Herders in need of a boost to help rebuild their livelihoods

After the prolonged drought that started late last year, Kenyans are optimistic that the current rains will give them an opportunity to rebuild their livelihoods.

The food situation is quickly returning to normal, according to the Ministry Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, which predicts a harvest of 38 million bags of maize this year, just two million bags short of the long-term average of 40 million bags.

Food imports, which caused much commotion between the government and the opposition, are no longer needed.

However, the general relief eclipses the plight of pastoral communities in the north and eastern regions, where vulnerability remains high.

WORST HIT

The latest reports by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) indicate that a vegetation deficit for livestock feed in most of the pastoral areas is still “extreme” or “severe”, meaning that livestock have little forage for survival.

The rains have yet to sufficiently improve the depleted vegetation. The scale of the problem is particularly frightening. It affects half of the counties where animals have died in thousands from lack of forage and water, leaving over 2.6 million people dependent on food and medical aid from the government and humanitarian agencies.

The worst hit counties include Turkana, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandela, Samburu, Isiolo, Laikipia, Tana River and Baringo.

Livestock losses due to drought—this year, in 2014 and 2011—increase the vulnerability of the people, especially women and children, the elderly and the sick.

MALNUTRITION

It reduces the impact of development projects meant to reduce poverty and increase equity in distribution of economic opportunities.

While the government and aid agencies have responded to the crisis, more intense interventions are needed to restore the livelihoods of the affected communities and increase resilience to drought.

The most urgent action is to help them restock.

This will improve their sources of food and incomes. Safeguarding livestock, FAO said in a report in October, is the best defence against hunger and malnutrition.

Several other interventions need to be done with a greater sense of urgency to have a lasting impact. They include the livestock insurance programme, which enables pastoralists to buy animal feed during drought.

The index-based insurance scheme is being expanded from under 20,000 households to reach 100,000 members by 2020. This will greatly improve the lives of the pastoral communities.

The government also needs to step up the construction of dams and water pans to collect and store water during rainy seasons for use during the dry periods.

One of the most promising projects is the development of the aquifers discovered in Turkana and Lotikipi basins, which were reported to hold 250 billion cubic metres of water.

FOOD SUPPLY

Tests on the quality need to be completed and investment in the identified good water sources activated. Integrated development and management of water resources in counties frequently affected by drought will increase supply for domestic and livestock consumption.

It will also support small irrigation projects to supplement food supply to the communities.

These initiatives should be supported by infrastructure projects that enhance the connectivity of the arid and semi-arid areas to markets and services in the rest of the country.

This will stimulate trade in livestock, which is constrained by infrastructure deficit and also the quality of the products.

More targeted and accelerated public investments in the northeastern region will also enable the government to resolve the long-standing cross-border conflicts. Such conflicts are mainly over the sharing of water and pasture between the pastoralist communities, and are more prevalent and vicious during the long dry spells.

Mr Warutere is a director of Mashariki Communications Ltd, [email protected]