Abstract
Increasing communities’ adaptive capacity is crucial to enhancing the sustainability of livelihoods and landscapes in smallholder systems. This study evaluates the contributions of an asset-based community-driven local development project, which has an objective to enhance farmer livelihoods through context-specific agricultural and agroforestry training, in line with farmers’ identities, interests, and preferences. The project was implemented in two areas of the wider Nyando river basin: the Lower and Middle Nyando sites. The project effects on farmer livelihoods were evaluated by analyzing overall income enhancement through the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices via the computation of total values of harvest. Socioeconomic data from 183 households, half of which were involved in the project, were considered. The findings showed that locality played an important role in the adoption and success of good agricultural practices. Additional significant positive factors included project participation, size of land operated, horticulture farming, livestock ownership, ownership of a title deed, hours worked, and crop species richness. The number of years farmed had a significant negative correlation with the value of harvest. Considering the stark differences in livelihood effects in both sites, researchers conclude that external support for climate-smart agriculture uptake needs to be considerate of, and respond to, biophysical and socioeconomic context.
Highlights
IntroductionThe adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers can be improved by targeting outcomes that positively influence the ability of communities to overcome climate-related constraints and other barriers to development [1]
The findings showed that locality played an important role in the adoption and success of good agricultural practices
The adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers can be improved by targeting outcomes that positively influence the ability of communities to overcome climate-related constraints and other barriers to development [1]
Summary
The adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers can be improved by targeting outcomes that positively influence the ability of communities to overcome climate-related constraints and other barriers to development [1]. Projects that promote yield-improving crop technologies have experienced mixed success for a host of reasons. They failed to take into account that economic status, land rights, and land tenure affect farming methods and agricultural investment employed by households and affect crop yields [6]. It follows that asset availability influences the ability to invest in particular technologies and to engage in certain livelihood activities that in turn influence the capacity to adapt to adverse effects of climate change in the present and future [9]. Even when there are short-term gains in productivity, the long-term sustainability of farming systems and livelihoods is likely to be compromised [11]
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