Food Insecurity as a Driver of Conflict in the Karamoja Cluster: A Case of Turkana County in Kenya

Abstract

Peace and security are key elements that play a pivotal role in a country's stability and economic development. To attain sustainability in terms of security, concerns of food insecurity must be looked into and addressed. This study explored how food insecurity concerning availability, access, utilisation, and stability drives conflict. Additionally, the study looked at how factors such as poverty, governance, cultural practices, environmental degradation, and unequal distribution of resources impacted food security in the Karamoja cluster. Similarly, the consequences of food insecurity on stability, national cohesion, peace, and security were assessed to provide insights into the possible applicable solutions to the situation. The Karamoja cluster is a cross-border area in the Eastern Africa region that is shared among four countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda. Pastoralism is the major economic activity practised in the cluster that is classified as Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL), making it prone to harsh weather and climatic conditions that bring about socio-economic challenges such as migration and food shortages. The nexus between food insecurity and conflict presents a multifaceted dynamic; therefore, secondary sources of data, such as news articles and reports, were used to understand the context. The study employed a mixed-method research design combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between food insecurity and conflict. Primary data were collected through surveys, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to evaluate how food insecurity drove conflict in Turkana County. The findings of the research will be used to influence policies at both national and regional levels, promote behavioural change, and inform adaptation and mitigation mechanisms for the community, as well as provide possible sustainable remedies to the situation. The study revealed that climate change, poverty, and prolonged droughts were the most significant underlying drivers of hunger, compounded by socio-economic inequalities, poor infrastructure, governance failures, and insecurity. It established a strong, positive, and statistically significant link between food insecurity and recurring conflict, where scarcity of food intensified cattle raids, displacement, and violent competition over resources, which in turn worsened food shortages. The research further demonstrated that effective interventions, such as conflict resolution mechanisms, livelihood diversification, water infrastructure, irrigation, dryland farming, market access, and school feeding, could help break the vicious cycle between hunger and violence when implemented in a multi- pronged and community-driven manner. Based on these insights, the study concluded that lasting solutions require integrated approaches that address environmental, economic, and governance-related challenges alongside targeted peacebuilding strategies. It recommended policies that promote climate-resilient agriculture, poverty reduction, inclusive governance, and equitable access to resources, while practically supporting community-based early warning systems, market access, drought-tolerant farming, and alternative livelihoods. It further called for embedding food security goals into conflict prevention frameworks and scaling up grassroots peacebuilding efforts. Finally, the study suggested further research using longitudinal methods with secondary data, expanding geographical scope, incorporating additional independent variables, and exploring the interplay between policy frameworks and community-level interventions to better understand and address the intertwined challenges of food insecurity and conflict.