Impact of resettling Maasai from Olkaria on herd productivity

Projects such as dams, conservancies, and geothermal energy production necessitate the relocation of project-affected persons. Resettlement often causes loss of livelihoods. In 2014, Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited (KenGen) displaced 155 Maasai pastoralist households to create space for expansion of the existing geothermal electricity generation plants at Olkaria. The pastoralists were moved to an area called RAPland village.

In 2019, the study “Impact of resettlement on livestock production and performance among the Maasai pastoralists of RAPland village, Olkaria Kenya” by Abraham Biar Gai et al, published in Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022) 12:15 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s13570-021-00212-6) explored how the relocation affected the production and performance of the resettled pastoralists’ livestock. Data were collected from 105 of the 155 household heads. It was found that relocation led to a 66% reduction in cattle numbers (tropical livestock units) and, although the pastoralists slightly increased the percentage of cows in the herd, there was a drastic reduction in total milk production per household herd because of poor-quality grazing, higher disease pressure and greater predation by wildlife. As a result, the pastoralists became less able to secure food for their families. The authors conclude that future displacement and resettlement programmes involving pastoralist communities should address grazing needs and avoid weakening pastoralists’ resilience, which leads to impoverishment.

Posted on 14 May 2022 in Pastoralism & Extractives, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition