Effect of Climate Change on Access to Food by Households in Neboi Location, Mandera County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t5434Abstract
Climate change as an emerging global challenge has attracted considerable attention by policymakers due to its adverse impacts on society, the economy, and the environment. In Kenya, climatic changes have resulted in sharp weather variations that have disturbed agricultural ecosystems, undermined production patterns of agricultural goods and affected household access to food. In Neboi Location of Mandera County, an ASAL area, climatic adversities have negatively impacted production, storage, and marketing of food crops and livestock. The adverse climate changes have presented significant danger to residents who rely on pastoralism as their main economic activity, driving many households into food insecurity and poverty. This study determined the effect of climate change on access to food by households in Neboi Location. Primary data was collected via semi-structured questionnaires and face-to-face interviews, supplementing secondary data sources covering 1990-2015. Quantitative data was analyzed using a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) regression model while NVivo was used to analyze qualitative data. Descriptive results revealed that 85.5 percent of households could not access safe and adequate food. Climatic calamities consisting of prolonged droughts, flash floods, pest infestations, and cyclones were found to significantly explain inadequate food access (t-statistic = 7.649, p = 0.0002). Monthly household income also significantly affected food access (t = 1.9259, p = 0.0633). The study recommends that households adopt climate-smart agriculture by planting drought-resistant crops like cassava, cowpea, sweet potatoes, sorghum, pearl millet, and groundnuts to supplement livestock production. The County Government of Mandera should collaborate with the National Government and non-governmental organizations to provide subsidized seeds, establish food storage facilities, and facilitate alternative income-generating activities.
Keywords: Climate change, food security, food access, ASAL, Mandera County, household vulnerability
References
Adger, W. N., & Kelly, P. M. (1999). Social vulnerability to climate change and the architecture of entitlements. Mitigation and adaptation strategies for global change, 4(3), 253-266. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009601904210
Akona, J. S. (2014). Factors affecting poverty levels in Kenya: case study Busia county (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Arsani, A. M., Ario, B., & Ramadhan, A. F. (2020). Impact of education on poverty and health: Evidence from Indonesia. Economics Development Analysis Journal, 9(1), 87-96. https://doi.org/10.15294/edaj.v9i1.34921
Awan, M. S., Malik, N., Sarwar, H., & Waqas, M. (2011). Impact of education on poverty reduction. International Journal of Academic Research, Vol. 3, No. 1 (2011): pp. 659-664.
Barbier, E. B., & Hochard, J. P. (2018). The impacts of climate change on the poor in disadvantaged regions. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 12(1), 26-47. https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/rex023
Bell, E. (2011). Readying health services for climate change: A policy framework for regional development. American Journal of Public Health, 101(5), 804-813. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2010.202820
Campbell, B. M., Jeffrey, S., Kozanayi, W., Luckert, M., Mutamba, M., & Zindi, C. (2012). Household livelihoods in semi-arid regions: options and constraints. CIFOR.
Chai, Q., Fu, S., XU, H., Li, W. & Zhong, Y. (2017). The gap report of global climate change mitigation, finance, and governance after the United States declared its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment, 15(3), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10042857.2017.1365450
Desu, M. M. (2012). Sample size methodology. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Elhadi, A. Y., Nyariki, D. M., Wasonga, V. O., & Ekaya, W. N. (2012). Factors influencing transient poverty among agro-pastoralists in semi-arid areas of Kenya. African crop science journal, 20(1), 113 - 122.
Firdaus, R. R., Gunaratne, M. S., Rahmat, S. R., & Kamsi, N. S. (2019). Does climate change only affect food availability? What else matters?. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 5(1), 1707607. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2019.1707607
Food and Agriculture Organization (2010). Climate-Smart Agriculture – Policies, Practices, and Financing for Food Security, Adaptation, and Mitigation. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington
Food and Agriculture Organization (2015). Climate change and food systems: global assessments and implications for food security and trade. Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC.
Hallegatte, Stephane, Mook Bangalore, Laura Bonzanigo, Marianne Fay, Tamaro Kane, Ulf Narloch, Julie Rozenberg, David Treguer, & Adrien Vogt-Schilb ( 2016). Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty. Climate Change and Development Series. Washington, DC: World Bank. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-0673-5. License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO
Herrera, C., Ruben, R., & Dijkstra, G. (2018). Climate variability and vulnerability to poverty in Nicaragua. Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, 7(3), 324-344.
Herrero, M., Ringler, C., van de Steeg, J., Thornton, P., Zhu, T., Bryan, E., Omolo, A., Koo, J. and Notenbaert, A. (2010). Climate variability and climate change and their impacts on Kenya’s agricultural sector. Nairobi, Kenya. ILRI. https://doi.org/10.1080/21606544.2018.1433070
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014). Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Kabubo-Mariara, J., & Kabara, M. (2014). Climate change, food security and vulnerability in Kenya. The Environment for Development (EfD) initiative is an environmental economics program focused on international research collaboration, policy advice, and academic training. Financial support is provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Learn more at www.efdinitiative.org or contact info@efdinitiative.org.
Kabubo-Mariara, J., Mulwa, R., & Di Falco, S. (2016). The Impact of Climate Change on Food Calorie Production and Nutritional Poverty: Evidence from Kenya. Environment for Development Discussion Paper Series, EfD DP, 16-26.
Kar, S., & Das, N. (2015). Climate Change, Agricultural Production, and Poverty in India. In Poverty Reduction Policies and Practices in Developing Asia (pp. 55-76). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-420-7_4
Karim, A. and I. Noy (2014), “Poverty and natural disasters: A meta-analysis”, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
Kenya Inter Agency Rapid assessment report (KIRA) (2015). Mandera County Baseline Analysis – KIRA. Available at https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/Mandera%20secondary%20data%20review_20140104.pdf. Accessed on 4th April 2021.
Kitous, A., Keramidas, K., Vandyck, T. & Saveyn, B. (2016) GECO2 016. Global Energy and Climate Outlook. Road to Paris. download at: http://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/geco: Joint Research Centre.
Lee, J., Huang, C. J., & Shin, Y. (1997). On stationary tests in the presence of structural breaks. Economics Letters, 55(2), 165-172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0165-1765(97)00073-6
Leichenko, R., & Silva, J. A. (2014). Climate change and poverty: vulnerability, impacts, and alleviation strategies. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 5(4), 539-556. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.287
Lekwot, V. E., Uchenna, E. I., & Alfred, J. (2012). Climate change and poverty: Assessing impacts in Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Management and Safety, 3(6), 13–27.
Lema, M. A., & Majule, A. E. (2009). Impacts of climate change, variability and adaptation strategies on agriculture in semi-arid areas of Tanzania: The case of Manyoni District in Singida Region, Tanzania. African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 3(8), 206-218. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJEST09.099
Liew, V. K. S. (2004). Which lag length selection criteria should we employ?. Economics bulletin, 3(33), 1-9.
Limbu, M., Wanyagi, L., Ondiek, B., Munsch, B., & Kiilu, K. (2015). Kenya inter-agency rapid assessment mechanism (KIRA): a bottom-up humanitarian innovation from Africa. Procedia Engineering, 107, 59-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.06.059
Louis, M. E. S., & Hess, J. J. (2008). Climate change: impacts on and implications for global health. American journal of preventive medicine, 35(5), 527-538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.023
Mahmood, S. A. I. (2012). Impact of Climate Change in Bangladesh: The Role of Public Administration and Governments Integrity. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment, 4(8), 223-240. https://doi.org/10.5897/JENE11.088
Makoka, D. (2008). The impact of drought on household vulnerability: the case of rural Malawi. http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/15399. Accessed on 6th June 2021.
Mboera, L. E., Mayala, B. K., Kweka, E. J., & Mazigo, H. D. (2011). Impact of climate change on human health and health systems in Tanzania: a review. Tanzania journal of health research, 13(5), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.4314/thrb.v13i5.10
McDowell, J.Z.; Hess, J.J. Accessing adaptation: Multiple stressors on livelihoods in the Bolivian highlands under a changing climate. Global Environ. Change 2012, 22, 342–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.11.002
McGuigan, C., Reynolds, R., & Wiedmer, D. (2002). Poverty and climate change: Assessing impacts in developing countries and the initiatives of the international community. London School of Economics Consultancy Project for the Overseas Development Institute, 9(3), 1-40.
Mendoza, M. E. T., Naret, H., Ballaran, V. G., & Arias, J. K. B. (2014). Assessing vulnerability to climate change impacts in Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam: An analysis at the commune and household level. Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 17(2), 78-91 https://doi.org/10.47125/jesam/2014_2/08
Menhas, R., Shumaila, U. M. E. R., & SHABBIR, G. (2016). Climate change and its impact on food and nutrition security in Pakistan. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 45(4), 549-550.
Mmom, C., & Aifeseli, P. E. (2013). Impact of the 2012 flood on water quality and rural livelihood in the Orashi Province of the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Journal of Geography and Geology, 5(3). doi:10.5539/jgg.v5n3p216
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, 2017. Climate Risk Profile for Mandera County. Kenya County Climate Risk Profile Series. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MoALF), Nairobi: Kenya.
Morris, M., Butterworth, J., Lamboll, R., Lazaro, E., Maganga, F., & Marsland, N. (2001). Household livelihood strategies in semi-arid Tanzania: Synthesis of findings. DFID Project, (R7805).
Mulwa, R., Rao, K. P., Gummadi, S., & Kilavi, M. (2016). Impacts of climate change on agricultural household welfare in Kenya. Climate Research, 67(2), 87-97. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01357
Nelson, D. R., Lemos, M. C., Eakin, H., & Lo, Y. J. (2016). The limits of poverty reduction in support of climate change adaptation. Environmental Research Letters, 11(9), 094011.
Ng, S., & Perron, P. (2001). Lag length selection and the construction of unit root tests with good size and power. Econometrica, 69(6), 1519-1554. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0262.00256
Ngigi, M. W., & Birner, R. (2013). Shocks, livestock assets and climate change adaptation in Kenya (No. 309-2016-5309).
Ochieng, J., Kirimi, L., & Mathenge, M. (2016). Effects of climate variability and change on agricultural production: The case of small scale farmers in Kenya. NJAS-Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 77, 71-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2016.03.005
Ogalleh, S. A., Vogl, C. R., Eitzinger, J., & Hauser, M. (2012). Local perceptions and responses to climate change and variability: the case of Laikipia District, Kenya. Sustainability, 4(12), 3302-3325.
Oluwatayo, I. B., & Olutunji, K. (2015). Effect of flooding on the livelihood and consumption of households in Oyo state, Nigeria. Journal of Economics, 6(2), 169–176
Osasogie, D. I., & Alabi, R. A. (2015). Economic analysis of effect of flood on income distribution among farmers in Edo State, Nigeria. International Journal of Research in Agriculture and Forestry, 2(3), 7–13.
Ouedraogo, I., Mbow, C., Balinga, M., & Neufeldt, H. (2015). Transitions in land use architecture under multiple human driving forces in a semi-arid zone. Land, 4(3), 560-577.
Oyiga B, Mekibib H, Christine W (2011) Implications of climate change on crop yield and food accessibility in Sub Saharan Africa. Bonn University, Germany.
Pagan, A. R., & Hall, A. D. (1983). Diagnostic tests as residual analysis. Econometric Reviews, 2(2), 159-218.
Rabbani, M., Huq, S., & Rahman, S. H. (2014). Impacts of climate change on water resources and human health: empirical evidences from a coastal district (Satkhira) in Bangladesh. In Impact of climate change on water and health(Vol. 272, No. 285, pp. 272-285). Routledge in association with GSE Research. https://doi.org/10.1201/b14323-18
Republic of Kenya (2019). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census. http://www.knbs.or.ke. Accessed on 13th August 2021.
Republic of Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2016). County Statistical Abstract Mandera County. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Nairobi.
Scoones, I. (1998). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: A Framework for Analysis. IDS Working Paper 72.
Seaman, J. A., Sawdon, G. E., Acidri, J., & Petty, C. (2014). The Household Economy Approach. Managing the impact of climate change on poverty and food security in developing countries. Climate risk management, 4, 59-68.
Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and famines: an essay on entitlement and deprivation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sherwood, A. (2013) Community adaptation to climate change: exploring drought and poverty traps in Gituamba location, Kenya. Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research, 5(1), 147-161.
Speranza, C. I. (2010). Resilient Adaptation to Climate Change in African Agriculture; German Development Institute (GDI): Bonn, Germany; p. 311.
Tawane A. A., & Mugalavai E. M., (2018). Evaluation of Mitigation Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation in Mandera County, Kenya. International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology, 4(9), 163-184
Tawane, A. A., & Mugalavai, E. M. (2019). Household Level of Preparedness to Climate Change in Mandera County, Kenya. American Journal of Earth Sciences, 6(2), 36-63.
Teka, A. M., Woldu, G. T., & Fre, Z. (2019). Status and determinants of poverty and income inequality in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities: Household-based evidence from Afar Regional State, Ethiopia. World Development Perspectives, 15(9), 100123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2019.100123
Turner, B. L., Kasperson, R. E., Matson, P. A., McCarthy, J. J., Corell, R. W., Christensen, L., ... & Polsky, C. (2003). A framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 100(14), 8074-8079. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1231335100
United Nations Environment Programme (2016) The Emissions Gap Report 2016: A UNEP Synthesis Report [Online]. United Nations Environment Programme Available: http://www.unep.org/emissionsgapreport2016/ [Accessed 23 September 2017].
United Nations Environment Programme (2017). The Emissions Gap Report 2017. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi. www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report. Accessed on 15th May 2021.
Weyant, J. (2017). Some Contributions of Integrated Assessment Models of Global Climate Change. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 11(1), 115-137. https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/rew018
World Bank (2011). Kenya – The Drought and Food Crisis in the Horn of Africa - Impacts and Proposed Policy Responses for Kenya. Kenya Policy Note produced by the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit (PREM) of the World Bank Country Office in Kenya. Retrieved at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ KENYAEXTN/Resources/Kenya-The-Drought-Food-Crisis-Horn-Africa.pdf.
World Bank (2014). Climate-Smart Development: Adding Up the Benefits of Actions That Help Build Prosperity, End Poverty and Combat Climate Change. Washington, DC: World Bank.
World Bank. (2010). World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-7987-5
World Bank. (2016). World development indicator. Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP. KD.ZG/countries?display=default
Xu, Y. and Ramanathan, V. (2017). ‘Well below 2°C: Mitigation strategies for avoiding dangerous to catastrophic climate changes’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114: 10315-10323. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1618481114
Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics, An Introductory Analysis, 2nd Ed., New York: Harper and Row.
Zewdie, A. (2014). Impacts of climate change on food security: a literature review in Sub Saharan Africa. Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change, 5(8), 1-4.
