Restoring Kenya’s largest delta: The Tana Delta
By Caroline Chebet
Godhana Chalalu stares past his extensive lush rice paddies into the neighboring fishponds bordering his farm in Ozi village, Lamu County in Kenya. The soft-blowing breeze off the Indian ocean makes the sight of the paddies an undulating sight amidst a symphony of chuckles from the adjacent riverine forest.
Across the paddies in the neighboring fish ponds, members of Moto Fish farmers seem to be engaged in conversations while clearing the overgrowth off the ponds.
Godhana’s paddies are almost due. His, are among the first batch of early-maturing rice seeds he secured from the 4,720 kilogrammes of rice seed supplied to 247 farmers by Nature Kenya under a project targeted at restoring degraded areas within the 130,000-hectare Tana Delta which Ozi is part of. Tana Delta, is Kenya’s largest delta.
Although Ozi falls under Tana Delta’s productive networks that do well in rice production, seawater intrusion has been the main challenge that almost halted rice production in the area.
“We have been experiencing the challenge of seawater intrusion here in Ozi and this greatly affected the production of rice. Nature Kenya has since stepped in and supplied us with certified seeds which we have realized are fast-maturing and can withstand the brackish conditions,” Godhana said.
Tana Delta is one of East Africa’s critical and complex ecosystems that comprises flood plains, expansive mangrove systems, pristine beaches, as well as marine salty and freshwater zones that form a network of productive areas.
Godhana, is among the 247 farmers adopting climate-smart agriculture following years of low production as a result of sea-water intrusion that affected rice production.
While Godhana is among those trying out the new seeds as part of mainstreaming climate agriculture, his neighbors, Moto Fish farmers, are also working towards achieving the targets of their ambitious project. The project is targeting to improve livelihoods while regulating over-fishing within the breeding zones along the mangrove zones. The project is also targeted at restoring mangrove and riverine forests in Ozi.
The ambitious project currently taking shape in Tana Delta while bringing communities, stakeholders, experts, and partners together is a Global Environment Facility funded project being implemented by Nature Kenya. The project, dubbed The Restoration Initiative(TRI) Tana Delta, is targeted at restoring degraded landscapes in the vast Tana Delta by mapping priority areas for restoration and rolling out conservation and livelihood projects.
Nature Kenya director Paul Matiku said that restoration of degraded parts within the Tana Delta is critical towards sustaining both the ecosystem and livelihoods of the communities that entirely depend on it.
“Tana Delta is a very critical ecosystem. It is a fragile one too and that is why there is a need to restore degraded areas. Through the GEF funding, Nature Kenya has managed to roll out a series of livelihood support initiatives that will ease restoration of these areas,” Nature Kenya Director Dr Paul Matiku said.
Priority areas targeted for restoration within the Delta have already been mapped out through incorporation of Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) by experts.
Zones that have been mapped include drought and flood-prone areas, deforested landscapes, areas that are experiencing challenges from sea water intrusion and highly over-grazed areas.
Zones that also support very rich diversity have been mapped out as critical and priority areas in restoration while critical productive areas that support farming activities have been mapped out for streamlining of climate-smart agriculture.
“Part of solving the problems facing communities dependent on Tana Delta is mainstreaming climate-smart agriculture so that farmers can understand the impacts of climate change and be able to adapt to the changes to boost production,” Dr Matiku says.
While the rice and fish farmers of Ozi and Mpeketoni can now start planning on their proceeds from climate-smart agriculture, Harakisha farmers group on the other side of Tana Delta are also reaping from their new venture in chili farming. Chilli farming is part of the new initiative identified by Nature Kenya as part of cash crops that do well within the Tana Delta.
“Previously, we used to farm a variety of crops like maize production has been poor over the last few years. However, weather patterns have really changed. There are frequent floods and droughts that become hard to cope with. This frequently results in loss of livelihoods whereas communities are forced to depend on the forests to survive. Introduction of chili farming has however turned our fortunes,” says Dorcas Helbon, a chili farmer.
In the project, Nature Kenya supplied the seeds and helped in training the farmers on best ways to boost production.
Despite the project having peaked in 2019, the 2020 floods swept the chilli farms that were already generating between Ksh 12,000 and Ksh 15,000 to a farmer per week.
“It was one of the best ventures and we are already preparing our farms for replanting again,” Milcah Amaro, the chairperson of the group said.
In Handaraku area in Tana River county, the restoration initiative is targeting at improving goat breeds through the introduction of Gala goats, which are more productive and larger breeds. Through the project, Nature Kenya has distributed male gala goats to improve the breeds and boost livelihoods.
Ismael Komoro, a farmer said the breeds are larger and can fetch better prices as compared to the small indigenous breeds that farmers have been rearing.
In Hurara, another part of Tana Delta, farmers are fast learning about the need to plant certified seeds and diversify crops to boost productivity amidst the unpredictable weather patterns.
Mary Mwende, a farmer from Hurara said through trainings from extension officers facilitated by Nature Kenya, they have been able to boost production
Initially, we never used to purchase the seeds. Instead, we would keep the seeds from the previous harvest and the production kept dwindling. From the training, we now opt for certified seeds which give us better yields. Our production has improved from 3 bags and acres to 8 and 10 baga,” says Mary Mwende, a beneficiary of climate-smart agriculture training.
Nature Kenya Project Coordinator in charge of The Restoration Initiative in Tana Delta Mr Rudolf Makhanu said the initiative also targets to conserve critical areas that support diverse biodiversity including the mangrove ecosystem and riverine forests.
“To conserve fragile ecosystems such as mangrove ecosystems and riverine forests, livelihood support projects are being streamlined so that the
communities realise the need to conserve and co-exist within such critical areas,” Mr Makhanu said.
To save the mangrove and riverine forests, Lamu and Tana River Counties have so far committed to restoring the landscapes through development of Participatory Forest Management.
Community Forest Associations including Mpozi, Kilelengwani, Chara, Kipini, Hewani and Olkolade have also been formed to boost conservation of forests within the Tana Delta.
George Odera, Nature Kenya’s Tana Delta project manager said the several initiatives targeted at improving livelihoods has eased dependency on natural resources while also equipping the local communities with knowledge on how to tackle the challenges brought being experienced because of climate change.
“While Tana Delta is an important ecosystem, there has been a lot that has been happening, changes that have had devastative effects on production. These projects are however turning fortunes around as farmers get to learn on adapting to the new changes. There is also a farmer field school coming up in Minjila, Garsen where farmers can learn about adapting climate-smart agriculture,” Mr Odera said.
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