Simon Muti

The June Winds on Rainfall and Food Security in Eastern Horn of Africa: a Case Study of Effects of June Winds in Coastal Region of Kenya Simon Muti

The June winds is a natural weather phenomena peculiar mainly to Coastal region of Kenya and much of Eastern horn of Africa. It has always acted as a hidden arm of nature where, despite high amounts of rainfall being experienced in the region, the realised crop yields are often low. It is this phenomena that perhaps explains why first new comers to the region term the coastal people as "lazy" since they cannot produce enough food to feed themselves with such good rains. The rainfall in much of Eastern horn of Africa is controlled and modulated more by local factors than the general global wind circulation systems. The book looks at how these local factors influence rainfall amounts, June winds origins and their interactions with: rain bearing winds, the atmosphere, and crop development stages, and how they occasion poor yields. It reveals existence of years of increasing and decreasing rainfall and explains development of a sesonal yield forecasting model for the region that can guide on resouce use and allocation. The book targets the general audience, farming community, researchers,agro-climatologists, development agencies and policy makers in terms of forward planning.