Strengthening Climate Resilience Regional Workshop

on

23rd to 25th June 2010

at

All African Christian conference and Churches

Presented by

Alex Kavili

Technical Accompanier

Livestock Improvement and Breeding project

Livelihoods/DRR Programme

Supported by – Trocaire HEARO and GORTA

Location – Ten ASAL districts working with

partners(dioceses of Kitui, Meru, Lodwar; East Pokot mission; Ishiara and Wenje parishes, MPIDO,PREMAP, NIA, Baraka agricultural college

Budget – 800,000 – 1000,000 euros per annum

Beneficiaries – 4,000 households

The project Builds drought resilience of poor communities and their assets in ASALs

Over the years, droughts in ASALs have become more prolonged and recurrent thus leading to loss of livestock as well as crop failure

Rainfall has also become more erratic and thus unreliable leading to poor production outcomes in livestock and crops farming systems

From our participatory risk analysis & mappings events as well as research, it is evident that larger stocks such as cattle have faced wanton interruption and in most cases the stocks are either nil or too little to support households or are too fragile to withstand drought events.

Against this background, the project sort to strengthen the small animals systems as a way of creating better resilience thus adapting livestock production systems to climate change realities.

Small stocks farming though not new in most of the areas, the project introduces the concept of supporting an entire “product chain” as a way or reducing exposure to climate change/impacts as well as building the adaptive capacity of people and their livelihoods assets

The project is based on participatory risk analysis & mapping events at the community level and chronic poverty assessment in the targeted areas

These vulnerability analysis led to an understanding of the drought hazard, the affected, its occurrence/frequencies, root causes, existing capacity, action to be taken etc

The project designed out of this promotes diversified livelihoods strategies to tackle climate change.

With small stocks such as goat and sheep as the main thrust, the project has the following activities:

Restocking households whose livestock was decimated by the 2005/06 drought. About 4,000 households restocked with approximately 30,000 local does and Galla bucks

Community-wide livestock disease control measures in the targeted areas e.g. construction of shoat dips, community agrovet shops, paravets, training etc

Breeding of local Galla and small east African breeds to increase production of milk, meat and sale weight

Pasture production through agro-forestry, environmental protection and reseeding

Water provision

Marketing coupled with micro-credit to improve incomes and reduce over-stocking/exposure

Community level research and documentation

Advocacy at the national level on Galla breed.

Tackling Exposure to Climate Extremes Enhancing Adaptive Capacity Addressing Poverty, Vulnerability and their Causes

Exposure to climate extremes Conducting PRA and Mapping events to develop

interventions on drought with an inbuilt early warning Formation and training community DRR groups and

committees for drought Strengthens the small animals production system as a

more appropriate production activity in reducing exposure to recurrent droughts

Promotes a product chain development with marketing and micro-credit integrated to strengthen local economy and social relations

The project enhances adaptive capacity through identification and implementation of appropriate and acceptable livelihoods strategies as per PRA & mapping exercises that generates risk profiles

The project trains communities on livelihoods skills and diversification in particular, offers safety nets e.g. restocking the most impoverished by drought and promotes access to markets and credit

Besides national level advocacy on the Galla breed and climate change, the project promotes environmentally friendly livestock production and environmental rehabilitation at the community level

Knowledge of climate change impact-through PRAs and mapping

Research into the nature of chronic poverty in ASALs

Livestock mortality

Increase in Food productivity (milk and meat)

Increase in incomes from sales of the animals and their products