Assessing the contribution of climate-smart agricultural practices to the resilience of maize farmers in Bungoma County, Kenya

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Climate variability threatens farmers’ livelihoods. Efforts to address climate stress recognizes climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as a promising approach to minimize the damage occasioned by the varability. However, the effect of CSA practices on the resilience of farmers to continue producing increased maize yields amidst climate variability is not well known. This study assesses the effects of CSA practices on the resilience of farmers to continue producing increased maize yields amidst climate variability. It was hypothesized that CSA practices do not increase yields and reduce the variance hence not enhancing the resilience of farmers to climate variability. Using primary data from 250 randomly sampled farmers, a structural equation model (SEM) was estimated with the generation of a maize yield loss resilience index. From the findings, CSA practices reduce the variance of maize yields suggesting enhanced resilience to climate variability. Hence, CSA practices are welfare increasing and their adoption should be promoted.

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