Pastoralists in West Pokot County are reaping benefits through De-Risking, Inclusion, and Value Enhancement (DRIVE) project, despite the devastating effects of climate change.
The World Bank sponsored project being implemented through 21 Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) counties in Kenya, is an initiative designed to protect livestock farmers from the devastating effects of drought, where significant progress has been made in West Pokot County, capturing a good number of pastoralists as beneficiaries.
Speaking during a training session to farmers in Kapenguria, Judith Muricho from the State Department for Livestock Development, DRIVE Project Implementation Unit, said a total of 11,329 registered pastoralists from 15 wards in West Pokot had been captured under the project, but out of the number 764 are ineligible. "A total of Sh63.39 million in financial bonuses have been allocated to 10,565 eligible pastoralists whereby to date, Sh59.7 million has already been paid to 9,951 beneficiaries, while payments of Sh3.68 million to the remaining are still pending due to data verification," stated Muricho, while focusing on the October-November-December Livestock Insurance Sales.
She said the project which is being implemented under the pastoral economies in the Horn of Africa that covers the four countries of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti, aims at facilitating pastoralists and connecting them to better markets, hence improved livelihoods.
