Analysis of strategies used in mitigating dry spells occurrences on rainfed agriculture in Homa Bay County, Kenya

Dry spells have been on the increase in both spatial and temporal scales in the last few decades exacerbating rainfall variability. Homa Bay County which is located in the Western part of Kenya in the Lake Victoria Basin is a sub humid region characterized by frequent dry spells resulting in poor crop yields. This paper evaluates the mitigation strategies to dry spells occurrences for sustainable rainfed agriculture in Homa Bay County. The study used a sample size of 384 households. Primary data were gathered through use of questionnaires, interview guides, Focus Group Discussions and observation while secondary data were obtained from publications, journals, newspapers and internet. Data analyses were done using statistical package for social scientists (SPSS) version 20. Results indicated that majority of the respondents (68.8%) practiced post-harvest storage; 59.8% grew drought tolerant crops; 46.8% practiced crop diversification; 30.8% practiced water harvesting; 30% practiced soil conservation techniques while 33.9% of the respondents were engaged in supplemental irrigation of the food crops as mitigation towards dry spells. Chi–square tests showed significant variations at P