Nuru Kenya 2024 Baringo County Baseline
Authors: Heath Prince, Thomas Boswell (Ray Marshall Center); Pauline Wambeti, Tom Kosgei (Nuru Kenya); Casey Harrison, Matt Lineal, Ian Schwenke, Bethany Ibrahim (Nuru)
Date: November 2024
Publication Type: Report, 17 pp.
This report is commissioned by Nuru.
INTRODUCTION
Nuru Kenya (NK) is a locally-led and locally-operated NGO working with smallholder farmers since 2008 in Migori County and Homabay County, Kenya. In 2024, NK expanded its reach to scale programs into Baringo and eventually Samburu counties, with the primary goal of supporting rural communities in building resilience and achieving sustainable livelihoods. This baseline report marks the initial data collection phase in Baringo County, serving as a critical pre-intervention reference across various value chains—namely dairy, meat, beekeeping, and shoats (sheep and goats)—in the Baringo North and Tiaty sub-counties.
The survey collected data from 672 respondents across the two sub-counties, providing a comprehensive look at the socioeconomic conditions, climate impacts, and agricultural practices in the region. Findings from this baseline indicate that households engaged in multiple value chains currently achieve an average combined income of approximately $473 USD per year, well below the international poverty line and Kenya’s GDP per capita. Paired with lower than average production across value chain activities, this underscores the need for targeted interventions to improve income stability and resilience in these communities.
NK’s entry into Baringo County is supported by the Nuru Collective, a network of locally-led NGOs in East and West Africa, with additional research and program evaluation backing from the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) since 2017. Initial assessments of cooperative organizations in the area, using the SCOPEinsight tool, yielded an average professionalism score of 2.6 out of 5.0 across 18 cooperatives, indicating room for growth in cooperative capacity and structure. NK aims to improve these scores over the coming years, supporting cooperatives to reach a level of sustainability and professionalism that empowers them to deliver core services to members effectively.
The report also addresses the specific climate-related challenges facing Baringo households, capturing insights on rainfall patterns, water access, and climate shocks, such as droughts and floods. The findings underscore the need for resilience-focused interventions, as households across both sub-counties reported frequent exposure to severe climate impacts that affect both livelihoods and food security.
This report also highlights the complex challenges faced by households in Baringo County, including gender disparities, climate impacts, and nutritional deficiencies. Women’s participation in economic and decision-making roles remains limited, climate-related shocks such as drought and flooding are frequent, and chronic malnutrition affects child health. NK is committed to addressing these interconnected challenges through targeted programs that empower women, build climate resilience, and improve nutrition access. With efforts like these, NK aims to create an inclusive and sustainable environment in Baringo where households can achieve both economic and social resilience.
Overall, this baseline report provides a foundational understanding of the needs, opportunities, and challenges in Baringo County, laying the groundwork for NK’s future interventions to foster resilient and
sustainable livelihoods across the region.
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