BARINGO, Kena – Due to a shortage of pasture and water, farmers in the lucrative Eldama Ravine sub-county have been losing money on a regular basis.
Y News understands that the majority of Eldama Ravine farmers work in agribusiness, dairy farming, and the cultivation of high-value crops.
Against this backdrop, the county government is building an 11km pipeline system for the Korkorwonin community water project, which is valued at Sh13 million, through Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA), because the repercussions of climate change are weighing down the efforts of the residents every day.
Over 1,500 people, 10,000 animals, and public institutions like schools will benefit from the water supply structures, which have started with the current building of a 50,000 cubic metre elevation tank and an intake in Sabatia woodland.
Robert Kipsang, also known as Kibaigaa, the MCA for Koibatek Ward, praised the project, stating that his people had experienced drought, which resulted in severe water shortages and a shortage of feed.
“Our focus is to provide a sustainable and reliable water supply system for both domestic and livestock needs of this Ward, thereby enhancing the community’s resilience to drought and other climate-related challenges. In this area, many people carry out commercial farming, hence there was a need to double production to meet the market demands,” he explained.
Why do dairy animals in Baringo produce less milk
Kipsang lamented that dairy animals, which spend a lot of time trekking to fetch water from the river, do not produce enough milk, adding that the farmer too wastes more time on looking for the water for household use.
Y News knows that Baringo County faces water scarcity, with a significant portion of the population relying on groundwater for domestic and livestock needs.
Rainfall in the southern parts of the county varied, with totals between 101-120 mm during a specific period, highlighting the variable nature of water availability.
The reliance on groundwater suggests vulnerability to depletion and the importance of water management strategies.
What are the concerns of Baringo County residents
However, apart from addressing water scarcity, the multi-million project in Eldama Ravine will also assist in boosting sanitation and hygiene services, particularly reducing waterborne diseases, as well as enhancing resilience during drought.
Many residents who shared their experiences complained that the existing water sources, springs and seasonal rivers have become unreliable, forcing them to trek long distances up to even 8km in search of water, resulting in livestock losses and resource conflicts with communities living in the lower catchment.
The adjacent Kiplombe Community Conservancy will also benefit from this mega project, thus increasing the wildlife population in the area, resulting in economic income from tourists.
This new development comes when the county’s Department of Water, Environment and Natural Resources is carrying out monitoring of environmental and social safeguard screening as well as monitoring and evaluation of development projects under the FLLoCA program to ascertain and track on implementation progress of the more than 70 development projects.
How Baringo County is implementing its projects
Y News has established that most of the projects are either complete or ongoing, with a few of them expected to start soon due to various challenges.
The objective of the week-long assessment exercise, according to the Chief Officer, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Eng. Silas Kwonyike was to establish the current project activities and progress against planned objectives, timelines, and budgets.
“We must continuously track our progress because it is important in decision making along the implementation path of the county projects. Ours is real-time information on progress and prompt corrective actions to avoid unnecessary delays to ensure residents get value for their resources,” he said.
The Chief Officer explained that since the projects target mitigating climate change, their focus is to ensure that the desired results are not interfered with by emerging environmental challenges.
Some of the assessed projects include: Embo Kipter Water projects, Kaptum borehole extension and Sumet water project in Kabartonjo Ward, Kasisit water project, Lokoinchun water project and Iyewa water project in Saimo Kipsaraman Ward, Baringo North sub-county.
