West Pokot Stakeholders Meeting to Address Drought Challenges

Key Discussions and Highlights:

Early Warning Drought Situation Report

A detailed report revealed the severe impact of the ongoing drought in areas like Weiwei, Chepareria, Riwo, Masol, and Kapchok.

Key observations like poor rainfall performance in December, moderate vegetation deficits in Suam and Riwo, declining pasture quality and increased watering distances (from 2.7 km to 2.8 km), improved water consumption rates (11.4 liters per person from 11.3 liters), livestock conditions rated as good to fair, with some disease cases (e.g., anthrax in Tapach) and crop production challenges due to moisture stress, though food prices remained stable.

Proposed Drought Resilience Projects

To strengthen drought resilience in West Pokot, strategies were outlined, including: - establishing irrigation systems in arid areas, developing field cropping plans, promoting drought-tolerant crops.

Enhancing Partnerships for Long-Term Solutions

The importance of collaboration between NDMA, the County Government, and other stakeholders was emphasized to implement sustainable drought mitigation strategies.

CECM for Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation Wilfred Long'ronyang stressed the need for a multi-faceted approach to combat drought like expanding irrigation systems, promoting drought-resistant crops, strengthening partnerships with public and private sectors and training programs to build farmers' capacity.

The meeting highlighted the urgency of addressing the worsening drought to safeguard livelihoods and ensure food security for the people of West Pokot County.