Kenya's herders swap livestock for chilies as drought bites
KANGORIO, Kenya, Aug 7 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At this time of year, Cherop Longiro and her husband are normally busy looking for grazing for their livestock. But their three cows died in the drought in March and they sold their 20 sheep, fearing they would meet the same fate.
"We had two options: either take them to the market and sell them at a throwaway price, or keep them, which was risky because they were most likely going to die," said Richard Longiro from his farm in Kangorio village, West Pokot County.
Over the past year herders in Kenya's Rift Valley have lost thousands of animals to worsening drought and erratic rainfall. This is causing a growing number of them to switch to farming as a way to supplement their income.
Cherop and her husband now plant chillies - a crop resistant to drought - on a quarter-of-an-acre portion of their land, in addition to pawpaw, mangoes and bananas.
CIFOR