Background
The arid and semi-arid lands are affected inherently by unpredictable rainfall and frequent droughts, which are exacerbated by climate change. This has resulted in deterioration of land resources, leading to forage and water shortages that negatively impact on livestock productivity. To cope with these climatic hazards that affect agricultural production and food security in pastoral areas, on farm adaptation strategies such as water harvesting initiatives are being supported by development agencies and governments. Some of these strategies have not been able to produce the desired levels of productivity and thus have failed to improve the welfare of the pastoral communities or prevent rangelands from deteriorating due to low adoption rates at household level.
Results
This study determined social, economic and institutional factors influencing the adoption of water harvesting systems at household level in pastoral areas of Tana River County of Kenya. The data was collected through household survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The results show that access to extension services and training, monthly income level, main source of livelihood, land tenure system, membership in community groups and availability of active farm labor significantly influenced the adoption of water harvesting structures which need a combination of technical efficiency with low cost and acceptability to pastoral communities.
Conclusion
Pastoralists therefore need to be mobilized and trained on how to construct and use water harvesting structures and sensitized on the potential socioeconomic benefits of adopting them.