Assessing the Drought Adaptation Strategies and Institutional Interventions in the Pastoral Livelihood System in Narok County, Kenya

Abstract

Drought has been the leading cause of vulnerability among populations who live in Kenya's arid and semiarid lands. Mosiro ward, whose residents mainly practice pastoralism, is classified as ASAL in Narok County. The pastoralists have, over time, developed drought adaptation strategies. Therefore, this research was carried out to identify and assess the adaptive mechanisms adopted by the pastoral community to cope with drought in Mosiro ward in Narok, Kenya. The study had the following objectives; to identify and assess the adaptation strategies used by pastoralists to cope with recurrent drought; to analyze government responses in mitigating the effects of drought and assist the pastoral community to cope with drought; and to appraise the current drought risk management strategy in addressing drought issues in Kenya. A case study design was used. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. Data was collected through household interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The iterative approach model was used to analyze qualitative data to extract major themes and concepts to be discussed. Analysis of quantitative data was done using the SPSS software to acquire descriptive statistics and the results presented in tables, bar graphs, and pie charts. To quantify the different degrees of drought intensity, between 1964 and 2015, a standard precipitation index was derived from long-term rainfall data from the Kenya Meteorological Services for Narok station. Results revealed that droughts were increasingly frequent and have impacted negatively on the pastoral livelihoods. The socioeconomic characteristics indicate that most of the respondents are pastoralists with low levels of education. Most of the households are headed by males. Water scarcity is a serious problem. Respondents perceive drought to be as natural phenomenon that is exacerbated by human activities such as deforestation, industrial pollution, and climate change. The pastoral community has traditional methods of weather forecasting. The pastoralists have developed various strategies to adapt to drought. These include herd mobility, herd splitting, herd diversification, livestock sales, and livelihood diversification, among others. The most important strategy is mobility. Livelihood diversification was rated highly but was hampered by lack of funding. Self-help groups and table banking proved useful in providing much needed funds through savings and loans. Adaptation is hampered by a lack of funding, livestock markets, insecurity and inadequate infrastructure. The government assistance primarily included providing of emergency food, animal feed and water. However, these were deemed ineffective by the respondents. The government has put in place policy and institutional frameworks to address the issue of drought emergencies. However, insufficient funding, poor prioritizing and coordination has hampered effective implementation of these policies. Based on the findings, the study recommends policy measures to promote pastoralists’ resilience. These include establishing more schools, improving livestock markets and communication infrastructure, developing water resources and providing credit facilities, establishment of more and better equipped weather stations for a more effective early warning system, and enhanced provision of veterinary and medical services. Security should be enhanced to curtail resource-based conflicts, especially along the migratory routes. Policies that promote transition to communal and customary land tenure will further benefit pastoral livelihoods and rangeland conservation. An index-based insurance system should be introduced. This study recommends further research to evaluate the economic impact and benefits of the identified effective stratagems in order to identify the most cost-effective drought adaptation strategies