Of Rain and Raids: Violent Livestock Raiding in Northern Kenya

Witsenburg, Karen; Roba, Adano Wario

doi:10.1080/13698240903403915

Cited by 120 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…Hunger among pastoral households in the study area is mostly associated with the dry season. This results from different interrelated factors, including the deteriorated condition of livestock due to scarcity of water and pasture (Witsenburg and Adano 2009). During the dry season, milk production, which forms an essential component of the pastoral household diet in the wet seasons, is drastically reduced (Ilatsia et al 2007).…”

Section: Contribution Of Camel Milk To Household Food Basketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of camel milk in pastoral livelihoods in Kenya: contribution to household diet and income

2015

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Pastoral livestock production in Kenya is subject to unpredictable rainfall and drought occurrences. These adverse climatic conditions have led to vulnerable and insecure pastoral livelihoods. Despite the potential to alleviate food insecurity of pastoral communities through continuous provision of milk and other products, the potential of camel milk is yet to be fully explored. This study was carried out to examine the contribution of camel milk to pastoral household food baskets and incomes. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information targeting camel milk producers in Isiolo County, upper eastern region of Kenya. The findings show that camel milk contributes significantly to pastoral households. The contribution of the milk to a household food basket was found to be significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) during the dry season than in the wet season. Camel milk sales contributed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) to household incomes throughout the year. These results show the role of camel milk as a complementary source of food and income for pastoral households. Therefore, interventions aimed at supporting pastoral households need to consider the promotion of camel milk production and marketing as an option for building pastoralists' resilience against unpredictable weather.

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Section: Contribution Of Camel Milk To Household Food Basketsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of camel milk in pastoral livelihoods in Kenya: contribution to household diet and income

2015

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“…Natural resources usually seem like the obvious cause, but conflict may be triggered by the absence of good institutions and external interference. A study of Northern Kenya found that it is not drought, but the coming of the rains that is associated with greater conflict casualties (Witsenburg & Adano, 2009). Pastoralists do not fight during a time of scarcity but during periods of plenty, and the disruption of livelihoods remains a major concern for security policies.…”

Section: Natural Resource Wealth Climate Change and Violent Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change, violent conflict and local institutions in Kenya’s drylands

Adano

Dietz

Witsenburg

et al. 2012

Journal of Peace Research

203

135

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Many regions that are endowed with scarce natural resources such as arable land and water, and which are remote from a central government, suffer from violence and ethnic strife. A number of studies have looked at the convergence of economic, political and ecological marginality in several African countries. However, there is limited empirical study on the role of violence in pastoral livelihoods across ecological and geographical locations. Yet, case studies focusing on livelihood and poverty issues could inform us about violent behaviour as collective action or as individual decisions, and to what extent such decisions are informed or explained by specific climatic conditions. Several case studies point out that violence is indeed an enacted behaviour, rooted in culture and an accepted form of interaction. This article critically discusses the relevance of geographical and climatic parameters in explaining the connection between poverty and violent conflicts in Kenya’s pastoral areas. These issues are considered vis-à-vis the role institutional arrangements play in preventing violent conflict over natural resources from occurring or getting out of hand. The article uses long-term historical data, archival information and a number of fieldwork sources. The results indicate that the context of violence does not deny its agency in explanation of conflicts, but the institutional set-up may ultimately explain the occurrence of the resource curse.

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“…Violence in Colombia intensifies when coca or oil prices rise (Angrist and Kugler, 2008;Dube and Vargas, 2013), livestock raiding in Kenya intensifies when herds are healthy (Witsenburg and Adano, 2009), and Japan's long recession has cut into the yakuza's profits from racketeering (Hill, 2006, p. 247). The dynamics of the slave trade, then, followed a logic similar to the model of Besley and Persson (2011); greater state revenues encouraged repression (slave raiding) under non-cohesive political institutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate and the slave trade

Fenske

Kala

2015

Journal of Development Economics

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ABSTRACT. African societies exported more slaves in colder years. Lower temperatures reduced mortality and raised agricultural yields, lowering slave supply costs. Our results help explain African participation in the slave trade, which predicts adverse outcomes today. We use an annual panel of African temperatures and port-level slave exports to show that exports declined when local temperatures were warmer than normal. This result is strongest where African ecosystems are least resilient to climate change. Cold weather shocks at the peak of the slave trade predict lower economic activity today. We support our interpretation using the histories of Whydah, Benguela, and Mozambique.

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Of Rain and Raids: Violent Livestock Raiding in Northern Kenya

Cited by 120 publications

References 7 publications

Role of camel milk in pastoral livelihoods in Kenya: contribution to household diet and income

Role of camel milk in pastoral livelihoods in Kenya: contribution to household diet and income

Climate change, violent conflict and local institutions in Kenya’s drylands

Climate and the slave trade

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