Page 63 - MANDERA-COUNTY- REVIEW-3RD-EDITION

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crop production. Currently, more than 4,600ha • Development of water spreading, water har- and implements were donated by the Turkish
of land has been set aside for irrigation farm- vesting and storage reservoirs for farming in Government.
ing. rain-fed areas • Construction of perimeter fence and farm ac-
“We have reclaimed an arid land and turned • Water spreading structures have been con- cess roads
it into a productive farmland. The many lush structed to direct runoff to farms for crop pro- • Perimeter fences are constructed to pre-
green farms with a variety of crops, ranging duction, especially in areas with streams (lag- vent farms from invasion by wildlife, which
from maize, vegetables and fruits in the county gas). A total of 160 metres of water spreading may damage crops before being harvested.
have ensured food security and generated in- structures were constructed at Khorjab, Ele- Farm access roads are constructed to enable
come for locals,” the Governor said. lani and Girissa. farmers transport farm tools and inputs while
To achieve this historic milestone, the County • One 30m3 of masonry water tank with the re- carrying out farm operations. They are also
Government allocated substantial amounts in quired piping was constructed at Neboi Suez important in transporting crop produce after
its annual budgets for agricultural develop- Orchard farm to promote fruit farming. harvest.
ment and to revitalise the sector. • Eight underground water tanks with total ca- • A total of 2,910-metre long perimeter fence
Today, vast tracts of land that were initially pacity of 948m3 were constructed in Banisa, was constructed and 1 kilometre of farm ac-
populated by shrubs are producing food crops Mandera West and Mandera South. cess road was gravelled by the county gov-
targeting the export market. As a matter of fact, • Three water pans of 90,000m3 in total were ernment in the last five years.
watermelons from Mandera are in such high excavated at Banisa and Dandu with com-
demand and could indeed be the sweetest on plete provision of farm inputs and irrigation Livestock production
the continent! infrastructure. Livestock production plays an important socio-
• Four water pans for water harvesting for crop economic role in Mandera County.
The county has invested in technology and ex- were de-silted at Khayu, Deka, Khofole and Livestock accounts for about 90 per cent of
tension services, and adopted innovative farm- Harharo. employment and family income. The extensive
ing techniques, such as the use of greenhous- • Four boreholes for irrigated crop production, livestock production system and the pastoral-
es, drip irrigation and conservation agriculture. complete with all accessories, were drilled at ist households were previously affected by the
Given the fragile nature of the county’s ecosys- Lafey, Fino, Elele and Dabacity and are op- recurrent drought shocks.
tem, the Department of Agriculture, Livestock erational.
and Fisheries remains alert to the effects of • Provision of irrigation pump sets to schemes Before devolution, Mandera communities were
climate change. and farmer groups highly vulnerable to drought and interventions
To this end, the county has embraced techno- • Nine 2/3-piston diesel engine water pump were minimal. This resulted in huge livestock
logical innovation and management practices sets were provided for the main irrigation losses during drought episodes. Today, we
that address increased productivity, resilience schemes. can proudly say that pastoralists’ resilience to
building and reduced greenhouse gas emis- • One hundred and four 1-piston diesel engine drought has greatly improved due to improved
sion. water pump sets were supplied to group water and pasture availability and disease con-
farms. trol interventions.
Achievements • Forty portable petrol water pumps were sup-
Development of irrigation infrastructure plied to group farms with shallow wells. Besides climate change risks, before devolu-
• The Department of Agriculture and Irrigation • Procurement of farm inputs and tractors with tion, our pastoralists used to lose up to 50 per
has been spearheading the development of implements cent of their livestock to preventable diseases
irrigation infrastructure along River Daua for • Over the last five years, more than 180 metric during outbreaks.
irrigated crop production through construc- tons of assorted seeds and seedlings were
tion of new structures, as well as rehabilita- procured and distributed to farmers county- Our dream is to transform pastoralism from a
tion of existing structures to improve their ef- wide. way of life to a commercially viable activity tar-
ficiencies. • Six farm tractors, six ploughs, two harrows geting the export market with meat products.
• Irrigation canals of 7.8km main concrete and and one trailer were also procured for Ag- It is also our objective to establish a leather
lateral canals were constructed in six irriga- ricultural Mechanization Services station to tanning industry. That dream is still very much
tion schemes namely: BP1, Gadudia, Aresa, assist in farm mechanisation. Two tractors alive and on course.
Hareri, Shantoley and Rhamu-Dimtu along
River Daua and other irrigation group farms.
• Development of flood control structures for
protection of irrigation farmlands from flood
waters
• Most farmlands along the River Daua are
prone to floods when the river burst its banks.
In an effort to prevent silt deposition and
massive destruction to crops in the farms,
the department has set up measures to mini-
mize soil fertility degradation and crop losses
by constructing structures at the river break
points adjacent to farms.
• A total length of 1,460 metres of gabion struc-
tures was constructed along River Daua.
• Bush clearing to open more farm land for
crop production
• The Department of Agriculture, Livestock and
Fisheries carried out bush clearing to open
up more land for cultivation since (Mathenge)
Prosopis juliflora had invaded and colonised
most of the farms, especially along River
Daua.
• A total of 2,145 acres of farmland were
opened up through bush clearing to create
more arable land for cultivation. Drying of sesame (simsim) used for making cooking oil.