| Constraint | Current status/manifestation | Solution |
| Wetland management | -Rampant and widespread encroachment of the Ombeyi wetland ecosystem | •Wetland rehabilitation through enforcement of national laws and regulation on wetland management by the relevant authorities •Enforcement of community wetland management laws contained in the recently launched Ombeyi Wetland Management Plan (GoK, 2014) |
| Water management | -Farmers still largely dependent on rainfed agriculture as there is inadequate water -Poor water management within the schemes due to the absence of conventional irrigation infrastructure leading to water conflicts and low yields -There is flooding caused by runoff from rains -There is a lack of pasture for livestock due to expansion of irrigation -Key stakeholders not easily reachable e.g. WRA and National Irrigation Authority (NIA) | •Alternative sources of water e.g. through water harvesting and storage •Capacity building of farmers and construction of well designed irrigation and drainage infrastructure •Bottom-up approach in policy formulation in water management •Repairs of dykes through community initiatives •Farmers to embrace dairy breeds managed under modern techniques such as zero grazing •Closer collaboration farmers with key stakeholders—WRA, Lake Victoria Basin Development Authority (LBDA), NIA and others •Improved public relations between the community and stakeholders •Institutions to fulfil their social corporate responsibilities |
| Value addition and marketing | -Currently there is very little value addition being done -There is lack of co-ordination of farmers in the field operations making quality assurance of produce difficult; hence low returns due to poor marketing value chain -Farmers do not use certified seed and not completely aware of when to plant -Crop diseases -High production costs | •Community to lay down strategies for value addition in collaboration with the respective government officers •Formation and registration of farmers’ production and marketing groups •Introduction of new technologies for production of crops •Farmers should set prices for their produce •Farmers should use certified seeds and follow the suggested cropping calendar •Proper agronomic and crop husbandry practices to be adopted •Best Management Practices and lobbing for subsidy of farm inputs |
| Institutional arrangements and resource mobilization | -The scheme committees are not well trained and are only active at the beginning of the rice planting season -There are many absentee farmers referred to as “Telephone farmers” leading to poor coordination of farming activities -Lack of involvement of National Government (Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs) and relevant agencies in scheme issues -Poor roads and poor sanitation within the schemes due to lack of toilet facilities | •Arrangements for capacity building to be done through NIA •Regular meetings, at least on quarterly basis, to be held •All farmers including those leasing farms should follow the laid down rules so that farming activities are synchronized •Sanctions to be put on errant persons •There should be involvement of government officers and relevant agencies e.g. NIA, WRA, LBDA etc. in the scheme activities •Lobby the County government to improve the condition of roads and provide sanitation infrastructure at centres |
| Limited livelihood approaches | -High dependency on cash crop already facing challenges e.g. 1) Rice: poor seeds, crop diseases, high transportation costs and lack of markets 2) Arrowroots: rotting of rhizomes, excessive weeding, pests, middlemen/ brokers and deteriorates soil fertility fast 3) Sugarcane: poor seeds, high transportation costs and poor market value chain | •Diversification of livelihood strategies through: -Fish farming -Dairy farming -Sale of arts and crafts -Establishing horticultural crops -Starting Eco-tourism ventures -Sourcing tissue culture bananas from Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Kisii and Kakamega -French bean production for sale via KAVES-USAID |