Kerio Valley, 1973–2013: A case study of Kenyan smallholder agriculture

ABSTRACT

This article examines changes during the last 40 years in a smallholder irrigation-farming community in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya. Agricultural productivity has increased thanks to improved seeds and the practice of adding manure and crop residues to fields, a very rare occurrence in the 1970s. People’s range of assets, housing conditions and communications have also improved. Development agencies have had limited impact on these developments, particularly in comparison with their ambitious plans for a radical transformation of the study area. Increased yields and improved living conditions are attributed to local initiatives rather than to external interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• irrigation-farming
• development
• rural livelihoods
• longitudinal studies
• Marakwet

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Corrigendum

Acknowledgements

Principal research partners in the field were Helena Chepto, Florence Jemutai Cheptum, Johnstone Kibor Kassagam (1952–2003), and Timothy Kipkeu Kipruto. Their competent and dedicated contributions are highly appreciated. Thanks also to Pastor Edwin Suter Zablon for his assistance with transcribing Marakwet words and concepts, and to Lars-Ove Westerberg for his input on the soils of Sibou. We are indebted to Michael Bollig, Lowe Börjeson, William Critchley, Matthew Davies, and Elizabeth Watson for constructive comments on an earlier draft. Comments from two anonymous reviewers likewise greatly helped improve the article. Usual disclaimers apply. Thanks finally to Stefan Ene and Pontus Hennerdal for designing the map. Caretta’s field study (research authorisation: KE: NCST/RDC/10/013/16) was carried out with financial support of the Swedish International Cooperation Agency (SWE2009-210). Östberg was, during the different field research periods, affiliated to the Institute of Development Studies, University of Nairobi, and to the National Museums of Kenya, respectively, and held over the years research grants from several Swedish research agencies.

Notes on contributors

Wilhelm Östberg is Associate Professor in Social Anthropology and formerly curator of African Studies in the Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm. He has been co-editor-in-chief of Ethnos. Journal of Anthropology. He is currently affiliated researcher at the Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University.

Martina Angela Caretta holds a PhD in Geography from Stockholm University. She began as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University in 2016. She is a feminist geographer investigating the human dimensions of water. Her doctoral dissertation investigated gender contracts in small-holder irrigation farming systems in Kenya and Tanzania.

ORCID

Wilhelm Östberg http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5163-6007

Martina Angela Caretta http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6811-304X

Notes

1 See <http://agra-alliance.org>.

2 For reference figures of the time see Acland (1971: 116, 131, 189).

3 SMS fundraising has gained popularity in Kenya in recent years. In emergencies, members of the public contribute small sums of money for relief aid. The money is channelled through non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

4 Personal communications with Florence Jemutai Cheptum and Edwin Suter Zablon as well as intermittent news reports from Kenya NTV, Kenya Citizen TV, KBC Channel 1, and Northrift News published on YouTube.