Abstract
The Kenyan Government in partnership with the private sector has set up co-operative societies for marketing livestock and livestock products in TransMara west district of Narok County. These co-operatives are supposed to trigger extensive expansion in livestock production. Despite perceived steady incomes, high turnover and ready market for livestock associated with existence of cooperatives in the area, the pastoral Maasai community is shifting from pastoralism to agro-pastoralism. This community is strongly traditional with much cultural and economic attachment to livestock. The shift in livelihoods could be following a rational and economic decision with effects on the diversity of livestock and crops but empirical evidence is lacking to ascertain this assumption. Evaluating livestock and crop enterprise diversities associated with the shift may explain the rationale of observed behavior and inform development strategies for such areas. Specific objective of the study was to compare pastoral and agro-pastoral based livelihoods for livestock and crop enterprise diversities of the farming systems associated with the shift. Data were collected from a sample of 130 households through interview schedule. The diversity of crops and livestock was based on Shannon index. The findings indicated that the diversity for crops was 0.3 units higher in agro-pastoral farming compared to pastoral farming.
Highlights
In Kenya, almost 8 million people depend on pastoral livelihoods (Adeel and Uriel, 2005)
In some ASALS, where rangelands receive reliable rainfall pattern which can support crop production, pastoral households have responded by introducing commercial crop production
The results indicate that the shift from pastoral to agropastoral livelihoods has no adverse impact on livestock diversity while it promotes diversity in crops
Summary
In Kenya, almost 8 million people depend on pastoral livelihoods (Adeel and Uriel, 2005). Pastoralists own over 70% of Kenyan national livestock herd valued at over US$ 1.55 billion (Fineline systems and Management Company, 2010). Kenyan pastoralists live in the arid and semi arid lands (ASALS) characterised by high rainfall variability and with recurring droughts which impact on rangeland productivity. In some ASALS, where rangelands receive reliable rainfall pattern which can support crop production, pastoral households have responded by introducing commercial crop production. Other pastoral households in the traditional setting have developed multiple coping mechanisms to deal with drought. Such mechanisms include herd and income diversification (COMESA, 2009; Galvin, 2009, 1992). Pastoral lands have been known to maintain large indigenous herds of livestock and it is not known whether these large herds exist in agro-systems. The large indigenous herds are likely to be of increasing value in the face of climate variability (WISP, 2008; Cavatassi et al, 2006)
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