The livestock sector in Kenya employs 90% of the rural population. This sector contributes about 42% of agricultural GDP and earns about 30% of the country foreign exchange through agricultural products. However the poverty-reduction potential has not …

The objectives of this study are twofold. On the one hand it is attempting to demonstrate the importance of capacity building in Civil Society Organisations with regard to understanding climate change policy processes. CSO’s can reach a large number of …

This policy brief looks at two case studies to highlight climate change issues. These case studies address the challenges of climate change through livelihood diversification. Communities in the past have adapted to climate change through observation, …

In municipal councils in Kenya, urban environment development plans are drawn up but not followed through. In rural councils, environment development plans are not made at all and therefore development comes about in a haphazard manner. Community devel …

Africa has a history of ethnic conflict, resource and trans-boundary conflict and human security is threatened by climate change. The focus of this brief is how earth and environmental sciences can influence peace development by looking at 3 themes rel …

“African governments and international partners have made a commitment to women’s and girls’ access and participation to science and technology. This paper will concern itself specifically with the plight of African women in agriculture because they co …

Six years ago, the World Bank and the Food and Agricultural Organization set up a consultative process to find out whether an international assessment of agricultural knowledge science and technology (AKST) was needed. The IAASTD was launched in Septem …

“Most Africans depend directly on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihood, and yet these livelihoods are threatened by the most important atmospheric phenomena in sub-Saharan Africa, which is climate change. Ironically, and relatively sp …

The significance of bioenergy has of necessity been elevated both nationally and internationally, since it is also a means of alleviating the impact of global warming through efficient energy utilization; and is potentially an ecologically friendly too …

Adaptation has become part of the discourse of global warming and is now widely recognized as a fundamental and necessary response to the threat posed by the climatic changes that will occur, or are already occurring due to past and present carbon emis …

The growing increase in international oil prices and the push towards cleaner energy sources has created an urgent need to shift from high cost fossil oil to cost-effective biofuel.Though there are some initiatives being undertaken by the government to …

The overall objective of this report is to generate information on genetically modified cotton crops, with regard to biotechnology, biosafety policy, choices and options. This brief also examines constraints posed by the bollworm in the production of c …

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are property rights in something intangible and protect innovations and reward innovative activity. IPRs are concerned with the expression of an idea for an invention, the details of which have been worked out and wh …

“How much income might farmers gain if Bt maize were released for commercial planting in the COMESA/ASARECA region? Bt maize gives farmers a more effective and less costly way to control damage from certain categories of insects, including the stalk bo …