General context

General Context

Turkana District has a long record of droughts, to which the Turkana pastoralists have adapted themselves to a certain extent by establishing a livelihood most suited for the fragile and harsh environment in which they live. Additionally various coping strategies can be put in place to deal with harshening conditions. Most of these coping strategies evolve around ensuring the survival of the livestock herds on which they depend to a large extent for food security. 
However, during a severe drought causing scarcity of pasture and water and thus loss of livestock, these traditional coping strategies can become increasingly insufficient, leaving the communities vulnerable.
Surviving animals are weak and prone to disease and emaciation. The decline in livestock numbers is disrupting the pastoral way of life, the very basis of subsistence. Beyond a certain point recovery becomes impossible and people remain destitute and dependent on food aid.

The Turkana Drought Mitigation Intervention was a reaction to the severity of the ’99 / 2000 drought that hit northern Kenya. The agencies SNV-Kenya, CAPE (OAU/IBAR) and VSF-Belgium decided to cooperate in order to mitigate the impact of the drought on the livestock sector, in an effort to save the livelihood of the communities.

Specific constraints

In the early warning bulletin for the district the drought situation was clearly summarized:

1. Body condition of all livestock species continued to deteriorate due to scarcity of forage.
2. All divisions recorded negative net growth rate linked to high mortality and very low reproductive rate among all livestock species.
3. High mortality rates, especially among the mature stock/core breeding-herds poses a major threat to the future of the pastoralists’ livelihood (24 and 46.5% of households reported mortality rates mostly among mature cattle and camels respectively).
4. Despite high demand for livestock, the volume of trade remained very low.
5. With decline of livestock, prices remained low.

SNV-Kenya, Parc-vac and VSF-Belgium realized the severity of the situation and wanted emphasize the need to ensure the basic livelihood of the Turkana people. The Turkana pastoralists depend heavily, though not exclusively, on livestock. Due to the persistent drought livestock numbers were declining, which undermined the pastoralist way of life. Remaining animals were weak and prone to disease and emaciation. By strengthening the herd livelihoods are strengthened and chances of recovery are improved. The implementing agencies are also acutely aware of the dilemma between relief interventions and existing longer-term development activities and with this project an effort was made to minimize undermining of existing systems and avoid creation of dependency among the Turkana nomads.

Objectives

Overall Objective

The overall objective of this drought mitigation intervention is to mitigate the effects of the drought on the pastoralists of Turkana District, thus enhancing the current food security and improving speed of recovery.

Specific Objectives

1. To improve the health status of drought-stricken livestock. This enhances their change of survival and thus their continued contribution to food security in the area, and the speed of recovery of the herds when the rains return.
2. Increase livestock off-take with the view of providing Turkana pastoralists timely opportunities to sell their weakened livestock and as such obtain adequate revenue to address their immediate needs.
3. Through Conflict Mitigation activities create a peaceful environment conductive to livestock keeping activities. Increased access to pastures and water sources offers more possibilities to pastoralists to apply their copings strategies and counteracts drought-impact on livestock.

Activities

1. Increase off-take of goats in reasonable condition through provision of transport subsidy to local traders.
2. Local slaughter of goats and production of dry meat: Weaker goats will be bought by local women operated butcheries that will slaughter and dry the meat. The program will guarantee off-take, and meat will be distributed to school and clinic feeding programs.
3. Provision of subsidized veterinary medicines: Drugs made available to the Community Animal Health Workers at subsidized rates. CAHW incentives will be charged us usual.
4. Vaccination of goats against CCPP (contagious pneumonia): Vaccination of goats will be carried out by the Community Animal Health Worker for a service charge.
5. Conflict mitigation carried out through paired border harmonization meetings between representatives of the different communities (Jie, Matheniko, Dodoth, Merille, Pokot, Toposa, Nyangatom, Didinga).
6. Purchase and distribution of supplementary animal feed: to assess if supplementary animal feeding is a suitable intervention in times of drought and pasture scarcity, to keep reproductive stock alive so that they can be the take-off point after drought.

Beneficiairies

The target population are the pastoralists of Turkana District. Since all interventions are based on cost-recovery, it is realized that not all pastoralists will have equal access to the services offered as access will depend on cash availability and on awareness of the benefits on the services. But it must also be understood that there is in intricate network of stock loaning relationships between different members of the community. From anthropological literature it seems very likely that stock will also get distributed to the less-fortunate.

Traditional drought coping strategies include the following: Search for pastures outside their usual grazing areas, also across international borders, Preservations of certain areas for times of extreme drought; Division of large hers into smaller units, species and production specific; Keeping of multiple species; Stock loaning between relatives and friends; Additions to the diet, like wild fruits and bartered cereals; Begging for food.