As the United Nations named the 2022 person of the year, one Turkana youth beat all odds to win the coveted award.
Aaron Nanok, a 31-year-old county government employee, stole the show as he joined the UN hall of fame and was recognised for helping his community mitigate the effects of climate change.
He was awarded for changing lives through agricultural programs and uplifting the livelihood and economic status of his village.
At the heart of the agronomist’s initiatives were farming and irrigation programmes aimed at providing sustainable food for people who are most affected by the ravaging effects of drought.
His motivation, he stated, was technologies that he witnessed in the Arid county while growing up as a young boy in Lokwii Village.
This inspired him to start practising irrigation on a small farm where he has grown various crops such as vegetables, cowpeas, and maize.
“My farm ensures my family has enough food as well as supply to those I seek their services to water the crops.
“The surplus is them sold with the proceeds reinvested in the farm,” he stated in a past interview.
Further, the irrigation model, which proved to work, saw him move to encourage his community to leave the predominant livestock keeping and adopt farming as a source of income.
"Farming opens the mind as they think of ways of getting water for their crops that will give them an income instead of primarily relying on aid.
“Our people can’t sell livestock even if it is the only remaining possession to get a child back to school. I am happy my family realised the benefits of irrigated farming,” he stated.
More than 200 families have joined Nanok’s program, which he plans to continue spreading through the county.
His innovation inspired the county government led by Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai- who pledged to revamp various irrigation schemes in the county to the tune of ksh114.9 million.
Nanok's passion for agriculture has been credited to his educational background, as he has a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management from Egerton University.
He is also a Master's degree holder from Gulu University in Uganda, where he studied food security.
Nanok currently heads the Turkana County Agri-Nutrition unit.
Other awards he has received include Business Daily Top 40 Under 40.
Here is the full list of Top 100 Kenyans 2022: Top 100 Kenyans 2022: The Full List.
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