ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the methodology employed in preparing the Kenya Case Study, including a summary of the principal conclusions about the effect of climatic variability on smallholders in central and eastern Kenya. Understanding the climatology of drought is a prerequisite to elaborating the potential impact of climatic variability in Kenya, The primary climatic element of economic importance is rainfall. The Kenya Soil Survey developed an index to delimit agroclimatic zones in Kenya suitable for various crops. A dynamic crop production model, originally created to model grain production in the developed world, was adapted to assess the relationships between climatic parameters and maize production. Climatic variability, particularly drought, has an impact on small landholders in Kenya largely through changes in food entitlements—the access to food produced on one's own holding, purchased in local or distant markets, or donated by Mends, relatives, or agencies. The Kenya Case Study illustrates several problems in conducting integrated climate impact assessments.
