Evidence to Support Policy Amendment of Water and Food Security in Drylands of Malawi
Management of water and food security in the drylands of Malawi remains a challenge due to limited capacity to manage disasters, risks and uncertainties associated with climate change. Anecdotal information suggests that conflicting policies and the omission of specific information on food and water security in drylands is a root cause. This project will support the security of food and water in the drylands of Malawi through the provision of evidence-based information that can feed into policy amendments to ensure sustainable water and food security in these drylands. Read more:
Evaluation of land use change on water and food security in Lagha Bor Catchment, Wajir County, Kenya
Kenya has a varied ecological environment, which is characterized by differences in agricultural potential and in patterns of food production. Wajir county has faced increasing food deficits, and high rural poverty levels, a fact attributed to high population growth, environmental degradation and limited sources of livelihoods. However, this problem is more prominent in arid and semiarid lands (ASALs) which constitute about 80% of the total land mass in Kenya where pastoralism is the main livelihood activity. Read more:
Comprehensive assessment of small-scale irrigation cropland using Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) technology – Case of Lake Chilwa Basin, Southern Malawi
This research aims at utilizing Remotely Piloted Aircrafts (RPAs) as an affordable source of remote sensing data for precision agriculture
Assessment of the level of water utilisation with a special focus on small-scale irrigation using RPAs will help to quantify the total size of land under irrigation and the size of food output to feed the growing population. Read more:
Predicting water and food security in dry-land regions of Kenya from spatiotemporal trends of rain-induced land surface processes.
In the dry-land regions of Kenya, agriculture and livestock breeding remain the main sources of livelihood. Limited surface and sub-surface water sources coupled with erratic rainfall patterns required to sustain the livelihoods is often a source of competition and conflict among the rural communities. Furthermore, there is inadequacy of information about food supply chains and limited access to markets for those who may opt to buy and sell. Read more:
Monitoring agricultural land use change and its linkage to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa
To ensure food security, we must first understandwhere the food grows, how the agricultural land area changes and why these changes happen. This information and understanding is scarce in sub-Saharan Africa.
Thisproject therefore aims to monitor spatial and temporal changes in agricultural land area in relation to land use and land cover change. By using high spatial resolution satellite images we will develop an algorithm for classifying agricultural area and land use types. We will monitor changes in agricultural areas at country scale in Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya with a spatial resolution of 30 m. Read more:
Analysis of the contributing factors to food insecurity and the coping strategies amongst rural communities in the arid regions of Marsabit, Kenya
In sub-Saharan Africa, climate change is one of the drivers of vulnerability of the livelihoods of local communities. To alleviate the impacts of climate change, communities have developed adaptive strategies and practices. However, increased intensities and frequencies of climate-induced hazards have overstretched the existing adaptive and coping capacities of rural communities in arid and semi-arid areas making it necessary to either revise or devise new strategies to address the impacts of change, particularly those that relate to water and food security. Read more: