**2. Climate change impacts in Kenya and the Suba district of Kenya**

Historically, Africa's contribution to carbon dioxide emissions has been minimal, but the continent has been affected by the adverse impacts of global warming more severely due to its combined pressures of high levels of poverty, weak health facilities, and limited capacity to adapt to the shifts in climate [5, 10]. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for about 85% of Africa's population [2] and contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product of most African countries. Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, however, have a low adaptive capacity to climate change because of several interlocking challenges, including high levels of poverty, poor access to credit for inputs, and poor infrastructure [11, 12]. Under climate

#### *Climate Change, Rural Livelihoods, and Human Well-Being: Experiences from Kenya DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104965*

change scenarios, crop yields are projected to fall even further in sub-Saharan Africa [5] where most of the people are already food insecure. Changes in rainfall patterns in sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture is predominantly rainfed, are a serious threat to food security, nutrition, and general well-being of the people [13].

As for eastern Africa, the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [1, 5] projects a shorter rainfall season, an increase in temperature, and a rise in malaria cases because of the rise in temperature. With a population of 54 million, Kenya is the economic and financial hub of the region with the country's economy mainly depending on tourism and rainfed agriculture [14]. Like the rest of eastern Africa, Kenya too is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts [15, 16] with an average annual temperature that is projected to increase by as much as 2.5°C between 2000 and 2050 [17]. Kenya is endowed with a diverse range of ecosystems that serve a number of pivotal functions in livelihood activities, such as agriculture, tourism, and fisheries. In Kenya, the evidence of climate change has been noted in soaring temperatures and irregular rainfall patterns that are characterized by intense downpours in the rainy season [18]. Analyses of climate data over the last 100 years suggest that Kenya has already been experiencing an increase in temperature of up to 0.8 degrees [19]. Rising temperatures have increased plant pests and diseases, thus affecting the quality of agricultural produce. For rural areas in Kenya, 75–80% of poor communities either directly or indirectly derive their sources of income from agriculture [2, 16]. Hence climate variability – even a small increase in drought frequencies and intensities – increases the vulnerability to food insecurity and water availability, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya.

Agriculture in the Suba district of Kenya, as elsewhere in the country, has been drastically affected by intermittent droughts, soaring high temperatures, and delays in seasonal rainfall patterns that tend to destroy entire harvests [20, 21]. Climate change has altered rainfall patterns by delaying the onset of the March–September rain season, causing severe droughts and water stress [5]. The duration of the rainy season has shortened, but the intensity of the rains has increased [22]. Overdependence on rainfed agriculture has made the communities more vulnerable to climate variability. Maize production, which is mainly produced under rainfed systems, has been reduced, leading to food insecurity. Livestock farming is also vulnerable to the changing climates as high temperatures decrease grazing fields and increase the prevalence of livestock pests and diseases [23, 24]. In addition, drought events directly result in a rise in food prices, leading to further food insecurity.
