WEST POKOT, Kenya – In the wake of adverse effects of climate change and food insecurity among communities in Kenya’s North Rift region, local women are fast embracing short-season crops for their households.
The crops boost food security in the Arid and Semi-Arid regions and help fight child malnutrition.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), malnutrition levels are at 29 pc for children in rural areas, while 20 pc of those living in cities are stunted.
To achieve this, these women have benefitted from various trainings, particularly setting up kitchen gardens through Climate Smart Agriculture.
How Climate Smart Agriculture is transforming lives in West Pokot
For instance, a training project offering expertise and capacity building on climate-smart agriculture is becoming a success, giving many hunger-stricken regional areas a new facelift.
Some areas that have benefited from this initiative are the Kodich and Chepareria areas of West Pokot County.
Y News understands that West Pokot is among the counties with the highest malnutrition rate. According to the 2019 Smart Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health alongside Action Against Hunger, it has the highest stunting rate of 35.1%.
A recent visit to the Kodich area revealed that local women under the Topolul Mother to Mother Support Group were reaping significant benefits from the project.
The group’s chairperson, Cheposangiy Lokoroo Lotupai, observed that the program had taught her members how to set up kitchen gardens and earn a source of income.
“Our young and old women have been sensitised through these women groups on how best to enhance Climate Smart Agriculture by developing kitchen gardens that require less water. Here, they can grow fruits and vegetables,” Lotupai explained.
What is the West Pokot County government doing to support the program
West Pokot County Department of Agriculture has partnered with Action Against Hunger to give hope and empower families to put food on the table through the project. It has also embraced irrigation to boost food production.
The Sustainable Solutions for Agriculture, Irrigation, Nutrition and Trade in West Pokot County (SUSTAIN) project, funded by the Karakan Foundation, Action Against Hunger alongside the County Department of Agriculture, seeks to bolster the resilience of marginalised communities in the face of the devastating effects of climate change.
Lotupai further said that throughout its implementation on August 1, 2023, the project mainly focused on five Mother-to-Mother Support groups comprising 125 women drawn specifically from Kacheliba and Chepareria in Pokot South Sub-County.
“The project focused on enhancing the food and nutrition security capacity of the 125 households and five women groups through sustainable livelihood projects,” Lotupai explained.
This initiative has responded to the pressing need highlighted by the county’s knowledge, attitude, belief and practices survey conducted in 2021.
Why statistics are essential in addressing chronic vulnerability
The survey revealed alarming figures indicating that only 17 pc of women of reproductive age achieve minimum dietary diversity, while just 3.2 pc of children aged 6 to 24 months meet the recommended minimum acceptable diet.
Such statistics underscored the urgency of addressing chronic vulnerability and malnutrition through comprehensive, long-term strategies.
Despite these efforts, the devolved unit is still faced with recurrent droughts coupled with high poverty levels, limited water access, resource-based conflicts and other calamities like floods and disease outbreaks that aggravate the vulnerability of local populations.
However, to mitigate these challenges, the project intervened by enhancing the adaptive capacities of communities.
How to support Mother-to-Mother Support groups are being supported
Through the program, the organisation has employed the expertise of extension officers working at the grassroots to support Mother-to-Mother Support groups in improving food security and livelihoods among 750 households from vulnerable backgrounds.
Part of the program has also helped enhance access to clean and safe drinking water for both domestic and small-scale irrigation.
This has supported the production of high-value, nutritious crops at the household level and provided training on sustainable agricultural practices such as soil and water conservation, crop management, post-harvest losses and crop utilisation.
Further, partnerships with agricultural service providers and the support of the regional government have helped equip beneficiaries with the best farming practices and techniques.
Lucas Matete, an officer in charge of Food Security and Livelihood at Action Against Hunger, told Y Nes that they organise events such as farmers’ field days, especially at the grassroots level, which serve as platforms for knowledge exchange and learning about innovative farming techniques.
“We have partnered with other stakeholders and are now providing our local farmers with practical techniques for positive change”, Matete explained.
Simon Nepus, one of the program’s beneficiaries, said that through these trainings, farmers have been able to establish small irrigation projects at home, which help them provide food for their families.
“Previously, we incurred a lot of post-harvest losses due to lack of adequate water, but since the inception of this program, we have been able to embrace irrigation. We can now produce enough food throughout the year,” Nepus said.
How West Pokot County gov’t has scored highly in hunger eradication
According to recent statistics, the households’ hunger score indicators have improved, whereby the proportion of households with moderate hunger has reduced from 76 pc at baseline to 36 pc at end-line. In comparison, those with little hunger have improved from 24 pc at baseline to 64 pc at end-line.
Still, the Governor Simon Kachapin-led County government has also reported improved household dietary diversity, as reported by 91 pc of surveyed households who reported consuming more than five groups in the last 24 hours.
This is an improvement from the 76 pc reported at baseline by the same households.
Y News also gathered that adopting Climate Smart Agriculture has further boosted the production of food crops in the grassroots area, helping families afford quality diets.
Simon Kiprop, a county official from the Department of Agriculture, observed that the program has transformed into a game changer, helping women produce food through simple and affordable costs.
“With the program now firmly in place, women at the grassroots level can mobilise themselves into groups to set up unique kitchen gardens and produce short-season crops, including nutritious vegetables and fruits,” said Kiprop.
