Impact of resettlement on livestock production and performance among the Maasai pastoralists of RAPland village, Olkaria Kenya

Abstract

Displacements from developmental-related projects such as dams, conservancies, and geothermals displace 15–20 million people annually, necessitating the relocation of project-affected persons (PAPs). Most resettlement action plans (RAPs) fail in resettling the PAPs fully, causing loss of livelihoods and impoverishment. In 2014, Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited (KenGen) displaced 155 Maasai pastoral households to create space for the expansion of existing geothermal electricity generation plants at Olkaria. The PAPs were relocated into a newly created area called RAPland village. The study aimed at answering the question: how did displacement and relocation affect livestock production and performance of the resettled pastoralists. Data on livestock population structures and cattle herd structures and performance (age at first calving, calving interval, lactation length, and milk yields) before and after the relocation were collected by a survey of 105 household heads of the intended census of 155. Data collected were summarised using Excel and analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results showed that daily milk yield per cow decreased from a mean of 3.8 ± 0.19 to 2.38 ± 0.19 l, while total livestock populations reduced from 8383 to 3124 tropical livestock units (TLU) after the relocation. The mean livestock holding per household (TLU) before the relocation was 75.7 ± 8.83, 15.5 ± 1.78, 5.83 ± 0.67, 1.46 ± 0.22, and 0.14 ± 0.02; this decreased after the relocation to 26.4 ± 8.3, 4.62 ± 1.7, 2.5 ± 0.63, 0.34 ± 0.21, and 0.3 ± 0.02 for cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, and poultry, respectively. Young cattle proportions reduced from 27.6 to 20%, while that of cows increased from 51.7 to 60% after resettlement. Relocation affected livestock production and performances through reduced daily milk yield and livestock populations, thus reducing pastoralists’ resilience for food, nutritional security, and coping with catastrophes. As such, future displacement and resettlement programmes involving pastoral communities should address grazing needs and pastoral resilience to avoid impoverishment.