Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya

We use data from 500 households in Samburu County (Kenya) to explore how natural environment and market accessibility affect coping and adaptation strategies of pastoralists. In particular, we ask whether households accumulate livestock wealth and invest in structural and cognitive social capital to...

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Autores principales: Karanja Ng'ang'a, Stanley, Bulte, E.H., Giller, Kenneth E., Ndiwa, Nicholas N., Kifugo, S.C., McIntire, John M., Herrero, Mario, Rufino, Mariana C.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/73682
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author Karanja Ng'ang'a, Stanley
Bulte, E.H.
Giller, Kenneth E.
Ndiwa, Nicholas N.
Kifugo, S.C.
McIntire, John M.
Herrero, Mario
Rufino, Mariana C.
author_browse Bulte, E.H.
Giller, Kenneth E.
Herrero, Mario
Karanja Ng'ang'a, Stanley
Kifugo, S.C.
McIntire, John M.
Ndiwa, Nicholas N.
Rufino, Mariana C.
author_facet Karanja Ng'ang'a, Stanley
Bulte, E.H.
Giller, Kenneth E.
Ndiwa, Nicholas N.
Kifugo, S.C.
McIntire, John M.
Herrero, Mario
Rufino, Mariana C.
author_sort Karanja Ng'ang'a, Stanley
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description We use data from 500 households in Samburu County (Kenya) to explore how natural environment and market accessibility affect coping and adaptation strategies of pastoralists. In particular, we ask whether households accumulate livestock wealth and invest in structural and cognitive social capital to protect themselves against climate risks. We find weak evidence that households accumulate livestock wealth in response to living in a drier environment, and no evidence that households invest in either structural or cognitive social capital as insurance against climate risks. However, coping strategies vary across social groups. For example, while rainfall does not robustly affect cognitive social capital (trust)—we find that the “poor” and “financially-integrated” households (i.e., those who have relatively good access to credit and capacity to save money) show greater mutual trust in drier environments. The results from this study can be used for priority setting by policy makers and development agencies for programs aimed at safeguarding household livelihoods in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs).
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spelling CGSpace736822024-05-01T08:19:18Z Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya Karanja Ng'ang'a, Stanley Bulte, E.H. Giller, Kenneth E. Ndiwa, Nicholas N. Kifugo, S.C. McIntire, John M. Herrero, Mario Rufino, Mariana C. livestock insurance climate We use data from 500 households in Samburu County (Kenya) to explore how natural environment and market accessibility affect coping and adaptation strategies of pastoralists. In particular, we ask whether households accumulate livestock wealth and invest in structural and cognitive social capital to protect themselves against climate risks. We find weak evidence that households accumulate livestock wealth in response to living in a drier environment, and no evidence that households invest in either structural or cognitive social capital as insurance against climate risks. However, coping strategies vary across social groups. For example, while rainfall does not robustly affect cognitive social capital (trust)—we find that the “poor” and “financially-integrated” households (i.e., those who have relatively good access to credit and capacity to save money) show greater mutual trust in drier environments. The results from this study can be used for priority setting by policy makers and development agencies for programs aimed at safeguarding household livelihoods in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). 2016-07 2016-05-22T12:17:18Z 2016-05-22T12:17:18Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/73682 en Limited Access Elsevier Ng’ang’a, S.K., Bulte, E.H., Giller, K.E., Ndiwa, N.N., Kifugo, S.C., McIntire, J.M., Herrero, M. and Rufino, M.C. 2016. Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya. Agricultural Systems 146: 44-54
spellingShingle livestock
insurance
climate
Karanja Ng'ang'a, Stanley
Bulte, E.H.
Giller, Kenneth E.
Ndiwa, Nicholas N.
Kifugo, S.C.
McIntire, John M.
Herrero, Mario
Rufino, Mariana C.
Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya
title Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya
title_full Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya
title_fullStr Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya
title_short Livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk: A case study of Samburu County in Kenya
title_sort livestock wealth and social capital as insurance against climate risk a case study of samburu county in kenya
topic livestock
insurance
climate
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/73682
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