• All you hear about are deaths, hunger and drought in Turkana.
• But there's a little Garden of Eden in Turkana South where residents have food aplenty.
Image: AGATHA NGOTHO
Arid, sandy, scorching Turkana is in the news because of deaths and drought, which happen every year. But here's a good news story.
Turkana south has plenty of food and irrigation has made the parched earth bloom. Towering green maize, sorghum, cotton cow peas, green grams, tomatoes, sukuma wiki, kale, watermelon, bananas and more. The welcome problem: finding enough market for maize.
During a trip to a Turkana on Friday, we learnt all is far from lost.
We braved rough terrain and 37 degrees Celsius heat for several hours.
We passed small towns, slumbering in the heat. Men sat in groups and playing 'ajua' or mancala, a board game played with small stones, beans or seeds.
While the men were hanging out, as usual, women with babies wrapped on their backs were busy collecting firewood and carrying jerrycans of water.
Finally, low and behold: Four hundred acres of green maize standing tall; it seemed like a mirage.
Daniel Waweru, the National Irrigation Board officer in charge of the Katilu Irrigation Scheme, said more than 2,800 farmers are growing maize and in the lower area and farmers have planted 50 acres of green grams.
Milton Ioito, vice chair of the scheme, said in hunger-stricken parts of the county and country residents suffer but here there's enough food. Residents can feed themselves, sell their surplus and pay for their children's school fees and uniforms.
Last year they were contracted by the World Food Programme to grow sorghum and cow peas; the 2,800 farmers sold 40 metric tonnes.
“We got about Sh4.2 million that we shared amongst ourselves,” he said. “We also sell produce to traders in Lokichar, Lodwar and Kakuma Refugee camp through WFP," Ioito said.
Farmers sell a 90kg bag of maize at Sh3,000, a bag of kale for 1,500 to Sh2,000, a watermelon for Sh200 to Sh300 and a crate of tomatoes goes for Sh2,000 to Sh3,000.
Green grams are highly sought after by local schools and a kilo goes for Sh120.
The irrigation scheme is approximately 130km south of Lodwar Town.
It was started in 1966 but came into full operation in 1970 through efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, which provided capital and technical personnel.
Image: AGATHA NGOTHO
The scheme is along the Turkwel River, which is perennial. The scheme uses gravity not electric pumps.
Waweru said the scheme was aimed at settling nomadic families from 'famine camps' in Turkana.
The scheme covered 500 acres, and each family got an acre. The main crops were maize, cotton and sorghum.
In 1982 the system changed from furrow/channel to a basin because farmers were unable to raise 50 per cent advance payment for mechanised furrow system cultivation.
In 2011, NIB reinstate furrow irrigation. It was dilapidated and most fields and paths were covered by invasive mathenge bushes, a fast-growing menace in ASAL.
“Farmers started getting good harvests but access to market was a challenge. We linked them with markets,” Waweru said.
In 2012, farmers delivered 2,800 90kg bags to the National Cereals and Produce Board depot in Lodwar.
Farmers sold watermelons to Tullow Oil Company. In 2017, horticultural farmers sold tomatoes, sukuma wiki and bananas to Kakuma Refugee Camp through WFP.
They had problems such as lack of knowledge of modern agricultural practices, lack of stable market and inadequate post-harvest handling facilities.
They face crop disease and pests, such as the fall armyworm and the fast-growing mathenge bushes.
The drought has led to conflict between farmers and pastoralists.
Most livestock keepers from other areas have parts have migrated near the irrigation scheme for the water. They steal maize.
Neighbours from West Pokot are also stealing crops.
"We want the government to intervene and provide security so we get good yields," Ioioto said.