Impact of sedentarisation on food security among pastoralists in Rengen sub county, Kotido district

Abstract

The Jie pastoralists in Rengen sub-county had for many decades been food self sufficient having successfully responded to the increasing social, economic, political and climatic shocks through economic diversification including agro-pastoralism, wage labour and increased market orientation. However, over the past decade, renewed attempts by government and partners to jump start and modernise the pastoral economy with emphasis on transforming the values and behaviours of pastoralists have apparently destabilised the newfound socio-economic equilibrium. Faced with more demands in their way of life than at any previous times, the Jie pastoralists have struggled to cope yet with diminishing options. This study examined the impact of sedentarisation on the capacity of the Jie pastoralists to meet their self-defined food needs unaided. It was both qualitative and quantitative in nature employing semi-structured questionnaires, interviews, and content analysis methods administered through individual interviews and focus groups discussions. Observation and photography were also used. The findings reveal that recent interventions in Rengen sub-county resulted into increased restrictions on grazing mobility within and outside the sub-county, destabilised the socio-economic strata, contributed to unsustainable exploitation of natural resources and disrupted the traditional social support networks as well as the internal and external trade relations. The main conclusion of the study is that the gains from renewed and rather disproportionate sedentarisation efforts by the state and partners have been outstripped by the increased vulnerability of the Jie pastoralists to food insecurity due to foregone traditional copping strategies. Major recommendations among others include: relaxation of restrictions on pastoral mobility, enhancement of pastoral livelihood diversification, improved internal security, improvement of key infrastructure and more importantly the development of policy on pastoralism.