Analysis of Rainfall Spatiotemporal Variability and Its Impact on Livelihood in Marsabit, Kenya.
Abstract
Regardless of geographical location, climate variability significantly influences the success or loss of agricultural production as a source of income worldwide. As a result, this research aimed to look into the spatio-temporal variability of rainfall and its impacts on pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihood choices in Marsabit County. The rainfall data was sourced from daily gridded rainfall with a resolution of 0.050 x 0.050 (Approximately 5km x 5km overland) from 1981 to 2021.The Mann-Kendall test was used to determine the significance of the trend by using Sen’s non-parametric estimator of the slope. The intra-seasonal climatic characteristics of rainfall were examined using the INSTAT statistical analysis software version 3.36. With a questionnaire as the main data collecting tool for 382 houses, a cross-sectional study method was utilized to gather household data. The study reveals that livestock and crop farming were the most negatively affected livelihood activities, according to 57.1%, 73.7%, and 78.8% of respondents in Maikona, Sololo, and Kargi, respectively. The findings indicate a decreasing trend in the March-May rainy season and mean total seasonal rainfall of 0.3613 mm (Kargi), 0.4617 mm (Maikona), 1.7261 mm (Dakabaricha), and 1.6686 mm (Sololo) every year. This implies a decrease in total rainfall and fewer opportunities for sustained rainfall-dependent livelihood activities in the county. This impacts negatively on crops and livestock, which rely on water for growth and development. The study recommends pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to adopt early maturing crop varieties, pastures, and drought-tolerant animal species to take advantage of the region’s declining rainfall amounts.
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