Women hit hard as long drought worsens human, wildlife conflict

Thousands of Kenyans are facing starvation following a drought that has ravaged 10 out of the 47 counties. Already, the government has declared the drought a national disaster.

Mostly affected are rural women struggling to feed their families and make ends meet. Matters have been made worse by human-wildlife conflict in worst-hit counties of Laikipia, Taita Taveta, and Kajiado hit hardest.

Laikipia

According to Julia Nyambura, a 28-year-old farmer from Jikaze village, Mugogodo ward, elephants are giving farmers sleepless nights. "Just last week, we were woken up by strange noises, only to come out and find a stray elephant rampaging over the family's kitchen garden," she said.

"I left my job overseas to come back and follow my passion for farming on my father's land, only to lose my crop of maize, beans, and potatoes to elephants, said the youthful farmer. She said in the last five months, hardly a week went without the elephants visiting. Her greatest frustration is that the elephants not only destroy the crops but also drink water in the irrigation water dams.

Nyambura is a beneficiary of UN Women's Women Economic Empowerment (WEE)-CSA (Climate-Smart Agriculture) project.

"This makes the recently introduced smart-climate agriculture method of farming by the UN Women-FAO project impracticable," said Agneta Aleyo, field officer, FAO. She said that the conflict is creating challenges to the 40 women groups under the WEE-CSA project in Umande, Tigithii, and Mukogodo wards of Laikipia County, where drought and wildlife-human conflict are highest.

The project is funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency and is being implemented by UN Women in Partnership with FAO, and the county governments in the Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) counties of Laikipia, West Pokot, and Kitui. It was rolled out in 2020 and will run until 2023.

Jane Waweru, an agricultural extension ward officer attached to the project, said the project is supporting the farming of geranium, an "elephant-resistant" crop due to its smell.

"The elephants do not like the smell of the crop that is used as a source of essential oils used in cosmetics," said Waweru, adding that the crop has been introduced to some farmers across the 40 women groups, and is doing well.

David Nthenya, field manager with Kutoka Ardini, the company that is contracting farmers, said working with women groups is ideal. "We partner with women groups to promote geranium farming in areas of human-wildlife conflict because the crop is resistant to wildlife and domestic animals," said Nthenya.

"The four-year project will contribute to food security and realisation of Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2 and 5, as it is aligned with the national policies and strategies like Ending Drought Emergencies Framework and the National Adaptation Plan, said Moses Muriithi, programme assistant, UNWomen.

Taita Taveta

In Kasigau Conservancy in Taita Taveta, families are scared of wild animals, particularly elephants. They roam freely, clearing whatever they come across and it has been a game of community versus the elephants, with the community sometimes injuring the elephants.

"This is the worst drought we have witnessed in the last four years. The drought has caused wildlife to stroll out of their controlled areas into the conservancies to look for water and pasture, resulting in wildlife-human conflict," said Tabitha Ndombolo, a warden at Kasigau Wildlife Conservancy.

A guided tour by Tabitha revealed the worst drought effects ever experienced in recent history. She pointed out three dams that have since dried, up leaving cracks on the ground.

"However, it seems KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) is only concerned about the safety of the elephants and not the community, and the rangers are not able to keep the elephants at bay because they are not armed," said Agnes Mwamburi, a resident of Rukanga village, Voi Sub-county, Taita Taveta. She has since given up on farming.

She said the elephants had recently damaged water tanks in search of water, and destroyed some temporary structures, especially if they smell water or maize flour.

"We have to make sure that we escort and pick up our children to and from school. This state of affairs is worsened by the fact that most of the conservancies here are community owned and an individual cannot build permanent structures," she said.

In Teli B conservancy, women cannot go about their business due to the fear of encountering elephants, said Wambosha Kamattah, a board member of the conservancy.

"Taita Taveta is on record for many cultural norms and practices that do not recognise women as equal partners with men, cutting off women as decision-makers both at family, conservancy, and community levels," said Wambosha. The outcome is that even though women are the most affected in situations like drought and human-wildlife conflict, their voices are not heard.

Kajiado

In Eweso Kendong in Kajiado County, residents lament the destruction caused by elephants that have invaded the community since last year due to prolonged drought.

"The elephants have come in large numbers and have caused a lot of damage to our farms that we have struggled to manage through climate-smart agriculture, a new way of farming," said Lucy Naiponai, a farmer.

Last week, said Naiponai, elephants came in large numbers at night, and the community had to come out to try and scare them away by using vehicles and boda-boda lights and hooting.