Samburu residents drop cattle rustling for promising farming, as a means to peace

Catherine Lolmeweti tends to her onions farm [PHOTOS: KIBIWOTT KOROS/ STANDARD]

By KIBIWOTT KOROSS

Samburu, Kenya: Besides perennial famine, Samburu North is synonymous with cattle raids and the killing of some 42 police officers two years ago.

Here, livelihood is dependent on livestock, which has been the cause of never-ending fatal conflicts between the Turkanas and Samburus who inhabit the area.

In 2012, suspected raiders from Turkana ambushed police officers in Suguta Valley, killing dozens.

But the communities are gradually embracing crop production as a way of stemming the conflicts in the region.

Slowly turning

Coupled with dwindling pasture due to erratic and unreliable rains as a result of climate change, the communities could be forced to abandon their traditional ways of life which include cattle keeping and moranism.

Culturally, young men are not allowed to marry if they do not have cattle and are therefore forced to steal from their neighbours in raids which are bloody and at times result to death.

In Nachola, a Manyatta which was abandoned following the 2012 raids, women are gradually turning to crop production thanks to the efforts of the Catholic Church and a number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s).

Women in the area are now planting cash crops which include onions, tomatoes and sukumawiki.

Catherine Lolmeweti had not imagined tomatoes could grow in Nachola. Despite living near the river, water in the area was only known for cooking and drinking.

“Nobody ever imagined that we could irrigate our farms using the water,” says the 42-year-old mother of twelve.

In Samburu North, the Turkana live on the Western side while the Samburu occupy the Eastern part. The Baragoi-Maralal road makes the physical boundary between the two communities. When livestock cross either side, they cannot be traced. Both communities are pastoralists.

The two communities have on many occasions been involved in armed conflicts. Samburu is blighted by insecurity, in part due to proliferation of small arms that promote cattle rustling.

“We have decided to try to change the lifestyles of the two communities. It has not been easy but we are doing all we can,” says Lucy Espila who is the Gender Focal Person for The Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (Cafod).

Peace building

Cafod is an international  NGO which supports a variety of programmes including sustainable livelihoods, peace building initiatives, health and nutrition, disaster risk reduction, gender and emergency response in Samburu.

Ms Espila says the organisation resorted to training locals to practise crop farming in order to shift from cattle keeping, which according to her; has been the source of the perennial fighting between the two communities. 

“Baragoi plains has good grass and it is not hot. Herders like the place because the grass does not dry up so fast and that is why there has been fighting around Baragoi,” says Espila.

According to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), over 10,000 people have been displaced because of the raids.

“So far, the situation is still tense and attacks are being carried out ev ery day. More than 10,000 people have been displaced, about 8,000 of them children,” says Gitonga Mugambi, the KRCS coordinator in Samburu County.

Provide labour

Lolmeweti says last year, through their green house project, they produced about 50 crates of tomatoes, which is approximately 2.5 tones in less than six months.

“Cafod gave us seeds and the green house. Ours was to provide labour and it was amazing that we had such harvest during our first trial,” says Lolmeweti  who is the chairlady of Nachola women group.

Cafod has constructed 12 green houses in Baragoi, Nachola, Baragoi town, Bendera, South Horr and Tuum.

Stella Ngalewa who is in charge of Tuum women group says the greenhouse has seen them stay in the area for the longest since she was married about 30 years ago.

She says: “Our family used to move from one place to another looking for pasture for our cattle. Our children attended more than three schools in a year or sometimes missed school when we migrated to areas where there are no schools.”

She says livestock has been the source of conflicts in the area.

“If the cows were not there; our communities could be living in peace. I am happy we are seeing new things like crop farming coming up. The raids will stop because nobody will steal onions or sukumawiki,” she says.

The women are only let down by lack of market and lack of transport to Baragoi and Maralal; the only available markets for their produce.

“Maralal is about 200 kilometers away and there are no vehicles here in Nachola to help us transport our produce,” Ngalewa says.

 She adds: “At one time, we tried to hire a pick-up but we were shocked when we were asked to raise Sh10,000 for only 12 crates of tomatoes.”

In Maralal, the prices were also discouraging as a crate was going for Sh1,000, which translated to a profit of less than Sh200.

Stephen Lolkiyapai, a retired teacher says he had also joined the women in farming.

“I have seen the potential of cash crop production in this region. I am happy because I have made some cash from my small farm and hope it will increase this season,” he says.

According to the 2009 government index, Samburu is the second poorest district in the country with over 83 per cent of its population living below poverty line.

Farmers sort tomatoes after a harvest in Tuum area of Samburu North district. [PHOTOS: KIBIWOTT KOROS/ STANDARD]

Farming methods

Alex Leseketi, a programmes officer with the Arid Lands and Resource Management (ALRMP), says despite the area having good arable land, the community still largely depends on pastoralism.

“But this has to change. Cattle rustling and prevalence of livestock diseases has shown that there is need to change survival tactics,” he says.

Samburu County Governor Moses Kasaine Lenolkulal says locals will be equipped with knowledge in farming.

The governor observes that while the county is sparsely populated with approximately 200,000 people, a small percentage of semi-pastoral inhabitants practice agriculture.

“Some 30,000 acres are suitable for farming, with areas of Poros, Malaso, Lpartuk and others being suitable for producing cereals. A few farmers grow barley and wheat in these areas,” he notes.

The governor says locals will be equipped with knowledge on drought resistant crops and modern farming methods.

He says that water harvesting during floods is necessary so that it is utilised for irrigation and livestock consumption during dry spell.