Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries

The Agricultural and Livestock Sector comprises of the following four sub-sectors: Agriculture (crop production); Livestock Development; Veterinary services, Fisheries & alternative livelihoods and Irrigation development. Some of the stakeholders in the sector are Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), Regional Pastoral Livelihoods Resilience Project (RPLRP), Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP), SIDA and WFP.

Crop Production

Rain fed agriculture is practiced in depressions and along drainage lines where there is more moisture due to seasonal flooding. Irrigation using underground water is limited in areas with permanent shallow wells and mega
pans. Due to the aridity of the county, food production is limited and contributes little (20-30%) to income and food sources security. Efforts have been put towards increasing crops productivity in the county, but over reliance on relief food has been a major hindrance in achieving food security. Other setbacks include; inadequate funding, inadequate technical support (extension), inaccessibility of markets especially by farmers, costly farm inputs and Climate variability and change. Main crops produced include sorghum, drought tolerant maize, beans, melons, cowpeas, green grams and horticultural crops like mangoes, citrus, kales, spinach, tomatoes, sweet and hot
peppers. These activities are undertaken in small scale. However, there are indications of huge potential in this sector as witnessed by the water melons flooding the markets across the county during rainy season. The acreage under food crops is approximately 3,120 Ha out of total arable land of 424,252 Ha representing just 0.7% of the arable land .There are efforts to increase the acreage through irrigation whereby the county government of Wajir has excavated several mega water pans for irrigation.

Livestock sub sector
Livestock production activities are practiced county wide. The climate change and variability has fueled recent droughts episodes which together with, livestock diseases and pests have adversely affect livestock development in the county. The rangeland is also highly degraded, particularly Wajir south and west affecting pasture availability. However, pasture and fodder production under irrigation has gained popularity reducing livestock mortalities from droughts. Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction strategies have been introduced and requires upscaling and promotion

Fisheries and Alternative livelihoods sub-sector
Poultry keeping is more pronounced in main towns like Wajir and Habaswein while the rest of the county only although subsistence poultry production is practiced across the county. The county has introduced fish keeping through institutions and training and extension services by recruiting technical staff. Gum and resins are a source of livelihood for around 3,000 households, mishandling of the product has the earnings remain very low. The county department plans to roll out an elaborate training and extension services to improve earning from gums and resins

Education, Youth, Culture, Gender and Social Services

The department of Education,Youth Gender and Social Service is one of the largest departments of the County Government of Wajir . The department sectors includes, ECD, Youth polytechnics, sports and social services.
Core Functions of the Sector

• Planning and implementation of ECDE education projects and program;
• Quality assurance in and Supervision of Pre-Primary education polytechnics;
• Early Teacher education and management;
• Schools Administration and Programs
• Child Care Development
• ECDE Equipment and infrastructure
• Management of Polytechnics and home craft education

Strategic Goals for Education

• Enhance institutional framework for effective and efficient delivery of education services in the
  county;
• Increase the enrollment and retention in early childhood development and education (ECDE),primary, secondary schools and tertiary institutions;
• Strengthen mainstreaming of cross –cutting issues in education e.g. HIV and AIDS, gender issues and life skills and Environment;
• Improve inclusion and participation of learners with special needs in education
• Improve access to vocational training, ICT, etc to meet the needs of the labor market, talent
• Enhance access to sports facilities, activities and programs

Pre- School Education(Early Childhood Development Education)
ECD centers are 264with a total enrolment of 15,075. The teacher/pupil ratio is 1:25 and transition rate of 90 per cent.

Primary Education
The Primary schools are 218 with a total enrolment of 63,912 pupils of which 38,584 are boys and 25,328 are girls. The primary school retention and transition rates are 51 per cent and 94 per cent respectively.

Non formal Education

The county has Islamic education classes across the villages popularly known as Duksi whereby children are taught Islamic religion.

Youth polytechnics

There are nine youth polytechnics out of which only five are operational (Wajir, Habaswein, Khorof Harar, Tarbaj and Griftu polytechnics). The total enrollment stands at197 with 69 being male and 128 females. There is need to operationalize all the polytechnics to ensure easy access by the youth.

Secondary Education
There are 41 secondary schools has total enrolment of 12,188 of which 7,780 are boysand 4,408 are girls. The Enrolment in secondary schools in the county is expected to increase significantly due to increased transition from primary schools and opening up of Day secondary schools in line with the national government policy of increasing access to secondary education.

Tertiary Education
There is one Medical Training College, one Livestock Training Centre (GPTC Griftu), Two Teacher training colleges and two other tertiary institutions. There is need to improve on the institutions as well as coming with a constituent university.

Adult and continuing Education
Adult literacy is low at 23.6 per cent. There is need to invest more on the area throughestablishment of adult classes in all sub-counties to increase adult literacy.

Technical, Vocational Education and Training
The county has no technical training centres although the national government is in theprocess of building six constituency technical institutions.

Finance and Economic Planning

OBJECTIVES

• Monitor, evaluate and oversee the management of public finances and economic affairs of the county government.
• Develop and Implement financial and economic policies in the county.
• Preparation of the annual budget for the county.
• Coordinating the preparation of estimates of revenue and expenditure of the county govt.
• Maintaining of County Debt at sustainable level as approved by the county assembly

ICT & E-Government

The department has the following mandate

• Formulate and implement ICT policies
• Enable county officers to deliver services
• Facilitate the establishment of ICT systems
• Enhance access of public services through ICT (e-services)
• Create a conducive environment for a knowledge-based economy
• Facilitate development of ICT infrastructure
• Develop central information management system
• Facilitate public participation in the county government programmes
• Provide an environment that promotes investment and innovation
• To create patriotic and rights-based culture that inculcates awareness of civic duty.

The ICT sector has the following priorities

• Create integrated Communication system
• Establish Network Management center
• Provide ERP Solutions
• Information dissemination/Broadcasting

Lands, Housing and Physical Planning

Land ownership categories/ classification
The entire county is categorized as trust land apart from a small percentage of the totalarea occupied by townships. The survey process for part of Wajir town was done and owners’ allotment letters issued. There county is also in the process of preparing physical development Plans for seven towns namely Habaswein, Griftu, Eldas, Bute, Tarbaj, Khorof harar and Hadado and County Spatial Plan to guide development planning. The land is mostly used communally for nomadic pastoralism. However, some small areas are under small scale agriculture by individuals or groups. The land survey process should be fast tracked with the view of enhancing gender equity.

Mean holding size
The mean land holding size for the county is 7.8 Ha. Majority of the people practice nomadic pastoralism where large portion of the land is used as grazing zones. There are however few farmers who are practicing small scale rain fed and irrigated farming.

Percentage of land with title deeds
Population with title deeds is only found in Wajir town mostly business premises and constitute less than 0.01 per cent. There is need to facilitate the land registration process to encourage investments.

Incidence of landlessness
Most of the land is communally owned and therefore accessible to all members of the society for use. There are no incidences of landlessness.

Public Health, Medical Services and Sanitation

Health Access & Nutrition (Health Facilities, Health personnel and their
distribution by sub county)
There are 115 public health facilities, 29 private facilities and 2 facilities run by NGO/missions. The county has 10 level IV hospitals, 26 level III health centers, 79 level II dispensaries, 3 private hospitals, one nursing home and 27 clinics. According to the 2015/2016 KIHBS, only 0.2 per cent of the population has medical insurance cover
which is very low. 95.9 per cent of the population has to cover more than 5 Km to access a health facility and only 4.1 per cent access a health facility within less than 1Km. The HIV prevalence rate is 0.9 per cent which is lower than the national ratewhich stands at 6.7 per cent. The county is served by one Medical Consultant, One Dentist, 28 Doctors, eight Pharmacists, 93 Registered Clinical Officers, 327 Nurses, 60 Lab Technologists, 57
Public Health Officers, 10 Pharm Techs, 62 Community Health Assistants and 55 Nutritionists. The doctor patient ratio is 1:29,413 compared to internationally recommended standards of 1: 5,000.The Nurse to Patient ratio is 1:2,608 compared to internationally recommended standards of 1: 333.

Nutritional status (prevalence of stunting and wasting in children under 5
years: height-for-age, weight-for-height, weight-for-age)
The county has many cases of malnutrition and stunting mainly for under five children which is as a result of high poverty levels leading to food insecurity and dependence on relief food. According to the KDHS (2014) 26 per cent of children under age five in the county are stunted. The 26 per cent is still high and there is need for deliberate efforts to reduce this figure. Malnutrition is highly pronounced in the rural settlements where access
to nutritional food products is a challenge. There is need for sensitization among the communities on nutrition issues e.g. on proper breast feeding and balanced diets. In addition, the government needs to provide nutrition
supplements to school going children and other vulnerable populations as well as surge capacities for the health sector and partners. Moreover, there is need to promote family farming through organic practices thereby enhancing food security at household level.

Public Service, Labour and Decentralised Units

The department has the following objectives and mandate

OBJECTIVES

• To ensure effective and efficient service delivery.
• To ensure equal opportunities for all on matters pertaining to employment.
• To co-ordinate administration in the devolved units of the county.

MANDATE

• To investigate, monitor and evaluate the organization administration and personnel practices of the county public service.
• Ensuring that the county public service is efficient and effective
• Development of human resources in the county public service
• Ensuring that the employees adhere to labor laws in the country.

Roads, Transport and Public Works

Roads and Rail Network (including roads by Classification, major bus, lorry parks and railway stations/terminus), Ports and Jetties, Airports and Airstrips. The county has 28 kilometers of tarmac, one airport and seven airstrips. It lacks key infrastructure like rail network, major bus and lorry parks. The poor road network is inhibiting connectivity with settlements and other counties for inter and cross county collaboration. There is need to climate proof road infrastructure to ensure durability and efficient delivery of essential services. The total number of Kilometres of roads in the county both classified and unclassified roads is approximately 8,000 Kilometres.There is a need to come up with climate proofed arteries to link up with the LAPSSET corridor preferably through tarmac roads and rail network. The county will explore connection in proximate areas preferably Habaswein, Arbajahan and Bute.

The department has the following mandate

• Traffic Management
• Construction and maintenance of all county roads
• Public roads transport including street lighting, road signs, parking and regulations of county public transport systems
• Plants and equipment:- the unit manages, maintains and hires construction plants and machineries.
• Public Works:- Designing, documentation, post contracting and project management of construction and maintenance of public works other infrastructural services, construction of foot bridges and capacity building of local contractors.

Trade, Tourism, Cooperative and Wildlife

Tourism and Wildlife
Main tourist attractions and activities
The county has rich culture, wildlife and landscape features that include Lake Yahud among others. The sector is also boosted by Wajir International Airport. There are no game reserves or game parks in the county. However, the KWS is ensuring safety and protection of the wildlife in their current habitation outside any protected area. In addition, other potential tourist attraction features that can be developed include Wajir museum, Wagalla massacre site, Orahey wells, British & Italian war bunkers and old court house.

Main wildlife
The county is endowed with various game species like Ostrich, Hyenas, Gazelles; Lions, Zebras, Giraffes, Warthog and varieties of Birds and snakes. Full exploitation of wildlife resources is hampered by frequent human-wildlife conflict. The wildlife is found all over the vast county hence conservation and management has been a challenge. There is a need to establish sanctuaries and conservancies as well as water structures.

Industry and Trade
Markets
There are over 30 trading centers with the main ones been Wajir Town, Habaswein, Bute, Griftu, Kutulo, Buna, Eldas, Tarbaj, Diff, Khorof Harar, Lagboghol, Korondile, Danaba, Sarman, Biyamathow, Wajir Bor, Abakore, Hadado, Arbajahan, Dagahley, Gurar and Leheley. The main business is retail with over 3,000 registered traders. In addition, there are 1,000 registered wholesalers. Wajir town is the main business hub of the county. Small
markets continue to be established in all the market centers mainly for local trade. The county should establish retail and wholesale hubs in major towns in order to improve business environment and spur economic growth.

Industrial parks(including Jua Kali sheds)
There areJua kali sheds mainly in Wajir town. The county should expand the Jua kali infrastructure targeting unemployed population especially youth and women. There is need to establish incubation centres and industrial parks.

Major industries
There are no major industries in the county though cottage industries existin water purification and packaging, bakeries. There is huge potential for production of limestone, juice production and hides & skins tannery. The gum and resin factory was built in Wajir East Constituency by Ewaso Nyiro North Development Authority (ENNDA) although it’s incomplete hence need to complete and operationalise it. The county has large potential in limestone production which is yet to be exploited. Livestock farming can also be done on large scale hence the need to establish a milk and meat processing plants.

Water, Energy, Environment and Natural Resources

Water resources
The county has several water resources namely: underground, surface and sub-surface sources. There is a high potential for rain water harvesting especially from flash floods during the long rains. The county has 272 boreholes, 15 mega pans, and 260 water pans. There is need to carry out comprehensive geological surveys to identify areas with high ground water potential.

Water supply schemes
The proportion of households with access to piped water is approximately two per cent of the county population. Wajir town, Griftu, Eldas, Habaswein, Tarbaj, Arbajahan and Masalale are some of the centers with water supply systems serving consumers mainly through water kiosks. A few institutions and households in these centers are connected to the supply system.

Water Sources and Access (distance to the nearest water points by sub-county)
There are no permanent surface water sources as most of the water sources are subsurface including boreholes, shallow wells and pans. About 2,000 households in the county have roof catchment representing 2 per cent of the total households. The average distance to the nearest water point is around 20 Km.

Water management (Institutions, measures for sustainable use etc.)
The county has a water company; Wajir water and sewerage Company (WAJWASCO) which manages 30 boreholes. Majority of the boreholes are managed and serviced by the Department of Water. At the community level, water users’ associations manage the day to day operations of the boreholes. There is need for the company to upscale its operation inorder to manage effectively the available water sources.

Energy access (Main sources of energy, electricity coverage, solar, biogas,
wind, etc.)

According to the KIHBS 2005/6, 98.4 per cent of the county households depend on wood fuel (Firewood and Charcoal) for cooking and 31.5 per cent depend on kerosene lantern Wajir County Integrated Development Plan (2018-2022)27 for lighting. 96.6 per cent of households use traditional stone fire for cooking. This contributes to massive environmental degradation, increased health risks and additional workload for women and girls, and increased emissions of carbon content. Moreover, low enrollment, retention and transition for girls is partly attributed to increased workload related to energy search. Wajir, Griftu, Abakore, Tarbaj Habaswein and Eldas centers are connected to diesel power plants where over 20,000 households are supplied with power. Bute is connected to the Ethiopian Grid through Moyale. Solar energy accounts for 0.2 per cent (2009 KPHC) of energy source but is also limited toschools and health facilities as it is out of reach for majority of the households.
The county has a huge potential for renewable energy which can tapped through wind and solar energy and hence be channeled to productive sectors within the county as well as export to other counties.