PhD thesis Title Page Final _Richard Juma - Victoria University ...

fishing (Turkana Development Annual Report 1936, 1938, 1939, 1942).
But the fishing project later failed because the fish supplies varied as the
level of the lake fluctuated (Turkana District Annual Report 1948). But as
will be discussed below, the project was later revived through the
assistance of the Norwegian government after Kenya became independent.
In summary, looking at the history of the Turkana people during the
colonial regime, it is understood that food security could not be achieved
in the Turkana area through the Britishtype rule of force from above,
which ignored the indigenous social-economic and political institutions,
and goals of the local people. The major lesson learnt here is that
sustainable livelihood in Turkana could only be achieved with the people,
not for the people.
5.2.2.2 Post-independence period.
5.2.2.2.1 Introduction.
At independence in 1963, the Kenyan government realised the chronic
nature of food insecurity and underdevelopment in pastoral areas. A
holistic development plan and strategies were formulated for pastoral
areas recognising the potential of livestock products for export and
consumption (Republic of Kenya 1992). These measures saw some greater
attention being focused on pastoral districts. However, these measures
were still limited in terms of their capacity to meet the needs of the
pastoral population since they were based on the acceptance of a neo-
Malthusian understanding of the situation. This meant that policies to
encourage pastoral production were only to be directed towards sedentary
livestock production, a system not suited to climate and ecological
conditions in pastoral areas (Brown 1963; Dames 1964). The measures
also meant changing the pastoralists themselves, rather than the
circumstances that surround their existence.
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