In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

185 Irrigation Local Irrigation Projects in North Western Kenya, Conceptual Frameworks and Development Practices: The Missing Links Jean Huchon & Janick Maisonhaute Introduction Governments and other development operators have been supporting the creation of irrigation schemes in North-Western Kenya for the last 30 years. Such wellplanned projects are meant to enhance food self-sufficiency, promote economical diversification, increase rural incomes and provide employment opportunities. Irrigated agriculture is considered as a solution to a variety of problems. However, most initiatives do not achieve their goals. Some projects abort and some schemes disappear a few years after their implementation. Some persist but only with large subsidies, while others simply remain as projects. Through the analysis of four irrigation projects in West-Pokot district, this paper addresses the gaps between conceptual frameworks and development practices. It will underline the evolution of the donors and development agencies rationales ; outline the reaction of the local populations and the real changes they induced. Local Context and Hypotheses On Development of Irrigation Schemes North-Western Kenya is a semi-arid region with a double rainy season with a peak of rainfall in April-May and to a lesser extent in November. During these periods, rain falls in localized connective storms and is unpredictable in space and time. Water scarcity, is a constraint to agriculture and it is therefore not surprising that livestock husbandry is the main economic activity for the semi-nomadic communities inhabiting the Rift plains, the Turkana and the Pokot. Nevertheless, some populations are used to practicing traditional agriculture. The Turkana Cultivation System The Turkana are well known as pastoralists and do not have a strong cultural background in agriculture. However, the Ngebotok Turkana, of the middle Turkwell, enjoying more favourable conditions, rely more heavily on agriculture than other Turkana sections: “Probably the simplest practice of floodplain cultivation recorded in East Africa is that of the Turkana in Kenya, who until very recently cultivated sorghum in the floodplains of the Kerio and Turkwell Rivers. Gardens were laid out on meander scar and terrace land, and cropped in the rains, notably at 186 Nagaloki on the Kerio, at Kaputir on the Turkwell, and where streams made the shore of Lake Turkana cultivable, in the Kerio River Delta and at Kalokol at Ferguson’s Gulf. Cultivation appears to have been an integral part of the primarily pastoral subsistence strategy. Competition with formal irrigation development, and the social and economical implications of recent droughts and associated relief responses, such as formal rainwater harvesting schemes, appear to have substantially reduced this cultivation”.1 The Pokot Irrigation System According to B.E. Kipkorir,2 agro-pastoralism was the first economic activity used by the Pokot on the Cherangani Escarpment, before they moved to the eastern plains at the beginning of the 19th , then to the western plains and became pastoralists like the Turkana and the Karimojong. There is no data regarding the construction of the first irrigation furrows in the district, but oral traditions suggest that it occurred hundreds of years ago.3 The furrows are concentrated in and around the Cherangany Hills and the Sekerr Hills. “Where the terrain and soil cover permit, the furrow is excavated out of the slope, the original tools for this, according to tradition, being wooden digging sticks. The lower bank requires reinforcement against the erosive scour of the water and this is usually done with whatever stone is available. The ideal is a neat lining of flat stone slabs but such convenient material is rarely available. The stonework is consolidated by encouraging the growth of vegetation –tree or shrub roots in forested area or, where sufficient light penetrates, grass and the large sedge, yashan (cyperus alternifolia). The width of the furrows in this sort of situation is rarely more than about 120 cm and usually around 60 or 70 cm. Velocity of flow is usually between half a metre and one metre per second but may be up to two metres per second if the channel is constricted. On the valley floor, stone is very rarely available for lining and erosion may be a problem, though gradients and hence velocity are of course less.”4 In fact, the Pokot know two types of fields: the rain-fed ones and the irrigated ones. Each has its own value in the various eco-zones. The former, situated in the highlands, need a longer period to mature. The latter produces the crops more quickly. The maintenance of such an irrigation system “needs the cooperation of all...

Share