Mama Areng Lokinding of Eyem Village in Turkana West prepares sorghum harvest earlier this month. Photo/TOM MARUKO
By PETER NG’ETICH pngetich@ke.nationmedia.com AND JACOB NG’ETICH jngetich@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Wednesday, August 17 2011 at 22:30
Posted Wednesday, August 17 2011 at 22:30
Drought in Turkana may be severe, but in some areas people are groaning under a bumper harvest.
The Nation conducted an air survey, that revealed plenty amid scarcity.
Later, during a ground visit, area resident Kariworeng Esinyen was found putting sorghum into bags in Kalobeyei Village, Turkana West.
On Wednesday, the mother of 11 was thrashing the millet for the third day and had 12 bags from part of the farm she planted four months ago.
Her immediate problem was where to safely store her harvest; her Manyatta is small and cannot contain all the food.
“I have borrowed space at my neighbour’s shop, but for short while. I have only harvested a half of the farm,” said Mrs Esinyen.
Her husband Ekuwom Esinyen said they planned to sell some produce. “We will do a few things with the money. We have children going to school, and we plan to pay school fees for them,” he said.
Bags of sorghum
Metres away, a contented Ms Aleng Lokiding also had seven bags of sorghum. (Read: There’s more to pastoralist woes than irrigation and abattoirs)
Her children were playing next to their Manyatta, unaware other children faced starvation across district.
“We hear people in Todonyang and Kibish are facing starvation; we feel sorry for them, but here as you can see, we have food. We are not complaining. Our problem is how we will store this food,” said Mrs Lokiding.
In the Kaldokunyuk Project in the same district, Mr Dominic Papa is a content husband and father; he can feed his family for a few months, perhaps until he harvests again.
Mr Papa now has six bags of millet he is confident will feed him and his children for three or four months.
“You know this millet is not like maize, you cook a little and you are full. So this food can take us far,” said Mr Papa.
The same story is told of Morulem near Lokori in Turkana South.
Famers in the “oasis” have a bountiful harvest in complete contrast to their counterparts in the same county a few kilometres away.
Mr Losekon Ayanga, 65, a resident of Morulem in Turkana South, said they had rescued hundreds of their fellow community members for several years now.
“Every year, tens of people come here very hungry and we always share the little that we have. They are our people and we cannot see them suffering while we have the little we have,” said Mr Anyanga.
The father of 11 said they plant continuously and when they harvest their food is finished within a short time because people from other villages come starving.
Mr Anyanga said: “Sometimes, even at night, people, total strangers do visit. We are obliged to share the little, and some have stayed here and become part of us.”
Mr James Kipkan, the programme manager, Turkana Rehabilitation Programme, said there was great potential in Turkana to turn it to produce food.
“What we need is to change tact. Humanitarian agencies should consider investing in assets where locals can be assisted to generate their own food instead of depending on aid,” appealed Mr Kipkan.
Mr Kipkan said they had used rain water harvesting technology, rehabilitation of community irrigation schemes, sub-surface water abstraction, soil conservation and floods control in a few projects with tremendous success.
“We use government annual funding to undertake major civil works while using the food aid and non food items received from the UN World Food Programme to facilitate the Food for Assets (FFA) project and build resilience to drought and famine,” said Mr Kipkan.
His programme hopes to increasing the land surface area under rain water harvesting, retention, and eventual crop and animal fodder production. The projects include group bunds, water pan, rock catchments, rock dams, micro catchments, and shallow wells.
The Turkana rehabilitation programme is implementing projects in 59 settlements to directly benefit 13,400 people.
Turkana West district agricultural officer Alphonse Lusweti said water harvesting for livestock and crop production was the solution to Turkana’s perennial food shortages.
“Food security can be attained if locals ventured into crop production,” said Mr Lusweti.
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