The project addresses itself towards building community resilience to climate change. This in effect will go a long way towards addressing the key issue which is food and water insecurity. This is a key national concern and has been captured in various national development plans/policies: Vision 2030 for instance, explicitly gives special recognition to the contribution of the agriculture sector in national development. Under the economic pillar, agriculture has been singled out for its significant contribution to the GDP (24%), total exports (65%), and formal employment (18%). According to the blueprint, there are over 9 million hectares of ASAL which have the potential for crop production if irrigated. Developing ASAL for both crops and livestock production is identified as one of “the key strategic thrusts” under the vision for the agriculture sector. In the global context, the MDGs number 1 and 7; eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and ensuring environmental sustainability respectively, further give credence to the proposed interventions. The proposed interventions are also in tandem with the Agriculture Sector Development Strategy Paper, Water Act 2002, Forest Act 2005, EMCA among other legislation.
The proposed interventions will have a significant contribution towards enhancing participatory natural resource management at the local level. This will further inculcate sustainable natural resource utilization; ideally, the project seeks to create adequate awareness regarding the adverse effects of human activities through an elaborate advocacy plan alongside its programmatic actions. Building community resilience to climate change can only happen through a mixture of strategies that call for partnerships and networking among different actors and stakeholders. For this project to succeed, MAZIDO is alive to the need to collaborate with different players/actors and shall make deliberate efforts to build this scenario.
The proposed interventions are key towards unlocking the inherent potential of the target area by directly addressing prolonged droughts and water scarcity which emerged as the two most important constraints towards achieving community resilience to climate change. By constructing sand dams and promoting on-farm soil and water conservation, the project expects to improve food crop and livestock production in the target area. Further, by investing in pasture conservation and management technologies the project seeks to not only improve livestock production but also generate incomes for the community. Therefore, the proposed intervention(s) will certainly make the beneficiary community more resilient to climate shocks. During project implementation, MAZIDO will actively engage the County government to ensure that more resources are provided for such interventions in all ASAL areas of Taita Taveta County.
The project is in line with the CRM objectives 2 and 3; to improve participation of citizens, especially marginalized groups, in governance, management, and utilization of natural resources and contributing to improved policy and legislative environment for sustainable natural resources management at the national and decentralized governance structures.
Achievements
Speedy community uptake of soil and water conservation and climate-smart technologies.
A successful Greening with Age campaign was implemented in 20 learning institutions where 5000 trees were planted and 2496 students/pupils reached.
2 sand dams were constructed.
15 model farms established.
A robust Farmers Network (sauti ya mkulima platform) was established.
Advocacy action effected in the influence of 2 County level and 2 national-level policies.
5 farmers field days were held ( The CEC Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries attended 1 field day)
Community awareness on climate change adaptation increased with a direct reach of 2,168 people (843 male and 1325 female).
908 farms with soil and water conservation structures and another 427 farms practicing fodder and pasture conservation.
135 farmers were trained as ToTs on soil and water conservation and climate-smart technologies.
