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The effects of climate change have highly challenged the productivity of the agricultural sector. The increasing temperatures and erratic rains, as well as diseases and pests have significantly reduced crop yields in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya. Though climate change has been the talk of the day, many farmers in the grassroots have hardly adopted any response options and have continued to suffer losses from the inherent effects of climate change. The present study sought to assess the perceptions of small scale farmers on climate change in selected villages in Kitui County and identify adaptation measures adopted by the farmers in response to climate change. Descriptive survey design was used. A total of 177 households were randomly selected to constitute the study sample. Data was coded and analyzed using SPSS version 20. The results showed that most farmers had perceived a changing climate with 74% and 100% of the respondents in Kaveta and Mikuyuni villages respectively, reporting an increase in temperature over the years. Regarding precipitation, 100% and 97% of the respondents in Mikuyuni and Kaveta villages respectively, had noticed a decrease in the average annual rainfall over the last two decades. Further, the results indicated that 76% and 88% of the respondents in Kaveta and Mikuyuni villages respectively had adopted various adaptation options in response to the decreasing rainfall and the unpredictable onset of rains. The study established that farmers in drier areas perceived climate change more and had adapted more to climate change and variability as compared to those in wetter areas. More resources in terms of credit facilities, access to climate change information and extension services should be availed to farmers in areas affected more by climate change and variability to increase their resilience.

Lepidopteran stem borers are among the most important pests of maize in East Africa. The objective of the present study was to predict the impact of temperature change on the distribution and abundance of the crambid Chilo partellus, the noctuid Busseola fusca, and their larval parasitoids Cotesia flavipes and Cotesia sesamiae at local scale along Kilimanjaro and Taita Hills gradients in Tanzania and Kenya, respectively. Temperature-dependent phenology models of pests and parasitoids were used in a geographic information system for mapping. The three risk indices namely establishment, generation, and activity indices were computed using current temperature data record from local weather stations and future (i.e., 2055) climatic condition based on downscaled climate change data from the AFRICLIM database. The calculations were carried out using index interpolator, a sub-module of the Insect Life Cycle Modeling (ILCYM) software. Thin plate algorithm was used for interpolation of the indices. Our study confirmed that temperature was a key factor explaining the distribution of stem borers and their natural enemies but other climatic factors and factors related to the top-down regulation of pests by parasitoids (host-parasitoid synchrony) also played a role. Results based on temperature only indicated a worsening of stem borer impact on maize production along the two East African mountain gradients studied. This was attributed to three main changes occurring simultaneously: (1) range expansion of the lowland species C. partellus in areas above 1200 m.a.s.l.; (2) increase of the number of pest generations across all altitudes, thus by 2055 damage by both pests will increase in the most productive maize zones of both transects; (3) disruption of the geographical distribution of pests and their larval parasitoids will cause an improvement of biological control at altitude below 1200 m.a.s.l. and a deterioration above 1200 m.a.s.l. The predicted increase in pest activity will significantly increase maize yield losses in all agro-ecological zones across both transects but to a much greater extent in lower areas.

Climate change is expected to have serious economic and social impacts in East Africa, particularly on rural farmers whose livelihoods largely depend on rain-fed agriculture, hence adaptation is required to offset projected drawbacks of climate change on crop productivity. This paper examines farmers' perceptions and understanding of climatic variability, coping strategies adopted and factors that influence the choice of a particular adaptation. The study uses cross section data collected from 510 farmers in three mountain gradients sites, namely; Mount Kilimanjaro of Tanzania, Taita and Machakos Hills of Kenya. Farmers’ perceptions were compared to actual trend in meteorological records over the last thirty years (1981-2010). The result revealed that farmers in East Africa were partly aware of climate variability, mainly in temperature and rainfall patterns. Many respondents reported that conditions are drier and rainfall timing is becoming less predictable. The perception of farmers on temperature and rainfall were in line with recorded meteorological data, but contrary with that of recorded rainfall in Machakos which was perceived to be decreasing by the farmers. Farmers perceived changes in rainfall and temperature to have negative effects on the production and management of crops. The common adaptation strategies used by farmers include water harvesting, soil conservation techniques and shifting of planting periods. The most important variables affecting farmers choices in regards to adaptation option were, lack of access to credit, farming experience and household size. As a conclusion, there is a need for these factors to be taken into account in the development and implementation of smallholder farmers’ adaptation strategies to climate variability in East Africa. Additionally, dedicated capacity building and extensive outreach initiatives on adaptation through governments, researchers, policy-makers and the farmers groups themselves are needed to achieve large scale success.