Factors influencing transient poverty among agro-pastoralists in semi-arid areas of Kenya

In Africa, many pastoral households are increasingly settling in response to curtailed mobility and shrinking grazing areas. Households in pastoral areas are characterised by few resources, low income, low level of human and social capital, and limited access to markets and service institutions like credit institutions, extension and plant protection. This study was conducted to determine the factors that influence transient poverty among agro-pastoral communities in semi-arid areas of Kenya using the Njemps Flats in Baringo district as a representation of the study area. The land-use practice in the Njemps Flats is livestock and crop production (agro-pastolism). Regression techniques were used to determine the relationship between poverty and hypothesized explanatory variables. The number of livelihood sources, household size, distance to the nearest market, ownership of enclosures and household herd size were the most influential factors that determined poverty among agropastoral communities. The number of livelihood sources, education level of the household head, relief food, extension service and distance to the nearest markets were positively related to per capita daily income. A negative relationship was observed between per capita daily income and household size. Since poverty shows declining with positive influential factors, reduction of transient poverty can be achieved through enhancing and providing of livelihood alternatives to reduce over-reliance on livestock and land as primary sources of livelihood.En Afrique, tant de m\ue9nages pastoraux deviennent de plus en plus s\ue9dentaires en r\ue9ponse \ue0 la restriction de leur mobilit\ue9 et la r\ue9duction de la taille des fermes. Les m\ue9nages se touvant dans des milieux pastoraux sont caract\ue9ris\ue9s par d\u2019insuffisantes resources, revenus bas, un niveau bas du capital humain et social et un acc\ue8s limit\ue9 au march\ue9 et aux services institutionnels tels que la vulgarisation et la protection des cultures. Cette \ue9tude \ue9tait men\ue9e pour d\ue9terminer les facteurs qui influencent la pauvret\ue9 parmi les communaut\ue9s pastorales en r\ue9gions semi-arides du Kenya utilisant les habitations de Njemps en district de Baringo comme milieu repr\ue9sentatif de la r\ue9gion d\u2019\ue9tude. Le syst\ue8me d\u2019utilisation des terres y est domin\ue9 par l\u2019\ue9levage et la production agricole (agri-pastoralisme). Les techniques de regression \ue9taient utilis\ue9es pour d\ue9terminer la relation entre la pauvret\ue9 et les variables explicatoires hypoth\ue9tis\ue9es. Les sources de revenus, la taille du m\ue9nage, la distance du march\ue9 le plus proche, l\u2019appartenance des biens et le nombre du b\ue9tail constituaient des facteurs qui ont les plus d\u2019influence sur la d\ue9termination de la pauvret\ue9 parmi les communaut\ue9s agro-pastorales. Sources de revenue, niveau d\u2019\ue9ducation du responsable du m\ue9nage, nourriture pour soulagement, service de vulgarization et distance ds march\ue9s les plus proches \ue9taient positivement associ\ue9s au revenue journalier par personne. Une relation n\ue9gative \ue9tait observ\ue9e entre le revenu journalier par personne et la taille du m\ue9nage. Etant donn\ue9 que la pauvret\ue9 d\ue9cro\ueet avec des facteurs d\u2019influence positive, sa r\ue9duction peut \ueatre accomplie en am\ue9liorant et en fournissant d\u2019autres sources de gagne-pain pour r\ue9duire la d\ue9pendance sur l\u2019\ue9levage et la terre comme sources de bien-\ueatre familial

The challenges of rehabilitating denuded patches of a semi-arid environment in Kenya

Land degradation is a major problem in the semi-arid environments of Sub-Saharan Africa. Fighting land degradation is essential to ensure the sustainable and long-term productivity of the habited semiarid lands. In Kenya, grass reseeding technology has been used to combat land degradation. However, despite the use of locally adapted perennial grass species namely Cenchrus ciliaris (African foxtail grass), Eragrostis superba (Maasai love grass) and Enteropogon macrostachyus (Bush rye) failure still abound. Therefore, more land is still being degraded. The aim of this study was to determine the main factors which contribute to failures in rehabilitating denuded patches in semi-arid lands of Kenya. A questionnaire was administered to capture farmer perceptions on failures on rangeland rehabilitation using grass reseeding technology. Rainfall data was collected during the study period. Moreover, rehabilitation trials using the three grasses were done under natural rainfall. Results from this study show that climatic factors mainly low amounts of rainfall to be the main contributor to rehabilitation failures. 92% of the respondents asserted that reseeding fails because of low rainfall amounts received in the area. The study area received a total of 324 mm of rainfall which was low compared to the average annual mean of 600mm. Reseeded trial plots also failed to establish due to the low amounts of rainfall received. This showed how low rainfall is unreliable for reseeding. Other factors namely destruction by the grazing animals, pests and rodents, flush floods, poor sowing time, poor seed quality, lack of enough seed and weeds also contribute to rehabilitation failures in semi-arid lands of Keny

Dry matter yields and hydrological properties of three perennial grasses of a semi-arid environment in East Africa

Enteropogon macrostachyus (Bush rye), Cenchrus ciliaris L. (African foxtail grass) and Eragrostis superba Peyr (Maasai love grass) are important perennial rangeland grasses in Kenya. They provide an important source of forage for domestic livestock and wild ungulates. These grasses have been used extensively to rehabilitate denuded patches in semi-arid environment of Kenya. This study investigated the dry matter yields and hydrological properties of the three grasses under simulated rainfall at three phenological stages; early growth, elongation and reproduction. Laboratory seed viability tests were also done. Hydrological properties of the three grasses were estimated using a Kamphorst rainfall simulator. Results showed that there was a significant difference (p > 0.05) in dry matter yields and soil hydrological properties at the different grass phenological stages. Generally, all the three grasses improved the soil hydrological properties with an increase in grass stubble height. C. ciliaris gave the best soil hydrological properties followed by E. macrostachyus and E. superba, respectively. E. macrostachyus recorded the highest seed viability percentage. C. ciliaris and E. superba were ranked second and third, respectively. C. ciliaris yielded the highest biomass production at the reproductive stage followed by E. superba and E. macrostachyus, respectively. Key words: Cenchrus ciliaris, Enteropogon macrostachyus, Eragrostis superba, rangeland

Factors influencing transient poverty among agro-pastoralists in semi-arid areas of Kenya

In Africa, many pastoral households are increasingly settling in response to curtailed mobility and shrinking grazing areas. Households in pastoral areas are characterised by few resources, low income, low level of human and social capital, and limited access to markets and service institutions like credit institutions, extension and plant protection. This study was conducted to determine the factors that influence transient poverty among agro-pastoral communities in semi-arid areas of Kenya using the Njemps Flats in Baringo district as a representation of the study area. The land-use practice in the Njemps Flats is livestock and crop production (agro-pastolism). Regression techniques were used to determine the relationship between poverty and hypothesized explanatory variables. The number of livelihood sources, household size, distance to the nearest market, ownership of enclosures and household herd size were the most influential factors that determined poverty among agropastoral communities. The number of livelihood sources, education level of the household head, relief food, extension service and distance to the nearest markets were positively related to per capita daily income. A negative relationship was observed between per capita daily income and household size. Since poverty shows declining with positive influential factors, reduction of transient poverty can be achieved through enhancing and providing of livelihood alternatives to reduce over-reliance on livestock and land as primary sources of livelihood

THE EFFECT OF INTRODUCED FORAGE LEGUMES ON IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL FERTILITY IN NATURAL PASTURES OF SEMI-ARID RANGELANDS OF KAJIADO DISTRICT, KENYA

A two phase study was carried out from 2002 to 2005 in the semi-arid rangelands of Kajiado District, Kenya to determine the effect of introduced forage legumes on soil fertility improvement of natural pastures. During legume evaluation phase, Neonotonia wightii (Glycine), Macroptilium atropurpureum (Siratro), Lablab purpureus cv. Rongai (Dolichos), Mucuna pruriens (Velvet bean) and Stylosanthes scabra var. Seca (Stylo) were screened for adaptability and growth performance under the semi-arid conditions for two years. Results of soil analysis showed there were significant increases in soil pH (4.92 to 5.36), organic carbon (1.17 to 2.57%) , nitrogen (0.17 to 0.22%) and potassium (1.23 to 1.68 me%) probably due to the large amounts of organic residues produced by the legumes (particularly Glycine, Siratro and Stylo which are perennials). The calcium content decreased significantly from 7.97 to 4.50 me% (which was attributed to plant uptake) while the decrease of phosphorus was not significant. During the second phase of study for 1½ years Glycine, Siratro and Stylo were integrated into natural pastures. The results showed that only the soil pH significantly increased from 5.23 to 5.31 while all the other nutrients decreased results, which were attributed to production of less organic residues by the legumes compared to the residues produced during the legume evaluation phase. The study concluded that Glycine, Siratro and Stylo were capable of improving the soil fertility of semi-arid natural pastures only if the respective dry matter production was 10.31, 7.81 and 3.52 tha-1, amounts which were able to produce large amounts of organic residues. 

Constraints of rehabilitating degraded semi-arid lands of Kenya using indigenous perennial grasses

Land degradation which among others include loss of vegetation is rampant in Kenya, destroying both the fragile arid and semiarid lands and the non-arid areas. Efforts to rehabilitate semiarid areas by re-vegetation has often failed. This study was carried out to determine factors responsible for these failures. The study was conducted in the semi-arid district of Kibwezi. Three (3) grass species Cenchrus ciliaris, Enteropogon macrostachyus and Eragrostis superba were used for revegetating the land, while agro-pastoralists in the area were interviewed through questionnaires to get their perceptions on the failures of reseeding. Low rainfall, poor seed quality, lack of enough seed, flush floods, destruction by grazing animals were found to be factors limiting the success of reseeding

Genetic variation between ecotypic populations of Chloris roxburghiana grass detected through RAPD analysis

Chloris roxburghiana is an important rangeland grass in Kenya. In some areas it has disappeared due to land degradation resulting from overgrazing and drought. Efforts to re-introduce the grass through re-seeding using seeds from research stations have had little success. One possible reason for low establishment is attributed to transplanting spatially separated populations that may represent genetically distinct ecotypes. To test this hypothesis, germplasm diversity within and among four populations of C. roxburghiana from four ecologically distinct sites was analysed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. A total of 131 polymorphic markers were identified using nine RAPD primers. There was significant variation among populations, with genetic diversity (H) ranging from 0.134 to 0.206. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed most variance within populations (76%). However, the variation among populations was also significant (24%). The UPGMA of the population frequency indicated that the four populations of C. roxburghiana were genetically distinct, probably as a result of variation in soil fertility, geographical isolation and socio-ecological history of the study sites. Although there are differences for neutral genetic markers between the populations, it is difficult to relate this directly to ecotype since correlation does not imply causality. The implication for optimising future seed collection is discussed and potential areas for further studies identified

The Role of Moisture in the Successful Rehabilitation of Denuded Patches of a Semi-Arid Environment in Kenya

This study investigated the role of moisture in the successful rehabilitation of denuded patches in semi-arid lands of Kenya and the primary productivity of three perennial rangelands grasses namely Cenchrus ciliaris (African foxtail), Enteropogon macrostachyus (Bush rye) and Eragrostis superba (Maasai love grass) at three phenological stages (early growth, elongation and reproduction) as pure stands and two-grass mixtures. The grasses were sown on either rainfed (Sites 1 and 2) or simulated rainfall conditions (site 3). Site preparation in all the 3 sites involved mechanical bush clearing, use of fire and creation of micro-catchments using an ox-drawn plough. Soils in site 3 were sandy clay loams and those in sites 1 and 2 were sandy clays. There was total failure in establishment sites 1 and 2 under natural rainfall. Site 3 had good germination and subsequent establishment. These results were attributed to the moisture conditions in the three sites. There was a significant difference (