Meru South District - UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative

4.2 Dry Lands
The District has a significant share of such lands in nearly the whole of Igamba Ng’ombe
Division and a part of Mwimbi, Chuka and Muthambi Divisions.
• Production systems
Mainly cattle rearing on free range. Food crop production mainly sorghum,
millet, drought resistant varieties of maize and beans, cash crops include
tobacco and cotton, pawpaw and mangoes slowly gaining popularity.
• Encroachment
Cultivation along the main rivers banks mainly for horticulture – kales and
tomatoes, pulses etc. Sand harvesting encroaches river banks and river cause.
• Land use changes
Migration from the upper zones has led to more area under crop cultivation
and depletion of natural vegetation to give way to more land for agriculture
- Frequent crop failure due to unreliable rainfall leads to burning of
charcoal for subsistence.
• Resource use conflicts
In areas where land adjudication is incomplete conflicts in resource use arise
in form of grazing and charcoal burning.
Water users associations are used to address water resource use conflicts, e.g.
Tungu hot spot. Forests are illegally cut down to meet timber demand and also
grazing lands. Cutting and growing of trees in the farms mainly along farm
boundaries sometimes attracts conflicts between neighbours.
• Efforts towards sustainable utilization of ASALs
- Water harvesting techniques to improve crop production is limited.
These include dams and pans, bore holes and shallow wells, rock
catchments and roof harvesting.
- Introduction of drought resistant crop varieties developed from
Katumani by Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.
- Practicing Agro-silvo-pastoralism is picking up, though at a limited
pace.
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