Rural Agriculture and Pastoralism Programme

The Challenge

In Eastern Africa, food production is one of a complex set of options that rural communities pursue to secure better livelihoods. At the same time, the Eastern African population has found itself in a cycle of food-related tragedies - low food intakes, hunger and famine. In view of this, the challenge is how institutions can effectively strengthen the livelihood security of small-scale food producing communities and adequately address food-related tragedies under the various political, socio-economic, technical and environmental forces.

Introduction

The Rural Agriculture and Pastoralism Programme (RAPP) is a food production unit of Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) in Eastern Africa. The programme undertakes its projects in partnership with both dry land farmers and pastoralists in Turkana, Marsabit, Samburu, Tharaka and Makueni districts. Over the last ten years, RAPP has continued to support marginal farming and pastoralists' development, as well as related local institutional development. The programme has made remarkable contributions to policy debates in animal health, biodiversity and plant genetic resources, and indigenous knowledge in development. It is gradually expanding into natural resource management and strengthening non-agricultural aspects of local people's livelihoods. Thus the programme has moved from strengthening food security to enhancing secure livelihoods.

Aim

RAPP aims to enhance livelihood security of pastoralists and marginal farmers in Eastern Africa by enabling them to improve their technological capabilities while taking greater control of the decisions that affect their lives.

The Approach

• ITDG works to increase food production of pastoralists and small-scale farmers in target Arid and Semi-arid Lands (ASAL), and experience from there and elsewhere used to inform and influence other organisations
• ITDG focuses on increased technology options in food production and enhancement of environmental resilience at community level, building on existing social organisations and local knowledge through participatory methodologies.
• ITDG works to increase projects embracing expanded base in technologies and community partnerships.
• ITDG seeks to extend the sphere of RAPP's work and influence into the Eastern Africa region.
• ITDG works to improve policies in favour of appropriate technologies for its partner communities. ITDG works to enhance management of RAPP's resources, embracing efficient delivery of services and goods that are more appropriate to its partner communities.
• ITDG strives to enhance awareness, understanding and responsiveness to gender issues among its partner communities.

The Projects

RAPP consists of four-core projects: Decentralised Animal Health (DAH), Ethno-Veterinary Knowledge (EVK) Research and Development, Marginal Farmers and Pastoralists. The latter has integrated conflict resolution and disaster mitigation concepts within its activities in Turkana, Samburu and Marsabit.

Decentralized Animal Health (DAH) Unit
Livestock production is an important factor in the food security of small-scale farmers and pastoralists in Kenya and much of the developing world. Animal health ranks top as a priority need for livestock keepers and pastoralists. Based on this analysis, ITDG-EA has developed approaches to the provision of animal health services that have become known as Community-based Animal Health Care (CAHC).

This very successful project was funded by the Department for International Development (DfID) and BILANCE. The purpose of this project is to improve food security of marginal farmers and pastoralists through improved animal health. The project's outputs include:

• Development of effective monitoring and evaluation systems in a number of organizations. There is evidence of the connection between DAH services, improved animal health and food security of poorer livestock producers.
• Establishment of an independent and financially secure institution providing support and advice to organisations working with smallholder farmers and pastoralists on issues related to decentralized animal health based on the experiences of ITDG-EA and other organizations.
• Policy change in Kenya, and elsewhere, in favour of decentralized systems of animal health care.

DAH support unit has been weaned from ITDG-EA and registered as an independent institution under a new name - Community-based Livestock Initiatives Programme (CLIP). CLIP will further the work of decentralised animal delivery systems in the Eastern Africa region.

Ethno-Veterinary Knowledge (EVK) Research and Development Project
EVK refers to people's beliefs, knowledge and practices pertaining to animal health. This project promotes the use of Ethno-Veterinary Knowledge (EVK) in animal health care as an affordable, available alternative that complements modern medicine. The purpose of the project is to improve the health systems of marginal farmers and pastoralists through increased use of effective EVK incorporated into Community-Based Animal Health Care Programmes (CBAHCP). The Project encourages the conservation of biodiversity by the communities as the value of medicinal plants is recognized.

The project is based in Samburu District but draws from and feeds into other RAPP projects. Its direct partners are the Samburu and Turkana communities of Samburu District. Approximately 3000 households benefit directly from the project. In addition, the project is benefiting up to 40 healers in Turkana, Kathekani, Tharaka and Marsabit.

The project's output include:

• Increased awareness among healers, communities, research institutions and other development organisations about the value of EVK in providing affordable animal health care
• Validation of three remedies used by the Samburu and Turkana to treat internal parasites in sheep
• Influence attitudes of veterinary professionals and institutions in favour of EVK research and development.

In future, the project plans to promote EVK practices worldwide and look into issues such as:

• Community-based medicinal plants conservation and sustainable utilisation
• Policy issues with reference to intellectual property rights and biodiversity conservation
• Capacity building of local communities and healers through formation of healers' associations.

Further reading: KIT – ITDG-EA newsletter Trials for herbal-based traditionally produced remedies for livestock diseases in northern Kenya

Marginal Farmers Project
This is a food security project in Kenya's semi-arid areas of Tharaka and Makueni Districts. The project purpose is to increase food production of farmers in Tharaka and Makueni Districts, and experience from there and elsewhere used to inform and influence other organisations on ways of working with marginal farmers in ASAL areas. The key outputs of the project include the following:

• Farmers in Maragwa location accessing and practising appropriate and sustainable agriculture techniques
• A strong Locational Development Committee (LDC) and other relevant institutions responding to community needs for development
• A strong community capable of analysing and controlling its own development
• Communities with a greater capacity for innovation and experimentation in areas related to food security and environmental conservation
• A community capacity to address their own livestock issues with access to a range of technical options
• A sustainable community-based animal health care system, with access to its own training capacity and referral system, and incorporation of effective existing local knowledge
• A community-based tsetse fly control project established and running
• ITDG-EA approach and technologies recognised by the government and other development agencies in the region as valid approaches for rural development in marginal farming areas and being used by them.

One of the main achievements of the project has been the emergence of local community-based organisations that are contributing to decision-making on food and livelihood security, and other developmental issues.

There is a wide range of technological innovations including: livestock breed improvement; animal feed improvement; integration of ethnoveterinary knowledge into the animal health care system; revival of cattle dips; adoption of drip, furrow and pump irrigation; soil conservation; adoption of drought-tolerant short cycle crops; and apiculture. The adoption of such technologies point towards development niches that local communities in Kathekani, Maragwa and Gikingo are beginning to exploit and may continue to do so in future.

Another achievement is the significant reduction in the number of tsetse flies and incidence of trypanosomiasis in Kathekani from 32% to 6% within two years. This reduction will lead to revival of the livestock industry in the area.

Case study: sharing knowledge to strengthen food security

The Pastoralists' Project
This is an on-going project funded by CAFOD, BILANCE, USAID and CORDAID. Its purpose is to improve food production in Turkana and Marsabit through responsive and institutionally sustainable livestock production, health and environmental management systems. The project's outputs include:

• Independently managed and operating CAHC systems amongst the Yaas and Adakars (of Marsabit and Turkana respectively), which support and add value to ethno-veterinary knowledge (EVK), as key components of the communities' food security strategies.
• Sustainable management of the environment with integration of ELK, particularly EVK, and incorporation of other relevant technical issues in Pastoralists' project areas to supplement DAH and strengthen the institutional aspects of the project's work.
• Strong institutional capacity developed amongst the Adakars and Yaas leading to representatives from the groups participating in relevant decision-making fora such as LDCs and DDCs and being consulted routinely by the Goverment and agencies operating in their areas
• Women benefiting from improved knowledge, skills and participation in decision-making processes
• Inform and influence work at policy level with the purpose of strengthening the programmes' advocacy work on policy and especially approval and acceptance of traditional institutions and DAH activities.
• Gender integrated into developmental issues with the overall aim of achieving secure livelihoods.

One of the greater achievements of the project has been the emergency intervention in the water and animal health sectors in Marsabit and Turkana districts. This intervention involved the clinical treatment and vaccination of livestock and improvement of existing water resources such as pans, shallow well and boreholes for greater accessibility by the pastoralists and their livestock.

Conflict Resolution Initiative
Northern Kenya is an arid and semi-arid area characterised by scarcity of natural resources. Conflict in this region is mainly centred on exploitation of the limited resources. These are based on limited access to water and pasture resources, loss of traditional grazing land, cattle raiding, lack of alternative sources of livelihood from pastoralism, weakening role of traditional institutions in conflict management, political incitement, non-responsive government policy and inter-tribal conflict. The purpose of the Conflict Resolution Initiative is to empower pastoralist communities, individuals and community-based organisations to manage and transform conflict effectively using traditional conflict resolution mechanisms in order to promote culture of peace and tolerance in the region.

Its objectives include the following:

• To enhance local capacity in analysing conflict development among the pastoralist communities in the region
• To build local capacity on conflict management, mitigation and peace building
• To create awareness on conflict management through non-violence means
• To share knowledge and experiences on traditional conflict resolution mechanisms through networking

Reports on the work of the Conflict Resolution Initiative can be found in ITDG-EA's Peace Bulletin, which is issued quarterly to serve as a reference, bolster sharing of knowledge and experiences, and enhance networking and collaborations, in addition to shaping developmental priorities and policies of different actors in conflict prone northern Kenya.
Peace Bulletin contents

See also The Voice of Death, an article from the KIT newsletter on conflict resolution and cleansing pastures tainted by violence in Samburu district, Conflict in the North, on aggression in Baragoi and Samburu, and Insecurity through the eyes of a retired teacher, an interview with Mrs Ngitetelei Lomoria of Baragoi.

The Future

In future RAPP plans to undertake the following:

• Integrate at least three new technology strategies (agro-processing, disaster reduction, shelter, transport, energy, ecotourism, manufacturing and small enterprise) into the existing food production activities.
• Develop technologies, which support projects that integrate indigenous knowledge and new skills improvement.
• Integrate pilot work on water resources into on-going food production activities and develop it into an independent technology strategy.
• Develop and appraise two new project ideas on agro-processing and disaster/conflict reduction.
• Integrate alternative livelihood options into projects, specifically conservation of biodiversity.