Roads, Public Works, and Transport

Roads

Homa Bay County has one class A1 (Kisii-Kisumu) road which covers about 30Km. There is the one class C20 (Homa Bay Rongo) road covering about 30Km; two class C19 (Homa Bay – Mbita and Homa Bay  – Kendu Bay) road covering about 71Km, one class C18 (Rodi Company- Sori, Oyugis to Rodi) road covering about 32Km.  All these class A and C roads are bituminized surfaces except Oyugis-Rodi Kopany.  A total of 201Km of the road surface in the county is under bitumen, including one class D217 (Kadongo  –  Gendia)  road  covering  about  33Km  and  one  D221  road  of  about  5Km  linking Kadongo to the county boundary with Nyamira County. The rest of the classified road network of about 3041Km is not bituminized with 25 per cent under gravel and 75 per cent under earth, though D219 is currently under construction to bitumen standards.

Transport

Homa Bay County also has five airstrips, namely: Kabunde, Mfangano, Rusinga, Otange and Otaro airstrip but only Kabunde airstrip has been upgraded to 1.2Km of airport standards runway and is operational with nine flights per week. In terms of water transport, Homa Bay County has 2 water buses, 2 ferry services between Mbita and Lwanda  Kotieno,  and  Mbita  –  Mfangano.  Homa Bay County has 151 underdeveloped landing beaches and 6 jetties which includes Mbita (2), Kendubay (1), Mfangano (2), and Homa Bay (1). The 12 islands in the county water surface area are accessible with the majority only by motor boats. The harbors established by Kenya Railways in Homa Bay, Kendu -Bay and Kajimu need basic rehabilitation. The county has neither a railway system nor a pipeline.

Education and ICT

Education, Skills, Literacy, and Infrastructure

Literacy is the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about the written word. It involves, at all levels, the ability to use and communicate in a diverse range of technologies. Education on the other hand is the activity involved in the acquisition of knowledge and skills both formally or informally hence makingit very critical for economic development. This section gives information on facilities and enrolment, teacher to pupil/student ratios, transition rates, completion rates and retention rates for both pre-school education, primary education and secondary education.

Pre- School Education /Early Childhood Development Education

Attendance to  pre-school education in an  organized learning or  child  education  program  isimportant for the readiness of children to school. It is well recognized that a period of rapid brain development occurs in the first 3-4 years of life, and the quality of home care is a major determinantof the  child’s  development during this period.  In  this context,  adult activities with children, presence of  books at home,  for  the  child, and  the  conditions  of  care  are  important  indicators  ofquality of child care. A World Fit for Children goalis that “children should be physically healthy,mentally alert, emotionally secure, socially competent and ready to learn”.Activities  that  support  early  learning and  development  included  the  involvement  of  adultswithchildren  in  the  following  activities  like  reading  books,  looking  at  picture  books,  telling  stories,singingsongs, taking children  outside  the  home,  compound  or  yard,  playing  with  children,  andspending timewith children naming, counting, or drawing things.

Primary Education

Universal access to basic education and the achievement of primary education by children is one of the county’s most  important  goals  of  the  Sustainable Development  Goals.  Education is  a  vital prerequisite  for combating  poverty,  empowering  women,  protecting  children  from  hazardous  and exploitative  labour  and  sexual  exploitation,  promoting  human  rights  and  democracy,  protecting the environment, and influencing population growth.

Non-Formal Education

Non-formal learning includes various structured learning situations, such as swimming sessions fortoddlers,  community-based  sports  programs  and  conference  style  seminars,  which  do  not  either 56 have  the  level  of  curriculum,  syllabus,  accreditation  and  certification  associated  with  ‘formal learning’,  but  have  more  structure  than  that  associated  with  ‘informal  learning’,  which  typically take place naturally and spontaneously as part of other activities.

Adult  literacy  is  an  SDG  indicator,  relating  to  both  men  and  women.  74  per  cent  of  women  in Homa Bay County are literate.  According to MICS 2011, literacy varies by age, education level and levels of household wealth index. 68 per cent of young women aged 20-24 and 79 per cent of young women aged 15-19 years are literate. Also, 63 per cent and 98 per cent of women who have attained primary  school  and  secondary  school/higher  education  respectively  are  literate.  Literacy  rate  is  at 61 per cent in women from the lowest wealth quintile  and 87 per cent in women from the highest wealth quintile.

Youth polytechnics

The county has in the most current Cedia Utawala Survey Report, 2014, 50 Youth Polytechnics witha  total  enrolment  of  2,970  students.  The  number  of  Youth  Polytechnics  in  Homa  Bay  increased from 24 in the year 2013 to 26 in the year 2016. There is a need to establish more youth polytechnics to cater for the growing youth population.

Secondary Education

According to MICS report 2011, the average net attendance ratio at secondary school is 18.2 per cent 21.3 per cent for boys and girls  respectively. This means  that less  than a quarter of children of the secondary school-going age are in school on a typical day. There are over 180 secondary schools in the  county  catering  for  the  secondary  education  needs  of  a  total  96,131    eligible  children  however only  the  63,400  children  between  the  ages  of  thirteen  and  seventeen  are  accommodated.  This represents  an  average  enrolment  of  66  per  cent  of  the  children  eligible  for  secondary  school education. With an estimated staff establishment of 1,224 it can be projected that the teacher pupil ratio will jump from 1:49 currently to 1:79 once a gross enrolment rate of 100 per cent is achieved. To  achieve  the  national  target  of  100  per  cent  gross  enrolment  and  a  teacher  pupil  ratio  of  1:40,measures  must  be  in  place  to  hire  additional  teachers  for  the  existing  secondary  schools  in  the county. With 42.8 per cent of the married having got married at between 15 and 17 years and with over 56 per cent of the children who attend school being involved in some form of child labour, it is imperative that challenges of child marriages and child labour are addressed as a matter of priority.

Tertiary Education

The  county  of  Homa  Bay  according  to  the  study  has  2  public  technical  training  institutions: Mawego,  Wanyama  and  one  public  Teacher  Training  College  at  Asumbi.  There  are6  private accredited Teacher Training Colleges: Nyandiwa, Nyabola, GEBS, St. Francis, Mbita ECD, Joy ECD and, one private accredited commercial college in Homa Bay (Yolifa Institute). There are also two University  Branches  in  the  county:  Tom  Mboya  University  College  and  University  of  Nairobi  and Homa  Bay  Extra-Mural  Centre.  With  poverty  rates  of  Homa  Bay  at  48.4  (KNBS),  most  of  the students who complete secondary are not able to proceed to tertiary institutions. The low 58 transition  to  post-secondary  institutions  must  be  addressed  first  by  building  tertiary  institutions within  the  reach  of  the  populations  in  each  sub-county  and  then  support  in  terms  of  tuition, transport and accommodation given to students from those households of poor wealth quintiles.

Adult and Continuing Education

Literacy  rates  in  the  County  are  quite  low.  Given  the  general  apathy  towards  adult  education,  the County  should  seek  ways  of  attracting  more  adults  to  continuing  education  in  order  to  improve literacy  among  the  general  population.  As  a  way  of  doing  this  and  of  increasing  the  number  of existing designated adult education centres, new adult education units could be started atminimum  cost  within  existing  public  institutions  such  as  primary  schools,  secondary  schools,vocational and technical institutions.

Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

There is only one Technical Training Institute (TVET) in Homa Bay County known as Mawego TTI in Karachuonyo Sub County according to the most current Utawala, 2014 Survey reports.

Information Communication and Technology

Homa  Bay  County  has  14  post  offices  spread  across  its  vast  territory  to  adequately  cater  for  its population  needs.  However,  with  the  emergence  of  mobile  phones-based  short  message  services, increased  availability  of  email  facilities,  other  electronic  media  and  curio  services,  the  use  of  post office  services  has  been  significantly  reduced.  The  county  enjoys  mobile  phone  penetration  of 85.6%  with  all  the  national  telephone  operators  registering  a  presence.  The  use  of  all  landline services has virtually ended in the county with most  connectivity infrastructure vandalized. Possession  of      mobile  phones  is  at  54%  averagely  in  the  county,  while  this  has  significantly increased for  the  urban  households  with  9  in  10  urban  households  (94  percent)  owning  a  mobile phone. Huduma Centre was introduced in the county hence bringing services closer and boosting the economy.

The  County  Government  of  Homa  Bay  has  developed  a  Multi-Sectoral  County  ICT  Road  Map  to guide the implementation of ICT in the County; established an ICT  and Innovation Hub in Homa Bay  Town;  extended  the  fiber  optic  cable  to  the  County  Headquarters;  operationalized  County Website and improved government service delivery processes by networking various offices. There is need to expand the already existing ICT hubs that had been started by the  National Government and further expand incubation centers in the remaining sub counties.

Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Security

Agriculture

Agriculture extension service is provided majorly by the County Department of Livestock, Fisheries,  Agriculture  and  Food  Security  and  to  a  small  extent  by  the  private  sector.  The  county gets  research  services  from  Kenya  Agriculture  and  Livestock  Research  Organization  (KALRO) Opapo Sugar  Research Station, ICIPE Mbita, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research institute (KEMFRI)  based  in  Kisumu  and  Kenya  Agriculture  and  Livestock  Research  Organization  Kisii. There  has  been  an  Agricultural  Training  Center  that  has  since  been  converted  into  Tom  Mboya University College. Self Help Africa through an NGO called Rheal Solution has established cassava multiplication  sites  in  most  of  the  sub  counties.  International Sweet Potato Center  (CIP)  has  also established sweet potato multiplication sites in Rangwe, Kasipul and Kabondo Kasipul sub counties.

Livestock

The main livestock breeds reared in Homa Bay county are: the east African zebu for meat, milk and draught  power,  meat  and  dairy  goats,  indigenous  poultry,  indigenous  sheep  and  to  some  lesser extent  dairy  animals  and  few  exotic  poultry,  donkeys,  a  few  pigs,  ducks  and  geese.  Emerging livestock  including  quails  and  ostrich  keeping  is  yet  to  be  introduced  in  the  county  and  has  great potential.   Livestock keeping is practiced in all parts of the County. Livestock production facilities in  the  county  include:  livestock  auction  yards  in  major  livestock  markets  of  Nyangweso,  Rodi, Kipasi,  Mbita,  Sindo,  Pala  and  Magunga,  Oyugis,  Ringa,  Oriang  and  2  slaughter  houses  one  in homa Bay and the other in Oyugis.

Ranching

There exists no known form of ranching in Homa Bay County. Ranching is not viable in the county due  to  the  land  subdivision  into  small  unsustainable  units.  Ranching  requires  large  tracks  of  land which does not exist as single units in Homa Bay.

Fishing Activities

Two main commercial fish species in the County includes Nile perch (L. Niloticus) which accounts for  37,000  Metric  tons  annually  and  dagaa  (R.  Argentae)  accounting  for  34,000  metric  tons annually.  Production  of  Tilapia  which  is  a  local  delicacy  is  still  low  and  it  is  sourced  throughcapture fisheries and fish farming. The  fisher  folk in the County are  organized into Beach Management  Units  (BMUs)  and  the  County  has  a  total  of  133  Beach  Management  Units  (BMUs)which are distributed in 141 fish landing sites where active fishing activities are undertaken. Homa Bay  County  has  a  relatively  long  lake  shore  with  less  polluted  inshore  waters  bordering  Uganda.  The County produces approximately 50% of the total fish production in Kenya’s Lake Victoria.

Health Services

The sector had various key notable achievements during the period 2013-18 including  procurement  of  drugs  and  non-pharmaceuticals  for  all  gazetted  health facilities(260);  recruitment  of  711  additional  health  personnel;  construction  of modern maternity wards in Ndhiwa, Rangwe and Kendu Bay sub county hospitals; renovation of part of County referral hospital, establishment of 1 satellite MTCs in Oyugis;  implementation  of  the  Community  Health  Strategy,  recruitment  of  2147 CHWs  in  the  process;  procurement  of  digitized  medical  equipment  including renal and dialysis machines, x-rays, CT scan and ultra-sound machines; construction of 5 staff houses, construction of 4 general wards, purchase of  7 fully equipped ambulances in collaboration with partners; purchase of 2 hospital generators  and  establishment  of  14  WASH  facilities  in  the  county.  The  sector established green energy (solar energy) in 11 facilities with the support of partners.

Trade, Industrialization, Cooperatives and Enterprise Development

Trade

Trade  and  industry  is  extensively  done  through  the  department  of  trade,  industry,  investment  and enterprise development in Homa Bay County. The trade and industrial processes in the county are markets, industrial parks, major industries and varied businesses.

Markets

Homa Bay County currently has 103 active major markets generating revenue in the 8 sub counties. Some of the markets and trading Centre’s lack vital services such as proper sheds, parking space, public  space,  water  and  sanitation  facilities,  and  proper  solid  waste  management  among  others. These markets generate a bigger portion of the local revenues thus there is need to develop them.

Industrial Parks

Homa  Bay  County  has  no  industrial  park.  However,  efforts  have  been  made  that have  culminated to the signing of MoU with EPZA on the same. 100Ha of land for industrial park and 10Ha for waste management has been acquired for the same at Kakdhimu.

Major Industries

Homa  Bay  County  has  a  limited  presence  of  industries  being  home  only  to  two  fish  processing industries  in  Homa  Bay  Town  and  Mbita  Point,  one  sugar  processing  industry  in  Ndhiwa,  an  ice plant  in  Mbita  Point  that  processes  and  packages  drinking  water  and,  an  integrated  industry  in Kwethumbe (Suba) that processes forest products. The cotton processing ginnery in Homa Bay had collapsed due to market and technological challenges and with the introduction of cheap synthetic alternatives to cotton in the world market that made cotton farming unattractive to most farmers in the county. Effort is however  being made by Cotton Development Authority (CoDA) to reintroduce  cotton  farming  as  a  serious  enterprise  in  the  county  particularly  in  Karachuonyo, Homa Bay Town, Ndhiwa and Rangwe sub-counties where great potential still exists. The county‘s cottage industry is still modest with about 6,400 artisans registered in 356 jua kali associations.

Tourism, Sports, Gender, Culture and Social Services

Tourism

Homa  Bay  County  sits  in  a  prominent  position  to  be  a  lead  destination  in  the  Western  Tourism Circuit and is home to Ruma National Park  which is the only park  where unique and rare species like the roan antelope can be found. The county also hosts events and sites of mythical interest like the  Tom  Mboya  Mausoleum,  the  Mfangano  Rock  Art,  Oyugis  Bird  Sanctuary,  Homa  Hills  Hot Spring and SimbiNyaima. There are over 18 islands such as Rusinga and Mfangano, peninsulas and bays  some  with  unique  fauna  and  flora  and  an  impressive  array  of  physical  features  with  great aesthetic value. There is need to improve these tourism sites to bring in revenue to the county.  It also  boasts  of  breath-taking  scenery  and  forested  landscape  leading  to  and  around  the  Lake Victoria  coast line,  especially  within  Mbita  and  Suba,  such  as  is  the  case  with  the  Sikri peninsula. There are also opportunities for sports and cultural tourism especially as relates to the way of life of the  Luo  and  the  Abasuba  whose  traditional  boat  racing  and  artifacts  continue  to  attract  a  lot  of local and international tourists.

Main Tourist Attractions and Activities

Homa  Bay  County  is  home  to  tourist  attractions  of  the  lake  region  that  has  been  categorized  as Nature and Wildlife, Culture, Heritage and Community-Based Tourism, Agro-tourism, Eco-tourism etc.  Some  of  the  major  tourism  attraction  sites  include  Ruma  National  Park  and  Homa  Hills.  The county local residents are usually involved in cultural events that boost tourism.

Classified/Major Hotels

Homa  Bay  County  has  91%  and  9%  of  unclassified  and  classified  hotels  respectively.  This  is according to the last National Hotel Classification exercise that was carried out in 2003.

Sports

The County Government of Homa Bay has entered into negotiation with the National Government to support the development of Homa Bay County Stadium at a cost of Kshs. 1.5 billion. The focus of this  current  CIDP  (2018  –  2022)  will  be  on  the  development  of  Homa  Bay  County  Stadium  as  a Regional  Sports  Stadium,  development  of  8  Sub-County  Stadia,  Development  of  an  ultra-modern Sports Gymnasia and establishment of Homa Bay County Sports Fund to promote sports activities in the County.

Museums, Heritage and Cultural Sites

Homa  Bay  County  is  a  home  to  several  heritages  and  cultural  sites.  Prominent  among  these  are: Lake  SimbiNyaima,  Ruma  National  Park,  Tom  Mboya  Mausolem,  Rusinga  Cultural  Festival,  Gor Mahia  Shrine  in  Ndhiwa,  among  many  others.  In  the  previous  term  of  (2013  –  2017),  The  County Government  of  Homa  Bay  face  lifted  and  refurbished  Tom  Mboya  Mausoleum  in  Rusinga,  Oyugis Birds  Sanctuary  in  Kasipul,  purchased  land  around  the  GorMahia  Shrine  and  earmarked  it  for  the development of GorMahia Sports and Cultural Complex through PPP and mapped all other cultural sites across the county for conservation and protection.

Focus  in  the  current  CIDP  (2018  –  2022)  will  be  on  the  development  of  Homa  Bay  Stadium  to  an ultra-modern  sports  complex  with  the  support  of  the  National  Government,  development  of GorMahia Shrine as a Tourist Attraction Site complete with a Cultural Artefacts Exhibition Centers, a Sports Complex and Conference Facility, in partnership with the KWS, initiate the Roan Antelope Conservation Campaign and promote Eco-Tourism Investment in and around Ruma National Park to boost both local and international tourism at the Park and to promote linkage between Research Institutions and the Homa Bay County Government for the purpose of further development of our unique heritages and cultural sites.

Talent Academies

Currently Homa Bay County has no talent academies but there is dire need for the same to nurture the various talents among the youth in the County.

Lands, Housing, Urban Development and Physical Planning

Lands

A  desktop  survey  by  Cedia  Africa/Utawala  (2016)  revealed  that  only  11%  of  the  land  is  used  under cash crops. Most of the land is being used to produce subsistence food crops. The County has the potential to produce more than it can consume. The mean land holding size in Homa Bay County stands at 6 acres, meaning majority of farmers fall in the bracket of smallholders. On average, two acres of these are used for settlement and the balance is used for agricultural and rural development  purpose.

The  survey  further  reported  key  challenges  facing  land  use  and  hence agriculture to include drought, lack of access to credit, and outbreak of pests/diseases such as army worms, inadequate staff at the sub-county, ward and location levels, especially extension staff, high poverty levels and low soil fertility. 80% of the farmers produce maize and beans as the staple crops of the county. Main cash crops produced in the county are sugar cane (Ndhiwa), Sun Flower (Suba North  and  South)  Rice,  Pineapple  (Rangwe)  and  Potatoes  and  Groundnuts  (Karachuonyo  South, Karachuonyo  East,  Rangwe  and  Ndhiwa).  Excellent  potential  exists  for  cotton  production  in  Suba North, Homa Bay Town, Rangwe and Karachuonyo North Sub-Counties.

Homa Bay County land is subdivided into type and size. The various land types include arable, non arable, water mass and urban area.  The land is further categorized into  arable  land  (2154.9Km2),  Non-arable  land  (843.1  Km2),  water  mass  (1227.3  Km2)  and  urban area (185.3 Km2). Arable area occupies the largest area at 2154.9 km2 followed closely by water mass at  1227.3  Km2.  This  is  an  indication  that  Homa  Bay  County  has  high  potentials  for  fishing  and agriculture, main economic activates for the county.

Housing

The  type  of  material  used  for  the  floor  of  a  building  often  serve  as  useful  indicator  of  housing quality  from  both  health  and  wealth  perspective.  The  vast  majority  of  housing  units  in  the county are earth-floored (74.7 per cent), mud-wood walled (65.6 per cent) and iron-roofed (82.3 per  cent).  According  to  the  2009  Kenya  Population  and  Housing  Census,  11.2  per  cent  of  the housing  in  the  county  was  classified  as  permanent  even  though  this  figure  is  expected  to  have experience  great  improvement  over  the  last  three  years.  24.4  per  cent  of  the  housing  in  the county had floors made of cement, 15.1 per cent roofs were grass thatched and 16.5 per cent and 5.6 per cent had walls made of cemented materials and corrugated iron sheets respectively. Less than  1  per  cent  was  tiled  either  on  the  roof  or  on  the  floor.  Appropriate  infrastructure  for housing development is still lacking in the county and it would be imperative for government to step  in  and  help  modernize  housing  in  the  county  through  appropriate  support  mechanisms such as mortgage guaranteeing, urban regeneration and housing subsidies.

Energy

Majority  of  Homa  Bay  county  residents  rely  heavily  on  fuel  wood  (84%)  and  charcoal  (13.4%) for cooking.  Firewood is used more intensively in rural areas while charcoal in urban areas.  As a result, Homa Bay is  one of the counties with a negative biomass  net balance represented by an annual deficit of 257,706 cubic meters. The county is not doing well in terms of efficient use of paraffin for lighting, with 94.6 per cent of households using it for lighting.  This scenario is unsustainable  and  must  be  reversed  by  increasing  access  to  alternative  clean  energy  such  as grid  electricity,  off-grid  solar,  biomass  energy  and  solar  lamps.  Energy  saving  cook  stoves  or Jikos  will  also  be  promoted  to  reduce  firewood  and  paraffin  consumption  in  the  county through the program known as “Operation Nyangile out.” Average annual demand for electric energy in Homa Bay County was 51.1GWh as at the end of 2016  and  is  expected  to  increase  to  149.31Gwh  (low  case  scenario)  or  284.25Gwh  (high  case scenario)  by  the  year  2030.  This  does  not  compare  favorably  with  power  supply,  which originates from Eastern and Central parts of Kenya where most of the power generating plants are  located.  Given  the  expected  growth  in  electric  energy  demand,  the  County  Government plans  to  meet  the  deficit  by  facilitating  investments  in  solar,  geothermal  and  biomass  power generation plants, which have significant power generation potential in the County.

Finance, Economic Planning and Service Delivery

The  financial  services  are  critical  for  the  achievement  of  10  per  cent  annual  GDP  growth  rate  as indicated  in  the  Vision  2030.  A  significant  increase  in  investment  is  needed  for  mobilizing  both domestic and international resources towards achieving the Vision 2030.The goal of the sector will be  achieved  by  deepening  financial  markets  focusing  on  enhancing  effective  access  to  financial services and improving efficiency while maintaining financial stability.

The system of payments of taxes via mobile money has been implemented and payments can now be made via Safaricom’s Mpesa system and Airtel Money. More people now preferusing the money mobile banking and payments system as opposed to walking to the banks. Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) survey, 2017, recorded number of mobile money subscriptions as 31.9 million served by 161,583 active mobile money agents in the  county. It should be  noted  that  this  volume  included  person-to-person  transfers  and  mobile  commerce  (paying  for goods and services using till and pay-bill numbers, among other options), where KES 515.9 billion and KES 586.4 billion worth of transactions were made for the respective categories.

There  are  six  formal  banking  institutions  in  Homa  Bay  County  namely  Barclays  Bank,  Kenya Commercial  Banks,  Cooperative  Bank,  Equity  Bank,  Post  Bank  and  National  Bank.  Notably,  most co-operatives are SACCO’s providing their members with convenient and secure means for saving money and obtaining credit at affordable interest rates.

Water,  Sanitation, and Environment

Save for Lake Victoria and other known natural sources such as rivers and springs, the county of HomaBay  has  several  water  facilities  spread  over  211  sub-locations.  These  facilities  include boreholes,  water  pans  and  water  wells/springs.  Whereas  development  partners  such  as  World Vision  have  made  great  sides  in  development  and  rehabilitation  of  water  facilities,  many  areas still  remain  water-deficient  particularly  in  Karachuonyo,  Rangwe,  Suba  South  and  Homa  Bay Town.

In  each  of  the  four  county  towns,  rehabilitation  of  both  the  old  and  new  intakes  is  on-going, and new pumps are  being installed, resulting in a doubling of urban water  production. Immediate  works  to  reduce  leaks  and  rehabilitate  the  treatment  works  at  the  reservoirs  will help  to  reduce  unaccounted-for-water  from  65%  to  the  present  level  of  41%.  Additional  works will include the laying of many kilometers of PVC pipeline, installation of 100 tipping bins and 10  waste  transfer  stations,  construction  of  80  VIP  latrines  in  selected  schools  and  public  areas and a number of water kiosks in low income settlements.

Water Resources

The  major  water  resources  in  Homa  Bay  County  includes  rivers  AwachKibwon,  AwachTende, Maugo,  Kuja,  Rangwe,  Riana,  Sondu-Miriu  and  Lake  Victoria.  Other  sources  include  71  shallow wells,  43  protected  springs,  78  unprotected  springs,  383  water  pans,  119  boreholes  and  rainwater catchment in 8,553 households.

Environment

Conserving natural resources is a basic requirement for ensuring local populations is not vulnerable to  climate  change  risks  and  impacts.  It  is  also  important  for  improving  the  quality  of  life  for 41 communities. Therefore, changing how essential resources are managed and how energy needs are met is a priority for the County of Homa Bay. Urgent action must be taken to halt global warming and reduce climate change risks while encouraging sustainable development. The Lake Victoria Basin continues to face major ecological challenges that have caused considerable  hardship  for  the  population  depending  on  it  for  their  livelihoods  and  have  also reduced the biodiversity of the lake’s flora and fauna. According to ICRAF (2000), more than 80% of  the  population  in  the  basin  is  engaged  in  agricultural  production.  Deforestation  coupled  with bad agricultural practices has persistently exacerbated the problem of land degradation in the basin and sedimentation in the lake. As a result, land degradation in prime agricultural areas within the catchments  has  been  attributed  to  food  productivity  losses.  By  fusing  geospatial  techniques  and empirical  soil  erosion  modeling  techniques  mainly  the  Revised  Universal  Soil  Loss  Equation (RUSLE)  Model  that  looked  at  five  key  soil  erosion  control  parameters:  vegetation  cover,  rainfall erosivity, slope factor, soil erodibility and population density, the major land degradation hot spots were  defined  by  the  very  high  class  as  well  as  overall  spatial  variability  of  land  degradation severities in the basin’s context. The finding from analysis of  results  revealed  that  majority  of  the basin  is  experiencing  moderate  soil  erosion  but  this  is  shifting  towards  high.