Opinion: Turkana Leaders Must Move Beyond Food Aid Press Conferences and Champion Real Solutions
Turkana is once again staring at the edge of a severe drought. On Tuesday, Turkana Central MP Emathe Namwar, Turkana North MP Nabuin Ekwom, and Turkana West MP Epuyo Daniel addressed the press at Cradle Hotel shortly after an Ateker Council meeting, urging the national government to shift to monthly emergency food distribution and activate rapid drought response. Their concerns are valid—no leader wants to witness widespread hunger. But their message also exposes a deeper, uncomfortable truth: Turkana’s elected leaders remain trapped in a familiar cycle of appeals that has failed the county for decades.
Food aid saves lives in the moment, but it has never delivered lasting change. Year after year, the script is predictable: drought alerts are issued, leaders hold press briefings, pleas go out to Nairobi, temporary relief arrives, and then the cycle resets. At what point do we admit that emergency distribution is not a strategy but merely a reaction to a crisis that keeps returning?
The three MPs, entrusted with the hopes of their constituents, should be at the forefront of breaking this chain. Instead, their latest appeal reinforces the old dependency narrative that paints Turkana as a region that waits for help rather than a region capable of feeding itself. This portrayal undermines the county’s immense potential and allows the cycle of dependency to continue unchallenged.
Turkana is not short of opportunities. The county has vast arable land that remains underutilized. It has abundant groundwater reserves that have been mapped, tested, and proven capable of supporting large-scale agriculture. Seasonal rivers and basins provide additional water sources for irrigation corridors. Turkana also has a youthful and energetic population ready to work and drive production. Existing infrastructure, including the Turkwel irrigation areas and the Kalobeyei farms, provides a strong foundation for expanding agricultural productivity.
What Turkana lacks is not the means to grow food. What it lacks is political courage and determined leadership.
Imagine if the same intensity placed on calling for monthly food relief was redirected toward championing long-term agricultural investments. Large-scale solar-powered irrigation could transform community production. Expanding greenbelts could help families grow food sustainably throughout the year. Strengthening commercial pastoralism and modern livestock markets would boost incomes and food resilience. Investing in value-addition for livestock and fish would unlock untapped economic potential. Permanent water infrastructure, rather than short-term emergency measures, would stabilize communities during dry seasons. Transparent audits of stalled or underperforming agricultural projects could also ensure that past mistakes are not repeated.
These are the policies and actions that would end hunger in Turkana. Not another round of food aid.
Turkana’s potential is undeniable. Around the world, arid and semi-arid regions with harsher climates have been transformed into agricultural hubs through innovation and leadership. Turkana can follow the same path. But this requires leaders who are willing to challenge the status quo and refuse to normalize hunger as a permanent condition.
Namwar, Ekwom, and Epuyo must rise beyond the comfort of press moments and hotel statements. The people of Turkana elected them to deliver long-term progress, not to manage emergencies year after year. Calling for food aid may offer short-term political cover, but it does little to secure the county’s future.
Turkana can feed herself. The land is there. The water is there. The human potential is immense. What remains is leadership willing to turn that potential into reality and finally break the cycle of drought-driven desperation.
