Better risk management requires interventions at the household, community and national levels. People, communities and governments need to be able to better assess the risk they face. They need to be able to access and use information that will allow them to better prepare for coming shocks.
In 2008, USAID began supporting new programs to insure East African pastoralists against the loss of livestock in case of serious drought, thereby building the resilience of these vulnerable communities. A new product—index-based livestock insurance (IBLI)—is being developed and tested in the Marsabit district of northern Kenya and the adjacent Borana region of southern Ethiopia. In these areas, pastoralists are raising over 18 million cows, goats and sheep.
Hamidou Ly looked up at the sky and shook his head. For weeks, the year’s anticipated rain hadn’t arrived. Finally, one day he felt a drop, then several more, and raised his arms to the heavens. The rainy season had come, albeit late and ultimately infrequent, but Ly wasn’t worried.
With technical assistance provided by USAID, Kenya’s financial institutions are gradually starting to lend into the sector, supporting the needs of farmers and entrepreneurs who were once excluded from commercial finance.
In Kenya's Tana River District, both pastoralists and farmers suffer when there is drought. Many of the indigenous communities grow maize, beans, mangoes, and various traditional vegetables. Lacking an irrigation scheme, the farmers often find their crops succumbing to the harsh climate.
With grants provided by Feed the Future through the United States African Development Foundation, 1,800 smallholder farmers in Zambia’s Eastern Province are strengthening their capacity to supply groundnuts to oil and nut butter processors, translating into improved food security, nutrition and economic opportunities.
Today, Nyongesa is a beneficiary of a Feed the Future project that addresses risk aversion among smallholder farmers by providing inputs like seeds and fertilizer on loan, training in new farming methods, and market linkages.
