Samburu

INTRODUCTION

Samburu covers an area of approximately 20,089km². It borders Baringo and Turkana County to the west, Marsabit County to the north, Isiolo County to the east and Laikipia County to the south. The County can be divided physiographically into the following major units: Leroghi plateau which rises to over 2000 m, Nyiru and Ndoto mountains and Mathews range with altitudes of between 1,500 and 2500 metres. There is also the eastern flank of the Rift Valley and the plains slopping towards Lake Turkana, Marsabit and Isiolo, ranging in altitude from 1000 to 1350 metres. The climate of the County varies with altitude. Annual rainfall ranges from below 400 mm in the lowlands to over 1250 mm in the mountains. Eight percent of the County is classified as high rainfall with adequate moisture to support arable agriculture. The rest of the County is classified as rangeland.

The major occupation of the indigenous population is livestock production. The livestock population as per the 2009 population census is comprised of 184,666 heads of cattle, 550,750 goats, 387,698 sheep, 32,824 camels, 26,822 donkeys and 37,749 indigenous chicken. In addition there were 4,962 commercial chicken, 21,057 beehives and 187 pigs. In this whose proportion of ASAL is about 92 per cent, livestock have the ability to withstand severe fluctuations in weather patterns and environmental shifts and, therefore, provide both food and income security. Livestock are often one of the most important sources of cash income for livestock keeping households. Livestock keeping employs the majority of people and is by far the largest source of revenue generation in semi-arid Samburu County.

During the financial year 2015/2016, various capital investments were proposed for RPLRP Samburu County. These were:

• 1 borehole in Nairimirimo, Samburu East
• 1 Livestock market in Latakweny, Samburu North
• 1 Hayshed in Nomotio farm, Samburu Central
• 1 Grain warehouse in Lolmolok, Samburu central

JUSTIFICATION FOR THE INVESTMENTS

There is virtually no source of water available to Nairimirimo pastoralists. The nearest private borehole has low yield with salty water which is unfit for both human and livestock consumption. The borehole is equipped with a hand pump which has since then broken down. There also exist four (4) seasonal water pans with only one (1) that hold water for upto three (3) months. The other three (3) hold water for only three (3) weeks. The community members, the school children and teachers all depend on these water pans as their major source of water. The risks of water borne diseases’ out break have been reported in the area.

Latakweny market is a major livestock market in Samburu north. It directly serves Lolguniani market in Samburu East which is one of the key markets in East Africa. Despite this, Latakweny market operates without any structures. It is against this backdrop that the County proposed to construct a market in this area.

Nomotio farm, a community managed livestock improvement centre, has the potential to supply between 30,000 and 40,000 bales of hay to pastoralists during droughts. Despite this, there are no reliable structures to store any extra hay. Thus, it is expected that the construction of hay shed would greatly benefit the pastoralist communities during the dry spell.

Lolmolok area is one of the major maize producing areas of Samburu County. Therefore, it is important that the farmers in this area have good grain warehouse structure to conserve their grain during good seasons and sell them during harsh climatic times and purchase feeds and veterinary drugs for their livestock. This grain warehouse project will also serve as a pilot phase for grain warehouse receipting system.