Abstract:
Climate change has negatively impacted on bio-diversity, rural livelihoods, national and global
economies. Several smallholder farmers in Laikipia County have adopted a number of Climate Smart
Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) as mitigation measures and coping strategies, including water harvesting and
use, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, pest and disease control, and crop diversification. This study
sought to assess the contribution of climate smart agricultural practices on food availability among
smallholder farmers in Laikipia County, Kenya. It was guided by the action theory of adaptation and the
correlation research design was used. The accessible population were 74,282 households who were practicing
small scale farming in Laikipia County during the 2021/2022 cropping season. A multi-stage sampling
technique was used to obtain a representative sample of 384. Questionnaire and Key Informant Interviews
(KIIs) were used to collect primary data. Descriptive and inferential statistics (ordered logistic regression)
using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) program version 28 were used to analyze data. Results
showed that food availability significantly improved as a result of climate-smart agriculture [the coefficient
for Climate-Smart Agriculture (0.400) was positive and statistically significant at 5% (p-value = 0.000)].
Smallholder farmers who have not implemented CSAPs recommendations should be encouraged to start
practicing due to its positive contribution to food availability
