Pastoralists in northern Kenya diversify their sources of income

Research in northern Kenya shows that livestock herding remains the most important income-earning activity for pastoralist households, even though non-livestock activities make a significant contribution to household income. The paper “Managing livelihood risks: income diversification and the livelihood strategies of households in pastoral settlements in Isiolo County, Kenya” by Gargule Andrew Achiba, published in Pastoralism Research, Policy and Practice (2018 8:20), explores the socio-economic determinants of pastoralist income diversification using household data collected in Isiolo County. It describes the patterns of participation in non-pastoral income-earning activities, emerging household strategies and their impact on pastoral livestock production. The intensity and proportion of non-pastoral income generation in pastoralist households were determined by household demographic factors and mobility status. Household livelihood security is derived from both managing pastoral livestock production risks and optimising sources of non-livestock incomes. This implies that non-livestock incomes are not a substitute for pastoralism as the basis for livelihood in the study area.

Posted on 31 July 2018 in Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition