Kenya and EU’s efforts turning around ASALs

The Kenyan government recognises the need to do more in addressing vulnerabilities in ASALs.

The Government and its partner, the European Union, have put in a lot of effort into the development of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs).

Whilst ASALs are still prone to climatic shocks, have inadequate infrastructure and rank low on the human development index, they undoubtedly have great economic and development potential.

From the lessons learnt in past development efforts in ASALs, it is now evident that by fast-tracking and enhancing the consolidation and exploitation of development opportunities available in the region, we can help to unlock enormous untapped potential for Kenya’s economic growth.

ASALs not only offer abundant natural resources, they are also strategically located for regional trade and have other significant geo-social advantages.

The Kenyan government recognises the need to do more in addressing vulnerabilities in ASALs and has taken bold measures to give special attention to the region based on its unique needs.

Just last year, the State Department for Development of the ASALs was established under the Ministry of Devolution and the ASALs to coordinate overall planning and development of policies and programmes. This is part of a continuous review of government development planning policy to accommodate diversity in national development planning.

This paradigm shift has seen deliberate effort by government and its partners to invest in the foundations for development to bring the region to the same threshold as the rest of the country.

The EU has been a key partner to Kenya’s efforts to address the challenges that it faces, especially in the ASALs. The EU is supporting the Ministry of Devolution and ASALs mainly in the areas of food security and resilience to climatic shocks.

This support is aligned with the Government’s Vision 2030 development strategy and the Big Four development priorities.

Over the years, the EU has been providing resources through a combination of programmes within sectors in the ASALs.

Over the last decade, the EU has provided more than Sh33 billion (€300m) through these programmes to strengthen the agriculture sector, food security, infrastructure (roads and water) and resilience to climatic shocks.

This support is informed by the fact that smallholder farmers and pastoralists are the backbone of many of Kenya’s local economies and communities, with about 75 per cent of the population deriving all or part of their livelihoods from agriculture.

Regional collaboration

Concurrently, the EU is the market for 87 per cent of Kenya’s agricultural exports.

Risks are rarely confined within national borders, which makes regional collaboration an essential part of resilience building. The EU Trust Fund for Africa therefore supports a cross-border programme between Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

The ‘Building Opportunities for Resilience in the Horn of Africa (BORESHA)’ and the ‘Regional Approaches for Sustainable Conflict Management and Integration (RAMSI)’ projects, financed under the Trust Fund to the tune of €14 million and €3 million respectively, seek to prevent and mitigate the impact of conflicts through equitable and sustainable management of cross-border rangeland and other shared natural resources.

Locally, the EU is also supporting devolution through the ‘Instruments for Devolution Advice and Support (IDEAS)’, a Sh3.3 billion bilateral programme strengthening national institutional capacities in the management of the devolution process, fiscal decentralisation and development of capacities in counties.

Drought is one of the biggest threats to the well-being of communities living in the ASALs.

The EU is, therefore, collaborating with the Government to strengthen resilience to drought and climate change under the Government’s Ending Drought Emergencies strategy.

The EU has since 2007 invested more than Sh8 billion towards this for drought management under different projects implemented by the National Drought Management Authority.

Through our concerted efforts, Kenya is now better placed to manage drought. Proof of this can be found in the Government’s management of the 2016/18 drought.

This drought was more severe than the one in 2010/11, but its detrimental effects were mitigated more successfully and were therefore comparatively lower.

The EU’s support has also aided in the improvement of the drought early warning system; mainstreaming of response and preparedness into development planning; investment in strategic preparedness projects; and establishment of a financing mechanism for drought response.

As stakeholders congregate at this year’s ASALs Conference in Kajiado, we lend our collective voice to the rallying call to continue support to the ASALs under the theme ‘Consolidating ASALs development for posterity’.

It is only by taking stock of our progress that we are able to plan ahead, re-think the design of future projects, and ensure that the lessons learnt are adequately taken into account, in order to maintain the significant progress and momentum in developing the ASALs, which the Government with the support of the EU has achieved. 

Mr Wamalwa is the Devolution and ASALs Cabinet Secretary, while Ambassador Mordue is Head of the European Union Delegation to Kenya