Economic activities in the district

Agriculture is the main economic activity in the district. Livestock rearing and fishing are other economic activities that are practised at household level. Light small-scale industrial activity in the form of wood workshops, grain milling and transport also abound in and around the trading centres.

Agriculture, livestock keeping and fishing are generally done on subsistence basis. Small holders dominate the agricultural sector using traditional methods. However, under the NAADS programme, modern agricultural/production practices have been introduced and farmers are adapting them.

Sources of Income

The main source of income is agriculture followed by livestock, though this was affected greatly during the 1989-1991 insurgencies in the area. Cotton used to be the main cash crop but is now grown by very few households. The trend in crop production took a twist in the 1990s and onwards in that a number of food crops are now produced for both food and for sale. These include groundnuts, cassava, sorghum, millet, rice, maize, simsim, beans, pineapples and citrus. The second most important source of income is fisheries. The total number of people whose living is directly related to fishing is well over 21,000.

Pottery, brick laying and charcoal burning are also economic activities which some communities are engaged in for survival.

Pottery as a source of icome

Women at work: Women engaged in pot making                                          Pots ready for sale: The pots have a ready market  

in Abirabira, Okapel parish in Kaberamaido sub-county

The other sources of income derive from non-farm activities such as employment in the civil service, mainly small-scale businesses, and, the service industry like lodging and restaurants. There is an increasing trend towards non-farm activities due to uncertainty and seasonality of agricultural income and also increasing new demands to households, for example, paying for tertiary education and health services.