan Africa will become increasingly constrained by the acute climate sensitivity of livelihood practices. Weather and climate services can improve climate risks to development by informing plans and decisions that ultimately reduce losses/maximize beneficial opportunities from climate variability and change. Yet, such services are typically highly aggregated, and notoriously difficult to communicate, especially to smallholder farmers and pastoralists where the need is greatest. Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) are decentralizing service provision, and in so doing, offering disaggregated, contextualized, and more easily understandable localized weather and seasonal information products relative to national level equivalents. This article uses household productive income (2014-2015) across Kitui County to model the economic value of KMD's local seasonal forecast and advisory products. The findings suggest that, after controlling for alternative explanations, households receiving KMD's local advisories and seasonal forecasts have marginally higher income levels compared to the counterfactual of using national level equivalents. When marginal appreciations in productive income are compared to the costs of establishing and maintaining KMD's decentralized provision, the investment is economically viable and comparable with similar initiatives within and outside Kenya.
International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2015
ABSTRACT Climate change poses a major threat to environment, economic growth and sustainable deve... more ABSTRACT Climate change poses a major threat to environment, economic growth and sustainable development globally. Agriculture is an important sector of Kenyan economy that is dependent on climate. Since the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report in 1990, substantial efforts have been directed toward understanding climate change impacts on agriculture worldwide. Although a large body of scientific models have been developed to predict impacts of future climate, there is little knowledge on their application in Kenya. The study conducted key informants interviews to identify analytical tools used to estimate impacts of climate change and level of utilisation in crops, livestock, water and natural resources sub-sectors. The study reports very low usage of analytical tools. This was attributed to insufficient knowledge on application of analytical tools and therefore requires capacity building to empower decision makers on utilisation of the tools for informed decisions on appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Climate Change Management, 2014
Climate and Development, 2020
The development of Sub-Saharan Africa will become increasingly constrained by the acute climate s... more The development of Sub-Saharan Africa will become increasingly constrained by the acute climate sensitivity of livelihood practices. Weather and climate services can improve climate risks to development by informing plans and decisions that ultimately reduce losses/maximize beneficial opportunities from climate variability and change. Yet, such services are typically highly aggregated, and notoriously difficult to communicate, especially to smallholder farmers and pastoralists where the need is greatest. Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) are decentralizing service provision, and in so doing, offering disaggregated, contextualized, and more easily understandable localized weather and seasonal information products relative to national level equivalents. This article uses household productive income (2014-2015) across Kitui County to model the economic value of KMD's local seasonal forecast and advisory products. The findings suggest that, after controlling for alternative explanations, households receiving KMD's local advisories and seasonal forecasts have marginally higher income levels compared to the counterfactual of using national level equivalents. When marginal appreciations in productive income are compared to the costs of establishing and maintaining KMD's decentralized provision, the investment is economically viable and comparable with similar initiatives within and outside Kenya.
International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2015
ABSTRACT Climate change poses a major threat to environment, economic growth and sustainable deve... more ABSTRACT Climate change poses a major threat to environment, economic growth and sustainable development globally. Agriculture is an important sector of Kenyan economy that is dependent on climate. Since the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report in 1990, substantial efforts have been directed toward understanding climate change impacts on agriculture worldwide. Although a large body of scientific models have been developed to predict impacts of future climate, there is little knowledge on their application in Kenya. The study conducted key informants interviews to identify analytical tools used to estimate impacts of climate change and level of utilisation in crops, livestock, water and natural resources sub-sectors. The study reports very low usage of analytical tools. This was attributed to insufficient knowledge on application of analytical tools and therefore requires capacity building to empower decision makers on utilisation of the tools for informed decisions on appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Climate Change Management, 2014