Analysis of Climate Change Mitigation on Small Holder Farmers Adoption of Agroforestry and Biodiversity, Nakuru County, Kenya

Climate change, which is taking place at a time of increasing demand for food and fuel, has the potential to irreversibly damage the natural resource base on which agriculture depends. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa has revealed that Climate change impacts are already costing Africa 5 percent of its GDP. Smallholder farmers contribute significantly in agricultural production but their efforts to food and economic viability depend very much environmental factors mostly climate viability. Farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa are characterized by low productivity, environmental degradation and unsustainability. The main challenge of land use and agriculture is to increase the productivity in a sustainable manner. Improving productivity and bio-diversity should be a crucial focus of good farming practices and climate change mitigation. There are many compelling reasons to focus on smallholder farmers when considering the climate challenge. This paper discusses the practices adopted by small scale farmers on adoption of agroforestry in mitigating climate change in Nakuru County. The County is an agricultural area with many smallholder farmers. Food insecurity and biodiversity loss are some of the challenges encountered in the area owing to climate change. The research sampled three Sub-counties Subukia, Lare and Kuresoi selected purposefully.138 household farms were randomly selected from a target population of 2768 smallholder farmers of which, 46 were from each sub-county. A mixed methods approach was used in this study. Data collected was coded and filtered then analysed using statistical methods (percentages, distributions) and descriptive analysis. The research was undertaken to deepen the understanding of the relationships between a changing climate and agroforestry to enable those dealing with smallholder farmers develop appropriate mitigation and adaptation responses in addressing the impacts of climate change.