Wekesa et al. Agric & Food Secur (2018) 7:80 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-018-0230-0 Agriculture & Food Security RESEARCH Open Access Efect of climate‑smart agricultural practices on household food security in smallholder production systems: micro‑level evidence from Kenya Bright Masakha Wekesa*, Oscar Ingasia Ayuya and Job Kibiwot Lagat Abstract Background: Climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa has had a negative impact on agricultural production leading to food insecurity. Climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices have the potential to reverse this trend because of its triple potential benefts of improved productivity and high income, reduction or removal of greenhouse gases and improved household food security. Hence, we empirically fnd the determinants of choice and the efect of CSAs on household food security among smallholder farmers in Kenya. Methods: Primary data were collected in Teso North Sub-county, Busia County of Kenya, among smallholder farmers. CSA practices used by farmers were grouped by principal component analysis and linked to food security by multino- mial endogenous switching regression model. Results: With the application of principal component analysis, we clustered the CSA practices into 4 components: crop management, feld management, farm risk reduction and soil management practices. We fnd that the greatest efect of CSA adoption by smallholder farmers on food security is when they use a larger package that contains all the four categories of practices. Adopters of this package were 56.83% more food secure in terms of HFCS and 25.44% in terms of HDDS. This package mitigates upon the impacts of climate change as well as enhancing nutrient avail- ability in the soils for higher productivity. Further, adoption of this package was positively infuenced by gender of the household head, farm size and value of productive farm assets. Conclusions: CSAs have the potential to alleviate food insecurity among smallholder farmers if used in combinations and to a larger extend. To enhance adoption, land fragmentation should be discouraged through civic education and provision of alternative income-generating activities for farmers to beneft when practiced on relatively bigger land. Farmers should be sensitized on the need to invest in farm productive assets in order to absorb the risks of climate change while enhancing adoption of CSA practices. Keywords: Climate-smart agricultural practices, Food security, Climate change, Smallholder farmers, Multinomial endogenous switching regression analysis *Correspondence: [email protected] Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536‑20115, Egerton, Kenya © The Author(s) 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creat​iveco​mmons​.org/licen​ses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creat​iveco​mmons​.org/ publi​cdoma​in/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Wekesa et al. Agric & Food Secur (2018) 7:80 Page 2 of 14 Introduction unprecedented changes in climate have accompanied Climate change is a threat to food security systems and losses that have already been experienced in the country one of the biggest challenges in the twenty-frst century [10]. For instance, evidence indicates that between 1999 [1]. Te ability to contain the pace of climate change by and 2000 droughts in Kenya caused damages equivalent keeping temperature rise within 2 °C threshold is now to 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) [9]. Te report curtailed, and the global population will have to deal with further indicates that the projected annual cost of climate its consequences [2]. Tis is in the context that agricul- change impacts will be in the tune of USD 1–3 billion by tural production systems are expected to produce food the year 2030 [9]. for the global population that is projected to be 9.1 bil- Majority of smallholder farmers in Kenya depend on lion people by 2050 and above 10 billion by the year 2100 agriculture for survival [12]. Building their adaptive [3]. According to [4], agricultural systems should be capacity and resilience to climate change is key to enable transformed to increase the productive capacity and sta- them protect their livelihoods and ensuring their food bility in the wake of climate change. Climate change has security. Te ability to cope with the impacts of weather already caused signifcant impacts on water resources, shocks and natural disasters brought by the efects of human health and food security [1]. Te steady rise in climate change depends largely on the household’s resil- temperature and irregular rainfall patterns afect agricul- ience, or its capacity to absorb the impact of, and recover tural production with the attendant decline in crop and from, a shock [13]. One way of combatting the efects livestock production. of climate change is through climate-smart agricultural In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), poverty reduction and (CSA) practices [1, 11, 14, 15]. Promoters of CSA adop- food security improvement are among the many chal- tion seek to sustainably increase agricultural productivity lenges that governments face. Tese governments con- and incomes by building resilience through adapting to stantly face a trade-of between food production which changes in climate and reducing and/or removing GHGs generates signifcant amounts of green house gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional practices [1]. Strength- and mitigation of climate change which requires reduc- ening Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in tion in some agricultural activities [3]. For instance, Kenya Plus (StARCK+) Programme identifes poverty, ruminant production contributes a signifcant amount weak institutions and under-investment in key sectors as of methane gas to the atmosphere, yet it is an important the main factors which stife Kenya’s ability to cope with exercise to meet the food demand and income for farm- climate change. ers [1]. Addressing these antagonistic objectives has Climate change is a serious threat to local food produc- proved challenging. Attention in the literature has mostly tion and family well-being resulting in malnutrition, hun- focused on the low and stagnant returns from African ger and persistent poverty in many regions of Kenya [16]. agriculture [3, 5]. Moreover, many ecosystem services, Despite the multiple benefts of CSAs and the deliberate including nutrient cycling, nitrogen fxation, soil regener- eforts by the government and development partners to ation and biological control of pests and weeds, are under encourage farmers to invest in them, there is still a lack threat in African food production systems and have seri- of evidence on farmers’ incentives, conditioning factors ous implications on smallholder sustainable food security that hinder or accelerate usage and impact of CSAs on [6–8]. SSA continues to signifcantly face declining fallow food security status. Tus, an improved understanding periods, with inadequate investment in sustainable inten- of farmers’ adoption behaviour and the potential welfare sifcation and veering of from diversifcation in favour of efects in terms of food security is important in informing mono-cropping in otherwise traditionally complex farm- the strategies policy makers and other development part- ing systems [6]. Te result of this trend is food insecurity ners could champion in enhancing usage and efective- brought by the low agricultural production, especially ness of CSA practices in smallholder production systems. under the conditions of climate change. Based on the foregoing, the objectives of this study Climate change in Kenya is quite evident indicated by are twofold. We frst seek to determine the factors that a continuous rise in temperature [9]. Generally, irregu- infuence the choice of CSA practices in smallholder pro- lar rainfall patterns continue to be experienced with duction systems. Secondly, we explore the efect of the intense downpours causing foods in many parts which CSA practices on household food security. To achieve appear in cycles with severe droughts. Specifcally, both these objectives, we use a micro-level data set of small- day and night temperatures have signifcantly been on holder farmers in Kenya. Tis paper contributes to the a rising trend since the 1960s. For instance, the night literature as follows. First, we group the CSA practices temperature (minimum) has risen by 0.7–2.0 °C and the based on usage by farmers in a principal component day temperature (maximum) by 0.2–1.3 °C, depend- analysis (PCA). Tis departs from use of the conventional ing on the season and the region [10, 11]. Further, these groups used by earlier researchers [8, 17, 18] which could Wekesa et al. Agric & Food Secur (2018) 7:80 Page 3 of 14 potentially present difculties, especially where few or Sub-county was purposively selected based on its high even one strategy represents the entire group leading to a food production potential in the entire Busia County. weak attribution of the impacts of such groups. Secondly, In stage two, three wards (Malaba South, Malaba North we also evaluate the infuence of farmer perception on and Ang’urai South) were randomly