Range Reseeding Dynamics and the Heterogeneity of Pastoralists from Lake Baringo, Kenya

Abstract

Land degradation, climate variability, socio-economic changes and population increase, are shrinking grazing lands making forage availability less predictable and affect the resilience of pastoralists communities. Interventions to improve pastoralists' resilience include the introduction of policies that offer pastoralists alternative sources of livelihood and encourage livelihood diversification that is climate-proof. Though viable, these interventions are not sustainable and often fail because they lack to embrace the needs, aspirations and preferences of these uniquely cultured communities. This research taps into the potential of range reseeding as an intervention that can rehabilitate degraded lands for profitable use ultimately improving their resilience to climate variability and other interrelated challenges by engaging in diverse income generating activities without having to change their culture which is entirely livestock based. This study uses two pastoral communities, the Tugen and the Njemps from Lake Baringo, Kenya to study the dynamics of range reseeding as pastoralists who own, manage and use reseeded fields. The study interviews 193 pastoralist households and determines characteristics of adoption of the range reseeding exercise, field use, herd characteristics and the challenges of the different localized geographical landscapes to these two communities. The results suggest that these communities are different in several ways. The Tugen community initially reseed more fields than the Njemps, but later, the Njemps reseed more fields and of larger sizes. The two tribes also differ in their field use with Tugen participating more in cutting thatching grass while the Njemps prefer to engage in fattening programs, two activities with varying levels of profitability. Each community also faces different sets of challenges based on their geographical landscapes. Invasive species and short term flooding is the greatest challenge among the Njemps, while insecurity resulting from resource based conflicts is common among the Tugens. The average survival rate for livestock following the 2019 drought was 75% with both communities having similar herd sizes per household. Through these findings, the study advocates for range reseeding to be replicated and up-scaled into other dry land counties of Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa as a possible intervention to improve resilience to climate variability and a strategy for poverty alleviation. At the same time, it cautions on the importance of accounting for heterogeneity of communities that benefit from interventions.