•The project is known as Strengthening Drought Resilience for Small Holder Farmers and Pastoralists (DRESS-EA”) in the IGAD region and is worth $ 13,079, 540 (Sh 1,581,470,724.572) and will be rolled out next year.
•Countries set to benefit under the project include Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda.
The capacity of the most vulnerable communities in Kitui and Samburu counties is set to be strengthened once the drought resilience program is rolled out early next year.
The project is known as Strengthening Drought Resilience for Small Holder Farmers and Pastoralists (DRESS-EA”) in the IGAD region and is worth $ 13,079, 540 (Sh 1,581,470,724.572) and will be rolled out next year.
Countries set to benefit under the project include Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda.
The project focus is to increase the resilience of smallholder farmers and pastoralists to climate change risks mainly those related to drought, through the establishment of appropriate early warning systems and implementation of drought adaptation actions in the IGAD region.
With funds from the Adaptation Fund, the project is being implemented by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory.
Already, over 52 million people are facing starvation in the Greater Horn of Africa,- Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and the Karamoja region of Uganda, following the worst drought in 40 years.
In Kenya, more than 23 counties with more than 4.35 million people are starving.
On Wednesday, experts met at Double Tree by Hilton, Nairobi to review and provide strategic guidance for the planning and execution of technical activities of the DRESS-EA project; review and provide guidance in the coordination of project interventions and activities of the National Executing Entities.
They also reviewed and made recommendations on the progress of the project work.
The meeting was attended by Tom Mirasi (Kenya), a Chief Economist, Prof Abou Obeida Hassan, Director of Hydraulic Resources Center (Sudan) and Khaoula Jaoui, a coordinator climate department Sahara Sahel.
Mirasi said most countries have received the resources adding that sites and vulnerable areas in Kitui and Samburu have since been identified.
“The project will kick off next year.”
The experts said once the project starts, farmers will be equipped with information in order to sustain the project.
They said the project will respond to the needs of the local communities.
The funds will be used to develop and enhance a regional drought early warning system, strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to manage drought risks due to climate change effects and enhance knowledge management, awareness creation and information sharing.
Kitui and Samburu are among the 14 counties that have been identified by the government as being at risk of severe drought.
Baringo, Garissa, Isiolo, Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, Mandera and Marsabit, Tana River, Turkana and Wajir are staring at severe drought.
The executing agency for the new project at the regional level for the project will be the Global Water Partnership Eastern Africa hosted by the Nile Basin Initiative secretariat.
At the country level, the project will be executed by the ministry of environment.
Water pollution, food insecurity, civil conflict over water, food, and pastures, drying up of rivers, streams and aquifers and general land degradation (vegetation and soil degradation) are major impacts of droughts resulting from climate change.
It is estimated that over three million livestock have since died in the country due to the ongoing drought.
Conflicts resulting from the displacement of communities by transhumance-seeking water and pastures are also a common phenomenon.
Fortunately, the proposed project presents an opportunity to complement the Kenya National Adaptation plan 2016 which aims to strengthen the adaptive capacity of vulnerable groups to manage drought risks through technological support, awareness raising, up-scaling, and financing specific drought adaptation actions.
According to the project brief seen by Star, the project is set to benefit 288,769 people in Kitui and 134,400 in Samburu.
The areas have about 14,137.2 km2 of arable agricultural land and 6,364.4 km2 of non-arable land.
Despite such a proportion of land area that is unavailable for crop and livestock farming in Kitui, agriculture remains the backbone of the economy.
In the highlands of Kitui for instance, farmers are involved in subsistence agriculture by mainly growing cotton, tobacco, sisal, mangoes, maize, beans, cassava, sorghum, millet and pigeon peas.
Kitui has three different climates: hot semi-arid climates, tropical savanna climates and warm-summer Mediterranean climates.
The county receives between 500mm and 1050mm of rainfall annually, with an average rainfall of 900mm a year.
It has two rainy seasons; May-June (long rains) and September-October (short rains).
Kitui is mostly dry and hot with temperatures ranging between 14°C during the coldest months (July-August) and 34°C during the hottest months (January-March).
“These crops are well adapted to the climatic conditions of Kitui characterised by the hot dry months with high temperatures.
The brief says farmers in the lowlands keep livestock - mainly cattle, sheep, goats, and chicken - as a means to supplement crop farming as their source of income.
Livestock rearing is the backbone of Samburu County’s economy.
Samburu is one of the driest counties in Kenya with temperatures ranging between 25°C during the coldest months (June and July) and 35°C during the hottest months (January to March).
The county receives between 200mm and 250mm of rainfall annually.
The rainfall pattern is unpredictable and at times the county receives no rain in a whole year.
The majority of people are nomadic pastoralists who mainly keep cattle, camels, sheep and goats.
These animals are mainly sold to the Kenya Meat Commission as well as traders from Nairobi and other neighbouring towns, especially during droughts.
The project brief says despite the harsh climatic conditions, some Samburu residents have recently started growing crops in an effort to fight starvation and boost food security.
Drought-resistant crops such as millet, sorghum and certain species of maize are grown in areas such as Lpartuk, Poros and Malaso.
“Given such enormous challenges to agricultural crop and livestock production, there is a need to undertake interventions aimed at increasing the resilience of agricultural systems in the proposed project sites in Kenya,” the project brief says.