This archive report was first published on 2 August 2019.
Maasai Herders Turn to Crop Farming Amid Drought ¶
James Shakita, a 43-year-old Maasai herder, has been raising cattle for over 30 years. However, a severe drought in southern Kenya's Kajiado County last year decimated his herd, leaving him with fewer than 80 animals.
Shakita decided to break with generations of tradition and swap some of his cows for crops. He sold a few of his cows and used the money to sink a borehole for irrigation and devote a third of his 30-acre farm to planting kale, onions, and tomatoes.
His first harvest made him more than Ksh2 million ($20,000), allowing him to support his family and giving him the flexibility to better manage the size of his herd by buying and selling cows in line with Kenya's increasingly erratic weather.
Shakita is not alone in his decision. More than 232,000 livestock died in Kajiado County during the 2017-2018 drought, and the number of Maasai herders taking up crop farming has grown by 40 per cent over the past decade.
Government data shows that the figure represents almost a quarter of the total number of cattle in the county. The frequent droughts have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of farmers in Kajiado, with more crop farms sprouting all over the county.
County official Jackline Koin said the country had registered more than 5,000 farmers who were previously solely herders. Down the road from Shakita's farm, another herder, Brian Kikon, 30, also grows onions and tomatoes on a small piece of his family's expansive 45-acre farm.
Experts believe that all Maasai herders should be shrinking their herds if they are to survive Kenya's frequent droughts. Professor Wilfred Subbo, a development anthropologist at the University of Nairobi, suggested that Maasai herders should also consider rearing hybrid cattle, such as the Holstein-Friesian dairy cow.
However, convincing the Maasai to move away from herding is not easy. Principal Secretary for Livestock Harry Kimutai believes that the effects of climate change will eventually force all Maasai to change their ways. To encourage pastoralists to make the move, the Kajiado government has constructed 500 water pans to harvest rainwater for use by herders to irrigate crops.
Shakita, however, believes that the answer lies in a government-run abattoir. During a drought, herders rush to sell their livestock, leading to a meat glut in the market, and private butchers are often unable to accommodate all the herders who need their meat processed.
With its own abattoir, the government could help stabilise the market and allow herders to sell their cattle at the going rate, Shakita said. That way, the Maasai could preserve their centuries-old way of life.
