Nairobi — Moses ole Liyare marvels at the green shoots sprouting in the fields and says: "I wish my animals had survived to this day."

The livestock farmer in Kajiado District, some 50 kilometres south of Nairobi, lost 300 of his herd in the recent drought. "I am left with only 70 animals," he says.

His most immediate challenge is to restock, which will not be easy. Although there will be enough grass in two weeks, animals will take nine months to calve. "It means starting all over again," says the elderly man.

But Liyare still counts himself lucky. Unlike pastoralists in 35 other districts, he did not migrate in search of pasture and water, thanks to a 350-kilometre water pipeline from Loitokitok that cuts through his ranch. This meant that although the pasture was scarce, he could regularly water his herd.

But the once lush green pastures within his fields gradually got depleted. Slowly the pastures turned into fields of death, as he watched his treasured animals die from the searing heat and lack of fodder.

Last month, Liyare's hope was rekindled when Kjell Bonderick, special envoy of the United Nation secretary-general on the Horn of Africa Drought Situation, came calling.

"We did not have to go through all this," the livestock keeper told the diplomat who has served twice as Norwegian prime minister.

"In Europe, I hear you go through similar situations (during winter) but your cows continue producing the same amount of milk and meat like in summer. Why don't we learn from you?" Liyare posed.

Learnt from hardships

A more pertinent question, though, is whether Kenyan pastoralists have learnt from the hardships endured these past few months.

Fodder harvesting and storage, for instance, should be an integral part of pastoralism in order to overcome the challenges that accompany rain failure.

The just-ended drought is unique in that it had continuously run for close to three years, hitting countries as far apart as Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, Burundi to Mozambique and threatening the lives of close to 16 million people, according United Nation sources.

More than 80 per cent of pastoralists who constitute about 200,000 people in Kajiado had migrated to the neighbouring districts, including neighbouring Tanzania, in search of water and pasture.

In the process, development programmes in the region were disrupted. Farmers in such districts had complained of their crops being destroyed by the marauding herds. The conflicts turned violent in areas such as Machakos, Thika and Naivasha.

To the Maasai community, the drought disrupted school attendance as pupils joined their parents in their search for pasture and water.

According to district education officer Kuyo ole Saoinah, school attendance dropped by 20 per cent, more so in the 17 primary schools not covered by the school feeding programme.

The envoy promised to galvanise world attention to the plight of the suffering pastrolists and to raise $240 million to reduce suffering caused by drought.

However, donor fatigue and bureaucracy means it might take several months to raise and disburse funds, if new crises do not spring elsewhere to distract the UN.

"Corruption is a serious problem (in Kenya) but that cannot be an excuse for the world community not to help the Kenyan people," he said.

The Government has spent Sh82 million in drought interventions. The amount includes Sh28 million for livestock purchase by the State's Agricultural Development Corporation, which took in 8,720 cattle and 941 sheep.

The idea is to have the ADC retain and breed local animals in times of drought so that pastoralists who lose their animals can buy fresh stock adaptable to their environment. The Red Cross has also been active in the area and has bought animals and slaughtered them for hungry residents.

While such intervention by well-wishers is good at the time of crisis, a more lasting solution would be to enable communities to harvest and store fodder, determine the right number of animals to keep and help in marketing.

The UN envoy says part of their assistance would help keep children in school and pastoralists to restock.

That remains Liyare's hope, and watching the grass grow reinforces his trust in the future. Only that he may have to wait till next year to get new calves, and a lot longer to get back his old herd.