Attachments
Drought Situation & EW Phase Classification
Biophysical Indicators
The County received below normal to near normal rainfall in the Month of October which was fair to poor in both temporal and spatial distribution.
The current pasture and browse improve in some parts of the county while others are in fair to poor state. There is below normal to insignificant improvement in pasture and browse in most parts of Wajir South and Eldas area.
The overall vegetation condition declined as shown by the 3-month VCI from a value of 36.05 to 29.5. Pasture regeneration was poor in most parts of the County as a result of poor rainfall which was characterized with long interval.
The current state of water is at level 4 which is normal at this time of the year. Water pans have recharged in Wajir North, Wajir West, parts of Tarbaj and Wajir East Sub-counties. There was insignificant rainfall in Wajir South.
Water trekking distances for households and livestock decreased slightly due to short rains recharging temporary water points. The current average households to watering points stand at 3.5 km compared to previous month of 4.2km. Average grazing distances also decreased slightly from 15.3 to 12.5 as pasture return
Socio-economic Indicators (Impact Indicators)
The current drought status is alert on improving trend given that the rains received improved pasture and browse conditions in most parts of livelihood zones except Wajir South and pockets of other areas in Eldas and Tarbaj.
The Current livestock body condition is fair with an improvement noted in some sections of livestock in all species, though some parts of wajir south shows a worsening situation. However camel body conditions remained good to fair across livelihood zones.
Livestock market performed poorly in the county as compared to previous month. The current ToT stands at 59 lower than previous month of 60 due to low purchasing power and poor livestock body condition of which we are expecting an improvement in the coming months. Migration of livestock was witness as a result of insufficient pasture and water in some areas in Wajir south, Eldas. Milk accessibility and availability was below normal. Milk price remained high at an average price of Ksh 85 per litre, consequently affecting household consumption and nutrition status of children under five.