Experiences of VSF-Suisse towards the development of Fodder Production in Mandera County Prepared by Dr. Diana Onyango Program Manager VSF-Suisse

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1 Experiences of VSF-Suisse towards the development of Fodder Production in Mandera County Prepared by Dr. Diana Onyango Program Manager VSF-Suisse

2 VSF Suisse Overview NGO with HQ in Bern Regional Office Nairobi (RON): Horn of Africa Somalia, Kenya, Southern Sudan and Ethiopia Kenya programs from 2000 NEP, Eastern and Rift Valley Provinces VSF Suisse main focus is on the alleviation of hunger, poverty, diseases and suffering of people in whose cultures and livelihoods livestock play a major role.

3 Why fodder? Presence of increasing numbers of sedentarized herds urban/peri-urban areas Promoted as a cash crop Daily sales/alternative livelihood - High potential as IGA Animal feed for producers - improving productivity Increase in milk production Daily revenues - Contributes to livelihood support and provide income to pastoral drop outs as farm laborers. Supplementary feed accessed by pastoralists, governments and agropastoralists especially in times of drought

4 Projects Project Donor Duration Enhanced Livelihoods in the Mandera Triangle (ELMT Kenya led by CARE Somalia; partners - CARE Ethiopia, Kenya, Save US and UK) USAID Fodder Production Project in Mandera Regional Initiative In Support Of Vulnerable Pastoralists And Agropastoralists In The Horn Of Africa Strengthening Early Recovery and Resilience Building of Pastoral Communities in the Arid and Semi- Arid Lands of Kenya EC Food Facility through FAO FAO UN OCHA

5 Stages in Fodder Production

6 Achievements Capacity building Training and support to over 200 farmers Formation and support to 4 PFS groups Provision of equipment and seeds (>2 tonnes) Exchange visits

7 Achievements Sustaining core breeding stock during dry spell or drought

8 Achievements Daily income generation Fodder market in Mandera Alternative income source

9 Achievements Seed production Sudan grass 9

10 Achievements Improved storage through construction of fodder stores

11 Lessons learnt High rate of adoption by other farmers Selection of beneficiaries - Blend of different classes of people Importance of local seed production Need for proper storage facilities for hay and seeds Large potential for fodder as an alternative source of income generation Use irrigation set communally Constant monitoring is very important

12 Challenges Seed availability Seasonality of the rivers and flooding of farms Security challenges - Conflict as nomadic pastoralists move to riverine areas Drought Food crop (maize) is harvested and rarely gets to maturity Fluctuating fodder prices Lack of credit facility Competition from food crops for land space

13 Way forward Up scaling (estimate of up to 250,000 acres available) Seed bulking and encourage sale of seeds Upscale approach by providing credit for pumps; gunny bag approach; kitchen fodder gardens should be explored, Hay production from the rangelands during good rain seasons Rangeland reseeding would work if approached regionally Fodder production incorporation into other livelihoods and development programmes Incorporation of Holistic Management into the local land reserve practices Improving linkages between fodder suppliers and rural areas may stimulate the production and marketing of fodder Accessible early warning information at local level especially for market information on seasonal price fluctuations

14 Way forward Improved access to credit facilities to fodder farmers for inputs Need for further analysis on the profitability of fodder production - cost benefit analysis. Government investment in fodder reserves for critical periods - Fodder could be linked to other government interventions including stimulating early off take. Encouraging pastoralists to also buy fodder early when it is cheaper and store would also enable them to benefit more from the fodder production. Extreme care not to promote individual fodder production on communal pasture land to avoid tension and conflict Selling fodder in the markets is traditionally a female activity, the impact on female traders of large scale fodder sales should also be considered

15 THANK YOU