Kenyan farmers blamed for draining water sources

  As part of my first blog entry in Water and Food, I will look at the political and environmental impacts, climate change has had on farmers in Central Kenya. Before we begin, it is crucial to acknowledge a key irony that occurs in discussions of climate change and development. The Global North has contributed significantly high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere, since the beginning of the industrial period, 150 years ago (Uddin, 2017). However, the Global South, the majority of whom have yet to contribute to these industrial activities to the same degree, experiences the brunt of the impacts of climate change (Uddin, 2017).

Global initiatives that aim to reduce GHG emissions do not just target countries in the Global North, the greatest contributors, but also pressure countries in the Global South to follow suit (Uddin, 2017). As many countries in the Global South are post-colonial countries, many are endeavoring to develop their economies, infrastructure, and resources (Beall, 2022). Without convoluting this blog post with arguments in the frame of the “right to development” narrative (Krichmeier, 2006), I merely wish to highlight the parallels of this international ‘shame and blame’ dynamic on a case study about NGOs (nonprofit organizations) and central Kenyan farmers near Lake Naivasha, North-West of Nairobi.

Facing the worst drought in the Horn of Africa since 1981, water sources are becoming scarce, livestock are dying, dams are drying up, water and food prices are skyrocketing, and millions of Kenyans are facing malnutrition (OCHA, 2022). Nonprofit organizations and central Kenyan farmers disagree on a consensus moving forward.

This disagreement comes from one side, the Wanjohi Water Resource Users Association, a local nonprofit in central Kenya asserts that farmers are contributing to water scarcity (Njagi, 2022). They observed that eucalyptus trees, grown by farmers, irrigation pipes sourced from the Malewa River, and agrochemicals draining into the river were the main sources of water scarcity and contamination (Njagi, 2022). They advocate that halting these farming practices is the key to solving the issue (Njagi, 2022).

However, the farmers disagree with these accusations. Officials at Kenya Small Scale Farmers Forum instead shift the blame to the Global North-induced climate change and the incessant burning of fossil fuels (Njagi, 2022). Further, researchers found that the rainfall decline in Kenya has been occurring for decades, meaning that the farmers are not the single cause for this decline (Njagi, 2022). The farmers’ sentiments can be felt in a quote from Justus Lavi, the farmer forum’s national general secretary: 

“It is unfair to blame farmers for all the problems that are affecting our water and food systems because those passing the blame are funded by the same sources who are responsible for worsening effects of climate change,”(Njagi, 2022). 

Environmental issues are very complex. While researchers may find that farming activity has contributed, it is bold to blame small-scale farmers for the region’s drought and water scarcity. Nonprofit organizations should adopt a critical lens that the forum points to: why should they be blamed for global climate change caused by historically exploitative structures that have caused climate change in the first place?