BUSIA COUNTY OVERVIEW
Background
Busia is one of the 47 Counties in Kenya located in the western part of Kenya. Its headquarters is located in Busia town along Busia-Kisumu Road. Busia is a cosmopolitan county whose residents are predominantly of Luhya and Teso ethnicities. Others include Luo, Somali, Kisii, Kikuyu, among others. Abakhayo, Abamarachi, Abasamia and Abanyala are the major Luhya sub-tribes in Busia while the Teso community is a mono-tribe.
The main economic activities in Busia County are agriculture, fishing and trade. Agriculture being the backbone of economy of Busia County is done majorly on small scale. Sugarcane farming is done for commercial purposes and to a lesser extend cotton and tobacco crops are planted as cash crops. Other crops like maize, beans, sweet potatoes, millet and cassava are grown for subsistence use. Livestock farming is also done to some extent. Fishing is majorly done along the southern part of the county courtesy of Lake Victoria being the main source of both Nile and Tilapia. With produce from both fish and agriculture, and building of a transshipment market, the county enjoys cross border trade along Busia and Malaba borders.
Busia County is a member of the 14 counties of the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) situated around Lake Victoria and its environs. Other members are; Kisumu, Kericho, Siaya, Nandi, Kisii, Bomet, Kakamega, Bungoma, Trans Nzoia, Homabay, Nyamira, Vihiga and Migori. The main objective of the regional bloc is to leverage on economies of scale in the region thus promoting cross county trade. The Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) presents the socioeconomic aspirations of 14 counties in the Lake Basin Region and seeks to boldly secure and shape the region’s destiny.
Position and Size
Busia County is one of the counties in the former Western province. It shares a border with Uganda to the west, Bungoma county to the North, Kakamega county to the East and Siaya County to the West. Moreover, it’s bordered by Lake Victoria to the South West. Based on its strategic location, Busia County is the gateway to Kenya’s regional neighbors in the East African Community – Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, DRC Congo and Southern Sudan with Busia and Malaba towns serving as designated crossing points. The county covers 1,694.5 square kilometers (km2) at latitudes 0o and 0o 45 N and longitude 34o 25 east. The county can be accessed both by the Lake Victoria from the counties of Siaya and Kisumu. Also, it can be accessed through the road.
Figure : Location of Busia County in Kenya
Physiographic and Natural Conditions
Physical and Topographic Features
The County falls under the Lake Victoria Basin that supports over 25 million livelihoods. The County’s altitude varies from about 1,130 metres (m) above sea level at the shores of Lake Victoria to a maximum of about 1,500metres (m) in the Samia and North Teso Hills. The central part of the county, particularly Butula and Nambale Sub - Counties, is marked by low flat divides of approximately uniform height, often capped by lateritic and a shallowly incised swampy drainage system. The Funyula and Samia Hills consist of acid and sub acid lavas, tuffs, and agglomerates, banded quartzite and iron stones. The Kavirondo series rocks are developed around Busia, Nambale and Butula while the granites dominate the Northern parts of the county.
The Northern part of the central region features granitic outcrops, which are essentially part of the pen plain and is characterized by the presence of large granitic hills and tors such as Amukura and Chelelemuk.The hills which run from the North East to the South West culminating at Port Victoria, forms a very conspicuous topographic feature. The Southern part of the county is partially covered by the Yala Swamp which is a down warped area associated with the formation of Lake Victoria. The area forms a colony of papyrus growth and is broken by irregular water channels and occasional small dams with grassy islands. This area is covered with lacustrine and alluvial deposits of recent and Pleistocene times. The county is served by four major Rivers namely; Malakisi to the extreme North, Malaba in the Northern entry of the Central Region, River Sio which sneaks through Nambale, Matayos and Funyula Sub – Counties and River Nzoia which drains into Lake Victoria through Budalang’i Sub-county.
Climatic Conditions
Busia County is fairly hot and moist. The mean temperatures in the County is about 21-27° C whereas the annual rainfall is about 750-2000mm. There is a strong precipitation gradient with the northern areas receiving the most precipitation greater than 1750 mm, and the southern areas closer to Lake Victoria receiving between 760 and 1,250 mm of precipitation. The temperature is fairly consistently warm through the year. The Precipitation is consistent throughout the year, although the first half of the year known as first season (January-June) receives a slightly greater amount of precipitation than in the second season (July-December).50% of the rainfall falls in the long rain season which is at its peak between late March and late May, while 25% falls during the short rains between August and October. The dry season with scattered rains falls from December to February. Intense precipitation and heat stress are both hazards that contribute to agricultural risk in the county throughout the year, whereas dry spells are more an issue in the second season.
Ecological Conditions
The County is categorized into four Agro-ecological zones (AEZs) Namely;
- LM1, also known as Lower Midland Sugar Cane Zone, is at altitude of 1200-1440 meters above sea level and receives annual rainfall of about 1800-2000mm. (in Nambale, Matayos and Butula sub-counties)
- LM2, also known as Marginal Sugar Cane Zone, is at altitude of 1,200-1,350 meters above sea level and receives annual rainfall of about 1,550-1,800mm (Budalangi, Funyula and Teso North sub-counties)
- LM3 also known as Lower Midland Cotton Zone, is at an altitude of 1,140-1,500 meters above sea level and receives annual rainfall of about 1,015-1,420mm (Budalangi and Funyula sub counties
- LM4 also known as Marginal Cotton Zone, is at altitude of 1,135-1,200 meters above sea level and receives an annual rainfall of about 900-1,100mm (Budalangi sub-county)
· Source: County Climate Risk Profile Report by World Bank.
· Administrative and Political Units
Administrative Units
· The map of Busia County and its administrative units is shown below:
Figure 2: County’s Administrative and Political Units
· Source: Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC)
· The administrative units of Busia County are the managerial and decision-making structures of the county that are used in handling socio-economic development issues affecting county residents Busia County is divided into seven Sub – Counties namely Bunyala, Butula, Matayos, Nambale, Samia, Teso North and Teso South. These sub - Counties are further divided into 10 divisions, 60 locations, 181 sub-locations and 120 villages. The largest administrative unit is Teso South lying on 299.6 sq. km while the county headquarters is domiciled in Busia Town, Matayos Sub-County. Below is a table of the administrative units within the county:
Table 1: Area (KM2) by Sub County
|
Sub - County |
County Assembly Wards |
Divisions |
Locations |
Sub-locations |
Area (sq.km) |
|
Teso North |
6 |
2 |
17 |
44 |
261.0 |
|
Teso South |
6 |
2 |
13 |
38 |
299.6 |
|
Matayos |
5 |
2 |
6 |
17 |
196.2 |
|
Nambale |
4 |
1 |
5 |
14 |
237.8 |
|
Butula |
6 |
1 |
6 |
21 |
247.1 |
|
Samia |
4 |
1 |
7 |
19 |
265.1 |
|
Bunyala |
4 |
1 |
6 |
18 |
188.3 |
|
Total |
35 |
10 |
60 |
181 |
1695.1 |
Source: County Commissioner Office, Busia 2013
Table 2: County Government Administrative Wards
|
Sub – County |
No. of wards |
No of villages |
|
Teso North |
6 |
18 |
|
Teso South |
6 |
21 |
|
Matayos |
5 |
17 |
|
Nambale |
4 |
16 |
|
Butula |
6 |
19 |
|
Samia |
4 |
17 |
|
Bunyala |
4 |
12 |
|
TOTAL |
35 |
120 |
Demographic Features
Population Size, Composition and Distribution
The County population’s demographic information is distributed in terms of age, sex, settlement and projection up to the Year 2027 which are discussed in this section. The 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census statistics forms the basis for the population projections. The county’s annual population growth rate is estimated at 2.2%.
Busia County Population Age Structure
Table 4: Population Projections (by Sub-County and Sex)
|
Sub-county |
Census (2019) |
Projection (2022) |
Projection (2025) |
Projection (2027) |
||||||||
|
M |
F |
T |
M |
F |
T |
M |
F |
T |
M |
F |
T |
|
|
Busia |
69,034 |
73,373 |
142,407 |
73,358 |
77,970 |
151,328 |
77,683 |
82,566 |
160,249 |
79,237 |
84,217 |
163,454 |
|
Teso North |
66,142 |
71,619 |
138,031 |
70,286 |
76,107 |
146,680 |
74,430 |
80,897 |
155,327 |
75,849 |
82.584 |
158,433 |
|
Teso South |
80,484 |
87,630 |
168,114 |
86,602 |
92,045 |
178,647 |
90,568 |
98,610 |
189,178 |
92,379 |
100,582 |
192,961 |
|
Nambale |
52,900 |
58,732 |
111,632 |
56,216 |
62,413 |
118,629 |
59,530 |
66,092 |
125,622 |
60,720 |
67,414 |
128,134 |
|
Butula |
65,136 |
75,195 |
140,331 |
69,217 |
79,907 |
149,124 |
73,298 |
84,617 |
157,915 |
74,764 |
86,309 |
161,073 |
|
Samia |
50,821 |
56,341 |
107,162 |
54,011 |
59,878 |
113,889 |
57195 |
63.408 |
120,603 |
58,339 |
64,676 |
123,015 |
|
Bunyala |
41,465 |
44,511 |
85,976 |
44,063 |
47,300 |
91,363 |
46,660 |
50,088 |
96,748 |
47,593 |
51,090 |
98,683 |
|
TOTAL |
425,982 |
467,401 |
893,653 |
453,889 |
495,772 |
949,661 |
479,517 |
526,124 |
1,005,641 |
494,922 |
530,832 |
1,025,754 |