Herders move to Uganda in search of water

The persistent dry spell has led to competition for water resources in the North Rift region.

Pastoralists are migrating in their droves in search of pasture, while others have descended on river banks to cultivate food crops, adversely affecting water tables.

Some herders in the northern parts of West Pokot County have crossed into Uganda in search of water and pasture as the dry spell continues to ravage vegetation. The movement has, in some instances, been blamed for sporadic conflicts among herders, and the spread of livestock diseases. Recently, veterinary officials from Kenya and Uganda formed a joint vaccination drive to vaccinate livestock against diseases such as East Coast fever and peste des Petit ruminants.

Officials from the two countries met recently in Kitale to deliberate on the drive, that is funded by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

The scorching sun experienced from late last year has left the ground with little crop cover, while a number of livestock are emaciated due to lack of adequate feed.

Most seasonal rivers have dried up while water levels in others including the Suam River have dropped leading to migration. Some families in the region and the neighbouring Turkana County living along the border have also joined the herders as they stare at starvation following poor crop development due to low rainfall in mid last year.

Simon Lokiria, a resident of Orolwo in Kacheliba, said a number of families have moved either to Uganda or other parts of the county to sojourn with relatives during this harsh season.

“It has been so dry here. Even the shrubs our goats have been feeding on are drying up and we are only left with the option of moving our animals elsewhere,” he said.

Most roads linking the villages to Uganda are dusty and strong whirlwinds common in December and January have left the few leafy shrubs dry.

Villagers are calling on the Government to give them relief food and initiate long term projects that will ensure plenty of pasture and water for both domestic and agricultural use.

“We have experienced perennial droughts and flash floods but it is time the Government came up with a long-term solution such as sinking more boreholes and developing pasture varieties that can withstand harsh climatic conditions,” said Samuel Psergon, a resident of Kacheliba.

While the National Youth Service has been sinking water pans, residents feel they are not enough and other areas that are in need of the resource have not been well covered.

The situation has adversely affected the recently established Nasukuta abattoir in Chepareria which relies on local livestock farmers. “Farmers have been selling their livestock to the slaughter house and we also benefit when they buy items from our shops from the proceeds. But with the ravaging drought, they do not supply much since prices have dropped due to the drought situation,” said a shop attendant in Chepareria.