Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
M
onitoring Agricultural Drought:
T
he Case of Kenya
L
ABAN A. OGALLO, SILVERY B. OTENGI, PETER
[238
Line
——
-0.1
——
Norm
PgEn
Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya's economic development and accounts
for about 30% of the country's gross domestic product, 60% of export
earnings, and 70% of the labor force. This sector is the largest source of
employment (Government of Kenya, 1995). More than 85% of the popu-
lation survives in one way or the other on agricultural activities (crops and
livestock). Agriculture in Kenya is mainly rain-fed, with little irrigation.
About 46% of the rural population live below the poverty line, with 70%
of them below food poverty line.
Like many parts of the tropics, the majority of agricultural activities in
Kenya are rain dependent. Small-scale farmers, pastoralists, and wildlife
are most often affected by drought, with crops withering and livestock
as well as wildlife dying. Drought of more than one season overwhelms
the social fabric, as crops, livestock, wild animals, and humans die. Such
droughts affect pastoral communities (e.g., the Masai in Kenya and Tan-
zania) by killing livestock and game animals, forcing these communities to
invade the nearby towns and cities to find remnants of patches of grass still
left there or grass growing at the roadsides. The death of game animals
affects ecotourism. Interannual climate variability that often leads to the
recurrence of climate extremes such as droughts has far-reaching impacts
on agricultural production.
[238
C
auses of Drought
Figure 18.1 shows below-normal rainfall during different years that are
often associated with droughts in Kenya. These rainfall deficits are caused
by the anomalies in the circulation patterns that can extend from local or
regional to very large scales. Some patterns that are responsible for spa-
tial and temporal distribution of rainfall in Kenya include the Intertropi-
238
Search WWH ::
Custom Search