Blog Strengthening the Future: Assessing Resilience Gaps in Kenya’s Drought-Hit Turkana and West Pokot
Researchers from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and national partner AGNES conducted a 2024 needs assessment in Kenya’s Turkana and West Pokot Counties to understand and address climate vulnerabilities impacting food security and community resilience.
By: Tessie Akoko, Pedro Chilambe, Felix Otieno, Chris Miyinzi, Brenda Binge and Dorcas Jalango
Climate resilience is a vital pillar of sustainable development, especially in regions where communities rely on rainfed agriculture and pastoralism, such as the Turkana and West Pokot counties of Kenya. Resilience includes the capacity of communities, ecosystems, and economies to recover from the adverse effects of climate-related shocks in a timely and effective manner. By strengthening climate resilience, we not only protect these vulnerable systems but also lay the groundwork for long-term development by minimizing the risks associated with future climate threats. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights that climate change disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable regions, emphasizing the necessity of resilience building as a fundamental strategy for risk reduction and ensuring food security in these areas.
Turkana and West Pokot Counties of Kenya are particularly susceptible to climate-related challenges. These arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) experience recurrent droughts, landslides, floods, gully erosion, irregular rainfall, and extreme temperatures, which severely affect the livelihoods of local communities. Agriculture is an important source of income in Turkana County, contributing to over 74% of household incomes and employing more than 45% of the population (MoALFC, 2021). In West Pokot, the primary livelihood zones include mixed farming, pastoralism and agro-pastoralism, with population proportions of 23%, 44%, and 33%, respectively. Drought is more common in the pastoral and agro-pastoral zones, while flash floods are more prevalent in the mixed farming zones (West Pokot CSG, 2024). The communities' dependence on rain-fed agriculture makes them particularly susceptible to climate variability. Both counties face high levels of poverty and food insecurity, exacerbated by climate variability and limited infrastructure. The reliance on natural resources and the fragile ecosystem highlights the urgent need to enhance resilience to climate shocks in these regions.
To assess the climate resilience of vulnerable communities in Turkana and West Pokot, a team of researchers from the Alliance and the African Group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES), conducted a needs assessment through household surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informant interviews (KIIs) to gather primary data on climate resilience and food security. Specifically, the assessment sought to:
- Identify vulnerabilities and gather local insights: Understand the specific climate-related challenges faced by local communities, including agriculture and livestock production impacts with a focus on the roles of women, youth, and Indigenous peoples in local value chains and climate-smart practices
- Inform intervention design: Use these findings to design tailored interventions that address the unique challenges of Turkana and West Pokot, enhancing climate resilience and food security
- Engage stakeholders and strengthen the participation of local communities: Foster a collaborative approach involving local stakeholders including Indigenous people, women, and youth in designing community-led interventions.
Data collection
To achieve these objectives, we employed a mixed-methods approach. The household survey targeted 800 farmers in both counties, allowing the team to gather quantitative data on household demographics and agricultural practices. Key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with 15 opinion leaders from each county providing qualitative insights into broader climate issues and potential solutions. Additionally, six focus group discussions (FGDs) were held in each county, each consisting of six participants to ensure diverse representation. The focus of these discussions was on prioritizing value chains, climate-smart practices, climate information services, and access to financial resources for addressing climate-related challenges in agricultural production, post-harvest management, and market access. For the household survey, enumerators were trained in data collection using the ODK tool. Being locals, they facilitated communication with farmers in their native language, effectively overcoming communication barriers. This local engagement fosters trust and ensures accurate data collection reflecting community experiences.
Ultimately, our findings will inform a project proposal development process for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), aimed at improving access to climate information, promoting climate-smart agriculture, increasing community investment, and enhancing market access for vulnerable communities in these regions.
Pictures capturing the team's introduction to the community, the data collection process conducted by enumerators, and an overview of the fields.
The following main insights emerged from the assessment:
1. Community feedback: FGDs indicated that community members prioritize the need for access to water resource management technologies. Participants expressed a strong interest in training programs aimed at improving their skills in sustainable agricultural practices and post-harvest management. However, the communities have not yet established effective adaptation strategies against the impacts of climate change.
2. Experts’ insights: Interviews with local agricultural extension officers and climate specialists highlighted the necessity for more integrated strategies for climate adaptation. Experts noted that although there are existing policies designed to enhance resilience, their implementation frequently falls short due to insufficient resources and a lack of collaboration with other partners, which is essential for effectively deploying many of these technologies and approaches.
3. Gender dynamics: In Turkana and West Pokot, women play a crucial role in crop cultivation and are significantly impacted by climate change effects, yet they are often excluded from decision-making processes. In many households, women are responsible for growing crops, fetching water, and securing food for their families. As drought conditions worsen and water sources dwindle, the time and effort needed for these tasks increase, further restricting their economic and social mobility. By fostering gender-inclusive initiatives - such as training women in climate-smart agricultural practices and ensuring their involvement in local governance - we can empower women to become key players in building climate resilience. Additionally, when production is primarily for commercial purposes, youth involvement becomes more prominent.
4. Role of traditional knowledge: Indigenous knowledge is vital for building resilience within communities. Members often depend on traditional weather forecasting techniques that utilize environmental indicators. For example, seers use goat intestines to predict weather patterns and other significant events, such as potential raids. Community members attribute a high degree of accuracy to these predictions, which assist them in making informed decisions regarding planting and harvesting times. This traditional knowledge is essential in complementing modern scientific climate information services to improve its uptake and trustworthiness to local communities.
5. Community engagement: When developing interventions, community involvement is crucial for creating locally tailored solutions that foster a sense of ownership and trust among members. The active participation of agricultural extension officers in mobilizing farmers played a vital role in this process. Engaging community members in planning and implementation not only enhances the relevance of the initiatives but also empowers individuals by giving them a stake in the outcomes. This collaborative approach allows for the integration of local knowledge and perspectives, which is essential for building stronger relationships between stakeholders and the community.
Call to action
The team's assessment highlights the urgent need for action to bolster climate resilience in Turkana and West Pokot Counties. Moving forward, the following steps are critical for success:
- Scale Up Climate-Smart Agriculture: Promote sustainable crop and livestock farming practices, boosting the availability of drought-resilient crop varieties and livestock breeds
- Improve Climate Information Access: Provide timely climate data and risk preparedness services, integrated with Indigenous knowledge for improved uptake
- Enhance Market Access: Strengthen climate-resilient value chains for local farmers, supporting cross-country and cross-border trade links in a way that increases social cohesion.
- Boost Community Investment: Increase financing for local resilience and adaptation efforts, through capacity building on prioritization of successful and effective risk management techniques
These steps will help build climate-resilient communities in Turkana and West Pokot, ensuring long-term food security and sustainable development.
The Team
Pedro Anglaze Chilambe
Research Team leader, Climate Finance
Felix Otieno
Senior Research Associate-Impact Evaluation
