TITLE:
Linking Climate Change, Pollinators and Cereal Yields in Kenya
AUTHORS:
Obed Nyangena, Victor Kidake Senelwa, Rachel Ngesa
KEYWORDS:
Bees, Temperature, Food Security, Farmers
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.7 No.7,
July
10,
2020
ABSTRACT: Climate change episodes are increasingly complicating resource use, access and management in the majority of the developing countries. Parasitic weeds and crop diseases are hurting annual cereal yields. Application of agrochemicals to contain locusts, birds and insects that destroy produce have the propensity to kill pollinators such as bees. Essentially, pollinators play a critical role in ensuring ecological sustainability and food security. The study uses long-term historical data (1961 and 2017) to link climate change, pollinators and cereal yields in Kenya on a multivariate model. The findings revealed that a unit increase in the amount of rainfall will result in a proportionate increase in cereal yields but a unit increase in temperature will lead to varied increases in cereal yields. The findings also revealed that bees played a critical role in the pollination of maize, wheat and beans but not rice. It is recommended that future studies should consider monthly or quarterly climate data in determining future impacts of climate change and pollinators on cereal yields.