Monitoring Agricultural Drought: The Case of Kenya - Monitoring and Predicting Agricultural Drought: A Global Study - page 246

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Figure 18.5 The cumulative
monthly rainfall during the
worst drought conditions
during 1984 and 2000 in
Kenya.

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ra tio can also be used to monitor drought. During drought, livestock are
so ld cheaply, and the meat price declines while the price of cereals (such as
m aize) increase.
The destruction of crops and livestock reduce the economic status of
m ost rural communities. Some of the communities in marginal areas, for
ex ample, resort to survival mechanisms such as reducing the number of
m eals per day during periods of food shortage. Others participate in de-
fo restation for the purpose of charcoal burning to meet income deficits
(K aranja et al., 2001). Dietary/food composition also changes during
dr ought conditions. Cereal intake by humans, which is usually higher
du ring nondrought years, declines, and consumption of pulses (relatively
dr ought resistant) increases during drought years.

Line
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1.2
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Shor
PgEn

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D rought Early Warning System

Th e DMCN is an intergovernmental center for climate monitoring for the
G HA. The DMCN and KMD play an important role in providing weather
an d climate advisories, including predictions and early warnings about
se vere climate events such as droughts. Using statistical methods, weather
fo recasts for 10-day, monthly, and seasonal durations are provided by the
D MCN and KMD as part of their normal operation activities. (DMCN,
2001).

Drought Mitigation

G rowing Drought-Resistant Crops

Timing of rainfall and choice of crop variety are critical to avoiding agricul-
tural drought, which can occur even when the annual or seasonal rainfall
is normal. Crops may resist or evade drought in two basic ways (Levitt,