Abstract This study was undertaken in Kakamega South Sub-County in Kakamega County where small-scale farmers depend on rain fed agriculture and over the years have had frequent crop failure due to seasonal drought. This study’s main objective was to establish adaptive strategies to agricultural drought effects on small scale crop production in Kakamega South Sub-county. The study established the evidence of climate change and agricultural drought on small scale crop production, determined ...
Abstract Sugarcane production worldwide has been declining due to many challenges in several countries as their population grows. Earlier studies in the sugar industry have through years offered suggestions and solutions to how the ailing industry could be revived and improved but have not been successful. In Kenya, some sugarcane industries are closing down yet more sugar is needed. This study examined the challenges facing small scale sugarcane farming in Malava sub–county, Kakamega Coun...
Abstract Urbanization has caused unprecedented land use changes around urban settlements leading to enormous social-economic impacts on peri urban residents. Currently, 55% of the world's population lives in urban areas, a figure that is predicted to reach 60 percent by the year 2030. If existing urbanization trend persist, urban dwellers will hit 68 percent by 2050. In order to satisfy the rising metropolitan population, urban areas have expanded spatially beyond legal limits into their hin...
Abstract The fourth UN Quality Priority states that education is the key to achieving more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), although urbanization factors limit student retention. World economies support the advancement of education. The Kenyan government is committed to the Education for All initiative. This progress, however, is undermined by the issue of access to primary school education. Any obstacle that impedes learning weakens not only the educational objective but also the growt...
Abstract Vihiga Sub-County like most of Western Kenya, is endowed with an equatorial climate, thus supports a rich diversity of flora and fauna. On the contrary, the area is susceptible to climate change impacts because, other than one major cause of global warming being emission of Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and chlorofloro carbons) in the mainly urban and industrial areas, the major cause of global warming and climate change in Vihiga Sub-County are human related activities ...
Abstract/Overview Land degradation is a problem facing humanity on earth today as it threatens food security as well as viable land use activities. This study considered quarrying as a form of land degradation using human beings as geomorphic agents. The study established the extent of quarrying effects on land degradation on land use activities such as agriculture, transportation and biodiversity. The indicators of land degradation were soil erosion marked by presence of gullies, sand bu...
Abstract/Overview Forests play a critical role in providing essential goods and services to forest adjacent communities. There is, however, insufficient information on how land uses affect the availability and use of forest products and services by forest adjacent communities. This study analysed the impacts of land use changes on the livelihoods of Mt Elgon forests adjacent communities. Land use changes were assessed for the period 1977-2019 segmented into four time periods corresponding...
Abstract Changes in climate have led to shifts in weather patterns outside the normal range of variation over a given time period, attributed to either human action or natural causes. This has led to reduced precipitation, which consequently results in reduced water availability for farming in some seasons, hence the seasonal agricultural drought. This has greatly impacted smallholder farmers, lowering their agricultural productivity. This study was undertaken in Kakamega South Sub-County in...
Abstract The Maseno (0.0°S, 34.6°E) ionosonde and the Mbarara (0.6°S, 30.7°E) GPS SCINDA receiver have been used to probe the equatorial ionosphere of the East Africa region using data obtained in 2012 and 2015. The equatorial spread-F (ESF) which appears as a spread on the F-layer on ionograms has been classified and their occurrence were found to have correspondence with GPS nighttime scintillations. The spread-F at equatorial and low-latitudes normally occurs during nighttime hours. T...
Abstract The modernization efforts of the irrigation subsector in Kenya have been hampered by several challenges. This review describes the status and challenges facing irrigated agriculture in Kenya. The results indicated that as of 2018, the developed irrigation schemes covered an area of 222,240 ha, which is 16% of the irrigation potential of 1.34 million ha. Most large-scale irrigation schemes use the furrow system. Private and commercial farms and smallholder irrigation schemes use mo...
Abstract The oil industry is a source of revenue and foreign exchange for an economy. Nevertheless, oil exploration is an inherent risk to the environment due to the pollution of water resources, especially surface water resources. The main waste is produced water which is increasing around the world .As a consequence,water pollution resulting from normal oil drilling, refining, distribution, and accidents is the principal concern of oil exploration in the environment. Oil pollution is assoc...
Abstract Urbanisation has caused unprecedented land use changes around urban settlements, leading to enormous socio-economic impacts on peri-urban residents. The spatial growth of urban settlements beyond designated boundaries into the urban fringes has resulted in the transformation of prime agricultural land into commercial and residential uses, effectively altering traditional land use patterns. The objective of this study was to establish the influence of proximity to urban settlements o...
Abstract: Reconstruction of climate dynamics in southern Africa has been immensely constrained by the absence of continuous proxies records. Sediments provide potential sources of studying past environments because their makeup is a direct response to variabilities in the environment and climate. In this study a multiple geochemical proxy approach was used to investigate two 30 m deep sediments cores from northern Botswana to construe their various geological processes and environments ...
Abstract: Understanding eastern African paleoclimate is critical for contextualizing early human evolution, adaptation, and dispersal, yet Pleistocene climate of this region and its governing mechanisms remain poorly understood due to the lack of long, orbitally-resolved, terrestrial paleoclimate records. Here we present leaf wax hydrogen isotope records of rainfall from paleolake sediment cores from key time windows that resolve long-term trends, variations, and high-latitude effects on tro...
Abstract: This study aimed to provide a systematic overview of the progress made in utilizing remote sensing for assessing the impacts of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on water resources (quality and quantity). This review also addresses research gaps, challenges, and opportunities associated with the use of remotely sensed data in assessment and monitoring. The progress of remote sensing applications in the assessment and monitoring of LULC, along with their impacts on water qualit...