Richard Ngunga (right) stands on his farmland in Makindu, Kenya, where he sank a borehole to irrigate his crops. (CHINA DAILY/XIE SONGXIN)

Another way of mitigating climate change is to plant a variety of drought-resistant crops such as green grams (a species of legumes), sorghum, cowpeas and pearl millet.

Phoebe Mwangangi said yields have increased as a result of adopting the climate-smart system of farming.

The Uithi Museo Self Help Group is one of the beneficiaries of climate-smart agricultural training. The group has 50 members and a piece of land that acts as a demonstration farm. On his or her own farm, each member carries out the instruction they receive.

They practice digging rip lines to a depth of 15-30 cm, and grow a variety of drought-resistant crops such as cowpeas, sorghum, pearl millet, pigeon peas and green grams to spread climate change risks. Members of the group have also been instructed on cooking these crops for nutritional purposes.