BARINGO, Kenya – Farmers in Kenya’s North Rift region’s Baringo North constituency are transforming once-barren land into productive land, starting a quiet revolution for their overall development.
Many areas of Baringo North along the Kerio Valley belt are arid or semi-arid because of dry and rocky terrain that cannot support significant agricultural activity.
This has exacerbated food insecurity and ongoing disputes over water, a limited resource in this area for decades.
As a result, residents of this region have long had to walk for many kilometres in search of water because of the severe weather that made the area habitable.
The fact that most of the population chose to relocate to other places that could support agricultural activity paints a sobering picture of the region’s struggles due to climate change.
“Many people had to relocate from this place due to a lack of water. The land was not arable; this region was like a desert,” said Elijah Kulei, a resident of Baringo North.
What are Baringo’s significant environmental problems
However, for a population dependent on nature and the resources it supplies, there are significant ecological problems.
Here, the landscape is struggling with the effects of climate change, impacting people’s ability to make a living from nature.
Floods have devastated the county in recent years, leading to loss of lives, displacement of people and livestock, and destroyed crops and pastures when land is submerged underwater.
Farmland and grazing are overexploited, overharvested, and unsustainably used, and there’s much conflict over who has access to water, grazing, and other natural resources.
However, the story of this area may soon change thanks to an environmental protection project that the Kapkirwok community launched 30 years ago.
In addition to protecting and conserving the available water catchment area, the group concentrated on reclaiming the rocky soil by planting trees there.
“Members of this project planted 80pc of the trees around this area. We also had a few Indigenous trees around some water catchment areas,” Mohamed Cheboi, the Kapkirwok Community Water Project chairman, told Y News in an interview.
How do Baringo farmers restore barren land
Y News understands that a farmer can begin restoring rocky soil by clearing away the tiny pebbles and then replanting drought-tolerant crops like millet or fruit crops, whose roots will aid in loosening the rocks.
If manure is added and the farmer weeds the crops, more rocks will become loose and more accessible to remove.
When we recently visited the area, we established that the region, formerly barren and rocky due to the adverse effects of climate change, is now a sight to behold. It is covered with lush vegetation and is essential to ensuring the population’s food security.
Using crop and animal husbandry, the organisation has adopted agro-ecological principles.
How the project has helped Baringo residents
They reduce production expenses by improving the soil’s fertility using animal and poultry dung.
Residents now take pride in their improved food security. Crops that initially occupied this area but were neglected include maize, coffee, banana trees, and fruit plants.
Additionally, the project has helped the community people become more economically empowered.
Kapkirwok Community Water Project participant Esther Kiplagat said the program has improved home nutrition.
“Right now, our spouses are empowered. They don’t spend money to buy food since they have kitchen gardens. Our families also earn income from selling the crops,” Kulei added.
Further, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Action Against Hunger, Kenya, have partnered with the county government and partners to boost and promote food products, innovations, and best practices that transform local communities.
What we know about Baringo County
Baringo County is in the Rift Valley Region and shares borders with eight other counties. It covers an area of 11,015 Km2, almost twice the size of Nairobi County, and has a population of more than half a million people.
Its economy and citizens’ livelihoods depend on its natural resources, which include lakes, hot springs, forests, and vast rolling hills.
Despite this, Baringo County is one of the most marginalised in the country. More than half the population lives below the poverty line, which means that more than 250,000 people here are unable to meet their basic needs and enjoy fundamental freedoms.
“This is higher than the national average. Poverty means people cannot contribute to the national economy, compounded by the lack of adequate infrastructure and access to social services such as education and health,” Susan Jepkemoi, CEO of Baringo Community Conservancies Association (BCCA), told Y News.
How is the narrative changing in Baringo
However, today, many people envy this ambitious initiative of transforming once-barren land into productive land. Its conservation efforts have drawn other neighbouring communities to the area to learn better ways to handle similar issues in their own impacted areas.
According to Sacho Conservation Group spokesperson Bett Kipngetich, the Kapkirwok community water project is a conservation success story that many can follow.
“They have changed the environment by planting trees. They say the region was bare but is now a forested area. I have led members of Sacho and Tenges to this project so that they can embrace the success story,” added Bett.
One of the main factors contributing to the increase in water around the Kapkirwok area in Baringo North, according to Wawere Nyandia, who has been collaborating closely with project participants, is environmental conservation.
