Govt needs more extension officers in arid counties
Donor partners are urging the government to play a more active role in the arid counties to assist farmers in transitioning from traditional practices, providing advice, and collecting data that can make a difference in Kenya’s dry regions.
During a meeting with the Ministry of East Africa and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALS), the donors emphasized the need for the government to encourage pastoralists to move away from overstocking vast herds of livestock, shift from planting maize to drought-resistant crops, and promote the use of feedlots.
Swedish Ambassador Caroline Vicini shared her recent experiences in ASALS, where she encountered a woman who had planted maize but lost it all to drought while her husband and children were away for a year with the cattle. She also witnessed cases in Kerio Valley where farmers had planted maize on slopes, posing a mudslide risk, particularly with the upcoming El Nino rains.
Conduct outreach
“There needs to be very high-level individuals on the ground with technical expertise to conduct outreach and change habits, especially regarding the types of crops suitable for these areas,” she emphasized. “We know that the country has reduced the number of extension officers, but change will not happen unless people change their practices.”
The Ambassador added that the government must collect data on the number of cattle kept, daily milk yield, and average incomes from slaughter to determine whether traditional practices are now more of a liability than a store of wealth.
With over 80 percent of the country falling in dry areas with insufficient rainfall, Kenyan farmers continue to plant maize and maintain a large number of animals, which cannot be sustained by the climate. This has led to recurrent cycles of hunger, necessitating consistent relief efforts from the government and donors.
Cabinet Secretary Peninnah Malonza pointed out that about 4.4 million people in the ASALs and an additional 495,362 in nine non-traditional ASAL regions faced acute food insecurity and required relief assistance during Kenya’s longest drought in four decades.
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Cushion livelihoods
“The Government has so far spent approximately Kes2 billion to cushion the lives and livelihoods of Kenyans affected by drought. These interventions have been in the form of relief food, emergency relief cash transfers, support for the school feeding programme, cash transfers under the Hunger Safety Net Programme, water trucking, and livestock off-take,” CS Malonza stated.
“The County Governments have complemented the efforts of the National Government in providing relief food assistance and scaling up cash transfers.”
The Ministry, led by Ms Malonza, is working closely with donors to coordinate interventions in the area and improve their impact on livelihoods. The ministry will prioritize coordination, peace-building, scaling relief efforts, and accelerating socio-economic and infrastructure development.
“We are committed to continuing our engagement with each partner to ensure that we harmonize our efforts towards achieving resilience and sustainable development in ASALS counties, as stated in the BETA. As part of our strategy, we have already initiated the development of a resilience tracker linked to GIS, which will aid in tracking each partner’s contributions and the desired outcomes,” PS Harsama said.
