aistand south~ern afrkca - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

Group ranch concept and practice ir. Kenya with special
emphasis on Kajiado District
Summary
The Government of Kenya, since attainment of.
independence In 1963, has shown interest in and
commitment to the development of arid and
semi-arid land (ASAL). ASAL is not suited to
arable farming and therefore extensive livestock
production is the most appropriate agricultural
activity. This has been and will continue to be the
main economic activity and land use for a long
time.The current high human population growth
mitesin.ASAL will continue to cause serious
shortages of land relative to demand and may
reduce tie capacity of the land to support large
human and livestock population'. There isnot
enough land to be shared on an individual basis,
The group ranch concept was Implemented in
various districts in Kenya In the mid-1960s and
ealy 1970s and aimed at overcomingsome of the
problems related to sharing land resources. The
sharing was based on a defined livestock quota
system which was not implemented. Individual
members benefits depended on herd size,
especially the size of the breeding herd which
determined herd growth.
Thegroup ranch approach advocated apolicy
of destocking through periodic livestock sales
aimed at achieving proper carrying capacity but
this was viewed negatively by most pastoralists.
In view of -unequal herd sizes and disproportionate
access to communally owned
resourcesandbenefits,someofthegrupranches
resolved to subdivide.
The emergent co-operative societies in the
subdivided group ranches lack adequate acreage
of pastures to allow rotational grazing. In oher
words, they do not have the principal input for
successful livestock production. To succeed they
need to diversify the economic base which
requires asmaller land base,
The group ranches have unintentionally
increased livestock numbers in Kajiado District
and have also been effective in transferring state
land to communally owned free holdings,
contrary to the original objectives,
Introduction
The arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) in Kenya
covers approximately 80% of the total 541,416
J. C. Ng'ethe
University of Nairobi
Department of Range Management
P 0 Box 29053, Nairobi, Kenya
187
km 2 land surface area. ASAL is the habitat of an
estimated 35% of the total human population
who largely practse pastoralism. In addition,
this land supports 67% of the estimated 12.7
million cattle herd, 86% of the estimated 17.9
million national herd of sheep and goats, all the
camels and most of the wildlife population except
for the limited numbers found in the forested
zones of the country.
Based on moisture availability for plant
grjwth, i.e. ratio of rainfall to open pan evaporadon
(WEo) ASAL falls into four agro-ecological
tones (AEZ) (Figure 1). Agrw-ecolugical Zone IV,
ccvering 27,000 km 2 (4.7%) with rEo of 40-SO
and 00-1000 mm annual rainfall, constitutes
the subhumid zone. Agro- ecological Zone V
covers approximately 87,000 km 2 (15.2%) with
r/Eo 25-40 and 450-900 mm annual rainfall and
constitutes the semi-arid landmass in Kenya.
Agro-ecological zone VI with r/Eo 15-25 and
annual rainfall of 300-550 mm covers 126,000
km 2 (23.3%). Agro-ecological Zone VII
constitutes the arid lands (41.7%) with r/Eo
below 15 covering 226,000 km 2 with 150-350
mm annual rainfall. It is the largest zone and
constitutes the very arid region or the desert
zone (Pratt c.1al 1966; Kenya Government,
1988).
Vegetation growth, primary production and
availability of animal fodder in ASAL is closely
related to the highly variable rainfall, both in its
temporal and spatial distribution. Herbaceous
vegetation is primarily ephemeral. The
perennial vegetation composed of perennial
grasses, shrubs and trees is largely deciduous in
character. Must of the ASAL is suitable for
extensive livestock production which has been
the main land use.
In the last 20 year or so there has been a
steady increase of spontaneous and planned
human migrations to ASAL from the densely
populated wetter zones of Kenya. The resultant
large population size from both the migrations
and aatural increase is making it difficult to
meet local food demands even during above
average production years. The most conspicuous
result is the haphazard expansion of cultivated
areas in the ASAL. Conflicts between arable
cropping requirements and
natural
the normal
pastures
use
by both
of
wildlife and domestic
stock undermines the long-term productivity of