Poster presented at 13th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology. Montpellier (France), 20-25 May 201

Eyzaguirre, Pablo B.

Fujimura, R.

Inoue, M.

Maundu, P.

Morimoto, Y.

English

CGSpace (CGIAR)

Mobilizing agro-biodiversity and social networks to cope with adverse effects of climate and social changes: Experiences from Kitui, Kenya.The semi-arid area of Kenya, which covers 43% of the total land area, receives low rainfall, 612.5–857.5mm/year (Ikeno, 1980). However, the population in this area as well as the amount of cultivated land increased because of in migration from other parts searching for survival mechanism. Farmers of Kitui District of Kenya mainly depend on subsistence farming and local environmental resources for their livelihood. However, because of the climate, farming alone does not provide their total annul subsistence requirement, especially in the dry season. Therefore, they might develop strategies not only for agriculture, but also for all aspects of their livelihood to adapt to the dry climate over a long period of time.A community-based risk management system against the risk of natural disasters such as drought is an important strategy that provides options like having multiple livelihoods and growing a variety of  crops and so on.  I t  i s  a lso sa id  that  the system cons is ts  of  two re la t ionsh ips,  “human-environment” and “human-human” relationship (Suga 2006). It means that it is also important for the adaptation to consider social networks among the people.The objective of this research is to explore the farmers’ adaptation ability for the dry climate with emphasis on role of agricultural biodiversity, social network and other sources of livelihood. IntroductionObjectiveThe data collection methods are open-ended and semi-structured questionnaire interviews and participatory observation. Data collectionThe rst mechanism of adaptation is use of mixed crop farming. A total of 34 crops and 102 varieties including “Unknown” and “Recycle” varieties were identied. They also have 26 varieties of fruit trees including 14 local varieties (Table 2 and Table 3). The common crops cultivated are different varieties of Kidney beans, Cowpea, Maize and Pigeonpea. The cash crops which they sometimes sell are Banana, Sugarcane, Taro, Cassava and some fruits like Orange and Avocado.Results1. Agricultural diversityThe other mechanism of adaptation is to use varieties that can differentiate the timing of harvest and yield maximum output. For example, Duma43 maize is one of the late-maturing and high-yielding varieties. DHO1 and DHO2 were the early-maturing and low-yielding maize varieties. The former is used in quite large amount in many households. On the other hand, DHO2 is used in comparably small amounts.As shown in Figure 7, vil lagers earn income from different sources other than farming. In particular, salary and remittance were observed as major contributions. Because of this, more than 60% of male adults stay in town and send money to their family. However, almost half of them are searching for jobs or engaged in a temporary contract job.  In addition, the villagers often ask for their wage or salary in advance in terms of money or food when they have nancial problems like paying school fees or buying food during the dry seasons.They classied the different land features as in Table 4. The sampled farmers, with average 3.4 f a r m l a n d s ,  h a v e  f a r m s  i n  t h e  d i f f e r e n t  landscapes. Since each landscape has some advantages and disadvantages because of its feature and availability, having different types of farm might be decreasing the risk of total crop fai lure as farmers coping with shortage of valuable land.2. Other sources of livelihoodThe villagers usually give and borrow items among each other freely. In addition, they also have their own long lasting networks such as Clan, Church. These networks are utilized as insurance especially during accidents.3. Social relationshipCultivating diverse crops, differentiating the timing of harvest, having different types of farm, diversify-ing income sources as well as utilizing social networks are important adaptation mechanisms of villag-ers living in semi arid areas of Kenya.• Cultivating diverse crops and differentiating the timing of harvest helped villagers to get as much food as possible from farms.• Using varieties in one crop and differentiating the timing of harvest helped to maximize output yield.• Having different types of farms might be a mechanism to decrease risk of total crop failure.• Villagers earn income from different sources other than farming. In particular, salary and remittance have a big inuence on the household economy in the village.• Having the long lasting networks such as Clan, Church are utilized as insurance• Many private help-groups, named “kyathi” (Merry-go-round) that give money saving and borrowing services are becoming very vital for the local people.ConclusionThis area has two rainy seasons. The long rainy season (nzwa) is during Oct.–Dec. the short one (uua) is during Mar.–Apr. (Figure 2).Figure 2: Temperature and precipitation of the study site (Ichiroku Hayashi, 1996).Using simple wealth ranking method with 18 representative farmers from two target vi l lages, three wealth categories were identied (Table 1).Target householdsIn the simple wealth ranking, local people’ s perception of what “Wealth” is consists of combinations of four elements such as “House conditions” , “Livestock” , “Farm lands” and “Income status” (Table1).  Except for seven households that have moved or died, all the other 157 households in t h e  v i l l a g e  c o m p i l e d  b y  B i o v e r s i t y  International in 2008 were categorized into the three classes. A total of 18 households, three from category 1, six from category 2 and nine from category 3, were randomly selected.Photo 1: Doing the simple wealth ranking.Photo 2: Participants at the group meeting.The third mechanism is farming crops with divers of harvesting time as well as consumption of immature crops. Landscape management practices and diversification of land on different landscapes.Ren Fujimura1), 2) *, Yasuyuki Morimoto1), Patrick Maundu1), Makoto Inoue 2) and Pablo Eyzaguirre1)1) Biovesity International, Nairobi, Kenya.2) Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo, Japan.* Author for correspondence (e-mail: renfujimura1116@gmail.com)Figure 6: Landscape of village and classication.However, the credit and saving service is becoming very vital for the local people in recent times. There are many private help-groups in the village, named “kyathi” (Merry-go-round) that helps villagers by providing money saving and borrowing service. The sampled households joined an average of 2.11 of “kyathi” except for three households.ReferenceIchiroku Hayashi (1996). Five years experiment on vegetation recovery of drought deciduous woodland in Kitui, Kenya. Journal of Arid Environment, 34: 353p.Jun Ikeno (1989). Ukambani: Diversied Livelihood of Peasant Households in Eastern Kenya, Institute of Developing Economies, pp12-13 (in Japanese).Suga (2005). Environment: The value of security. Sumio Matsunaga editor. Toshindo Publishing Co. LTD, chapter 3, pp69-100 (in Japanese).181513842 2 21 102468101214161820No. of householdFigure 7: Income from different livelihoods.Table 2: List of planted crops and their seed sources in long rain season, 2011.No. Crop category Common name Kamba name Scientiﬁc name No oflandraces1) 2) Own 3) Parchaced 4)Given 5)Single rain annual crops1 Cereal Maize mbemba Zea mays 13 * *** 4 10 82 Legume/Vegetable Cowpea nzooko Vigna unguiculata 9 * 1 6 73 Cereal Sorghum muvya Sorghum bicolor 7 * 1 74 Legume Kidney beans mboso Phaseolus vulgaris 6 3 5 15 Vegetable Tomato manyanya Solanum lycopersicum 3 * 2 16 Cereal Pearl Millet mwee Pennisetum glaucum 2 * 27 Cereal Finger Millet uimbi Eleusine coracana 2 28 Vegetable Okra binda Abelmoschus esculentus 1 * 19 Vegetable Watermelon matikiti Citrullus lanatus 1 * 110 Vegetable/Other Container gourd kitete Lagenaria siceraria 1 * 111 Leafy Vegetable Amaranth muchicha Amaranthus sp. 1 * 112 Leafy Vegetable Kale sukuma Brassica oleracea 1 * 113 Oil crop Sunﬂower ilaa/maveka Helianthus annuus 1 * 1Two rain annual crops1 Legume Pigeonpea nzuu Cajanus cajan 8 * 3 3 52 Vegetable Edible gourd mongu Lagenaria siceraria 5 * 4 23 Vegetable Pumpkin malenge Cucurbita pepo 4 * 3 44 Legume Climbing bean ngelenge Phaseolus lanatus 4 * 3 45 Legume Lablabbean mbumbu Lablab purpureus 3 * 2 36 Tuber Irish Potato maluu Solanum tuberosum 1 * 1Perennial Crop1 Fruit Sugarcane kiwa Saccharum arundinaceum 7 6 62 Fruit Banana maiyu Musa sp. 5 * 5 43 Tuber Cassava manga Manihot esculenta 3 * 3 24 Tuber Sweet Potato makwasi Ipomoea batatas 3 35 Legume Greengram ndengu Vigna radiata 1 * 1 16 Tuber Taro nduma Colocasia esculenta 1 * 1 1 17 Fruit Pineapple mananasi Ananas comosus 1 * 18 Medicinal plant Aloe kiluma Aloe secundiﬂora 1 * 19 Spice Chile Pepper nyaiika/ndulu Capsicum annuum 1 * 1*Including "Unknown" variety **Including "Recycle" variety: Maize has 3 varieties and Tomato has 1 variety.1): Exsistance of "unknown" varaety. 2): No of recycled hybrid varieties.  3),4) and 5):  indicates source of seeds. The number shows number of varieties.*Including "Unknown" variety. 1): Exsistance of "unknown" varaety. 2), 3), 4) and 5):  The number shows how many farms we observed that crop in that reproductive status.Table 3: List of observed non-planted crops and their reproduction status in long rain season, 2011.No. Crop category Common name Kamba name Scientiﬁc name No oflandraces1) Regenerating2)Regerminating3)Wild4) Wild withcare5)1 Cereal Sorghum muvya Sorghum bicolor 7 * 12 12 Cereal Pearl Millet mwee Pennisetum glaucum 1 * 13 Cereal Finger Millet uimbi Eleusine coracana 1 * 14 Legume Pigeonpea nzuu Cajanus cajan 5 * 36 25 Legume Kidney beans mboso Phaseolus vulgaris 6 * 3 106 Legume Climbing bean ngelenge Phaseolus lanatus 3 * 3 27 Legume Greengram ndengu Vigna radiata 1 * 1 38 Legume Lablabbean mbumbu Lablab purpureus 1 * 1 29 Legume/Vegetable Cowpea nzooko Vigna unguiculata 7 * 9 1310 Vegetable Amaranth muchicha Amaranthus sp. 1 * 1 1 9 2411 Vegetable Tomato manyanya Solanum lycopersicum 2 * 1 2 3712 Vegetable Pumpkin malenge Cucurbita pepo 1 113 Vegetable African nightshades managu Solanum sp. 1 * 114 Vegetable Yellow commelina kikoe Commelina africana 1 * 915 Vegetable/Other Hedgehog Gourd isuti Cucumis dipsaceus 1 * 116 Tuber Cassava manga Manihot esculenta 3 * 3917 Tuber Sweet potato makwasi Ipomoea batatas 4 818 Tuber Taro nduma Colocasia esculenta 1 * 619 Spice Hot Pepper nyaika Capsicum annuum 2 * 5 320 Spice Lemongrass niki ya maiyani Cymbopogon citratus 1 * 121 Nut Groundnut nzuu Kalanga Arachis villosulicarpa 1 * 122 Other  Tobacco tumbaku Nicotiana tabacum 1 * 123 Fruit Sugarcane kiwa Saccharum arundinaceum 8 5024 Fruit Banana maiyu Musa sp. 6 * 4925 Fruit Watermelon matikiti Citrullus lanatus 1 * 126 Fruit Avocado makolovia Persea americana 127 Fruit Custard apple tomoko Annona cherimola 128 Fruit Guava mavela Psidium guajava 129 Fruit Lemon matimu Citrus limon 130 Fruit Mango maembe Mangifera indica 131 Fruit Orange masungwa Citrus sinensis 132 Fruit Passion Fruit makundi Passiﬂora edulis 133 Fruit Pawpaw mavavai Carica papaya 134 Fruit Tamalind nzumula Tamarindus Indica 135 Fruit Tangerine kyenza Citrus tangerina 136 Fruit White mulberry ndae Morus alba 137 Fruit White sapote sapota Casimiroa edulis 138 Fruit - mae Strychnos spinosa 139 Fruit - makulo Annona senegalensis 140 Fruit - matoo Azanza garckeana 141 Fruit - matote Carissa edulis 142 Fruit - mauw'a Sclerocarya birrea 143 Fruit - mgomoa Vangueria infausta 144 Fruit - mukoo Diospyros mespiliformis 145 Fruit - mukuluu Flueggea virosa 146 Fruit - mutheu Rhus natalensis 147 Fruit - mutoo Azanza garckeana 148 Fruit - muu Vitex payos 149 Fruit - ngalwa Grewia bicolor 150 Fruit - ngolokolo Piliostigma thonningii 151 Fruit - ngukuma Uvaria scheﬄeri 1Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.MaizeKidney beansCowpeaPigeonpeaCassavaPumpkinBananaSugarcaneMango*Banana and Sugarcane can be harvested thoroughout the year, however the peak seasons are in yellow.Planting Harvesting Green Harvesting Leaf HarvestingShort Rain Season (uua) Long Rain Season (nzwa)Short Dry Season Long Dry SeasonFigure 5: Kamba’ s classication of agricultural land use.Research objectives and analytical viewsTo explore the farmers’ adaptation ability for the dry climateAgricultural diversityOther sources of livelihoodSocial NetworkTable 1:Wealth CategoryN=157, including 23 N/ACategory House Livestock Farmland IncomeCategory 1(96 / 61%)Category 2(26 / 16%)Category 3(12 / 8%)Good house,bui l t withconcrete andpainted,rooﬁng withgood materia lManyl ivestock.Many andlargefarmlands ,commercia lfarming,sel l ing farmproduct.Permanentwork l ike ingovernmentoﬃces , runningshop,restaurant orbus iness .Poor hous ing,mud wal l  androof with i ronsheet.A few goatsandchickens .A few or smal lown farms.Harvest i sa lmost or notadequatelysusta iningfami ly.Low incomel ike only smal lamount ofwages .House looksgood, bui l t withconcrete.A few cows,3-5 goatsand morethan 5chickens .Harvest i senough tosusta in fami lyfor a  year,occas ional lysel l ing farmproduct.Earning somemoney fromeitherpermanent ortemporary job.Table 4: Physical characterizations of the classied landscapes.Kiima Utumo Kyanda(Farm in mountain) (Farm in plain) (Hollow or riverbank ﬁeld)Deﬁnition Steep and hillyplace, long slope .Comparably ﬂat, notsteep, short slope.Place near fromwater stream.Soil fertility Low Middle HighSoil erosion High Middle LowSunlighteﬀect Low High HighWater/moisture Low Low HighHeavy rain/ﬂood eﬀect N/A N/A HighFigure 8: Community relation map.ChurchHouseholdClan GroupRelativeFriend and neighborsNGOCommunityThe households contribute to Church and Clan in times of peace. However Clan and Church mostly work when the households have  problems.They usually help each other, however, money is controversial.It usually helps certain types of families like orphans and widows.Study siteCrop species and variety diversity landscapesFigure 3: How the farmers use the different varieties of maize.Unknown 513 DH01 DH02DH04Duma43 KikambaMakueni PH4/R*.Duma43PioneerR*.DH01/R*.DH02 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00 0 2 4 6 8 10 12Average(kg/household No.)No of Household *R=Recycle varietyFigure 9-10: How “kyathi” (Merry-go-round) functions.Figure 1: Study site location.Left map: Refer to Ichiroku Hayashi (1996).Right map: Drawn by author with the GPS.The research site, Waluku and Kwaw’ o villages, is located in Kitui District, about 160 km east of Nairobi and 10 Km north-east from Kitui town (Figure 1).Farmers' activities were monitored for a total of 80 days during November to December 2011 and March to April 2012 (Study site and target households are descried in the left column).Figure 4: Farming calender. The long rains usually start from the end of Oct. therefore, farmers start planting as soon as it has rained, particularly for major crops. However, harvest time is different which may help them complement each other in times of shortage of food. Farmers also consume immature fruits and the leaves as a side dish apart from the crop itself are also important means for food self-sufciency.The Kamba people also developed their own agro-ecological classication (Figure 5 and 6) that considered the landscape futures.

Mobilizing agro-biodiversity and social networks to cope with adverse effects of climate and social changes: experiences from Kitui, Kenya

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Mobilizing agro-biodiversity and social networks to cope with adverse effects of climate and social changes: experiences from Kitui, Kenya

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