"An African Success Story"

Journal article

By: Nancy Chege

Date: July 1993

Source: Chege, Nancy. "An African Success Story." The Worldwatch Institute 6, no. 4 (July 1993).

About the Author: Nancy Chege was a staff member for the Worldwatch Institute, which carries out interdisciplinary research on global economic, social, and environmental issues. The work of Worldwatch is focused on the concepts of environmental sustainability and social justice, and how these concepts can become reality in society.

INTRODUCTION

The Machakos region of Kenya is southeast of the capital Nairobi, in the south central part of the country, and has been inhabited by the Akamba people for the past four hundred years. The Akamba are anthropologically classified as Bantu, and may have moved to the area from coastal regions, or from farther south in Tanzania, near Mount Kilimajaro. The early Akamba were said to be hunters, but settled into farming due to the fertile Machakos soil and the relatively higher precipitation received there. As population grew in the area, particularly in the times of European colonization, land degradation began to become a problem, and the area's food production steadily decreased.

Overgrazing, deforestation, and the intensification of agriculture are all causes of land degradation, which can be observed when soil loses nutrients and organic matter, becomes salinated, has higher levels of acidity, or undergoes desertification. Often, land is further compromised by erosion from wind and rain, which can rapidly carry soil particles away. Although soil erosion can happen easily on many agricultural soil types, it is more severe on steep slopes, which are not covered by vegetation. Many agricultural development specialists work toward improving land quality through soil conservation, by reducing erosion and maintaining fertility. Terrace farming is one way in which the speed of water can be reduced, helping it to seep into soils.

Scientists estimate that 15 percent of vegetated soils, as much as 5 billion acres (2 billion hectares) of land, were degraded during the second half of the twentieth century. Some suggest that 740 million acres (300 million hectares) of land have been degraded to the point that they will be unable to recover their original biological function. The majority of degraded land is found in the developing countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa, and has resulted in lower productivity and smaller agricultural harvests. Officials at the International Food and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and other agriculture development experts say that the degradation of land and other aspects of the environment is exasperated by poverty, population pressure, and poor government policies. Over 700 million of the world's population has health problems associated with malnutrition, due to inadequate supplies of nutritious food. Lack of food is often linked to poor land use practices, and the decreasing availability of fertile lands. The Green Revolution, launched in the 1940s by the Rockefeller Foundation, was successful in raising capacity and agriculture production in Latin America and Asia. However, Africa has made little or no progress in improving the food security of its inhabitants. In addition to degraded soil on farmlands, war, drought, and lack of farming inputs such as fertilizer make it difficult to adequately feed African populations.

PRIMARY SOURCE

In the Machakos district of south-eastern Kenya, bananas, coffee, and maize grow thick on terraces that climb the sloping land like many staircases. Standing in cool, green contrast to the parched, scrub vegetation that spreads beyond the horizon, and across much of Kenya, the terraces of Machakos make the region more than just an aesthetic exception; it is an economic one too. With approximately 70 percent of its arable land terraced, the region has produced on of Africa's best records of soil and water conservation, and its growth in agricultural output has even outpaced its high population growth rate of 3 percent.

A look at the fields in Machakos gives the impression that the area has always been productive and well managed. But that is not the case. At the beginning of the century, colonial British farmers established large coffee and sisal plantations that attracted migrant laborers from surround villages. As the number of people and livestock in the area grew, so did the pressures on the land, and the consequences of the migrant influx began to take their toll. By the early 1930s, Machakos was overgrazed, denuded, and in trouble. Agricultural productivity was plummeting and soil was eroding at rates as high as 13 tons per acre annually.

In response, the colonial government in Nairobi imposed a mandatory reconditioning program that forced villagers to reduce their herds of livestock, fence off extremely degraded land and allow "natural healing," and construct terraces for growing crops. At first, little progress was made because the farmers despised and resisted the coercive program. During the mid-1940s, the reconditioning activities gained momentum when a local leader, Chief Mutinda, imposed a fine of two bulls on any farmer who cultivated un-terraced land.

But solid conservation efforts in Machakos languished when men left home to fight the colonial forces during Kenya's struggle for independence from British rule in the 1950s, and during the turbulent resettlement period of the 1960s.

Once life returned to normal, the people of Machakos, the Akamba, were eager to reverse the deteriorating condition of their land. In 1974, Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture established the National Soil and Water Conservation Project, with support from the Swedish International Development Agency. The Soil and Water officials worked closely with the Akamba, treating them as partners and successfully persuading them to restart the construction of terraces. The Swedish agency offered additional incentives by creating a farmers' training program, providing tools and establishing tree nurseries.

Terraces are ingeniously simple but hard to build. A farmer begins by digging a trench perpendicular to the fall line, then throws the soil up the slope to form a solid ridge, hence the Akamba name "fanya juu," which translates "do upwards." The terraces even out as shifting soils build up behind the ridge. Rain water seeps into the soil rather than running down the slope, making better use of the region's sparse precipitation. To stabilize the soil and prevent the ridges from collapsing, farmers plant grass on top of the ridges. The grass then provides fodder for livestock.

In building their terraces, the Akamba rediscovered an ancient technology that has enabled subsistence farmers to make poor land productive in scattered locations from the Philippines to the Andes. A 1988 study by Eva Holmgren and Gunilla Johansson of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences found that corn and bean yields were 33 percent and 16 percent higher, respectively, on terraced versus unterraced land. In addition, the terraces have helped to reduce the siltation of waterways, which extends the lifetime of reservoirs in the area.

Machakos farmers are taking other steps to increase the productivity and health of their land. They have begun using manure in place of more expensive chemical fertilizer because it both enriches the soil and helps hold it in place. Recognizing that the health of their livestock is more important than the quantity, they are thinning their herds of livestock, making prudent decisions to graze only the few that their land can support. As the supply of grazing land shrinks through conversion to crops, or through retirement from overgrazing, the need to thin herds becomes even more pressing.

Without the help of heavy machinery, it would take one farmer approximately two years to construct terraces on a five-acre plot. But Machakos is densely populated, and there are plenty of helping hands. The Akamba have organized into self-help groups known as "mwethya." Unified by the common vision of increased food security and a higher standard of living, the mwethya work on each other's fields on a rotating basis. When first formed in the 1920s, they consisted of men and women who belonged to the same clan, and performed services ranging from helping families recover from disasters to building houses and pitching in with farming tasks. During the years of political turmoil, the groups disintegrated—and did not reassemble until after 1963, when Kenya received its independence from the British government.

In recent years, the composition of the mwethya has changed as village men have left for the cities in search of jobs. Today, a typical group is composed of 25 to 70 women who reside in the same neighborhood. In most groups, the only qualification for membership is a willingness to participate in communal work. The groups have played a central role in combating the forces of land degradation, and are currently the most active of the local institutions. The project's success—primarily fueled by the enthusiasm and commitment of women—is exemplary of an economic potential among women that often remains ignored and unrecognized throughout the world.

The conservation project has not been without its drawbacks. Overgrazing is still prevalent, and stricter measures are required to curb the problem. And although the Akamba have made great strides in conserving their soil and water, erosion rates are still relatively high during the harvesting and plowing months, when terrace construction and maintenance do not receive adequate attention.

But despite the low rainfall, the fragile soils, and the growing human and livestock populations that have left so much of Sub-Saharan Africa impoverished, the Akamba women have successfully managed to transform their scrubby and denuded homeland into an agriculturally productive area. The residents of Machakos district have set a significant example for Africa. They have made their accomplishments without the importation of complex and costly technologies, succeeding instead with simple tools, local resources, and their own communal labor.

SIGNIFICANCE

Development studies have shown that when there are high levels of poverty in a rural area, land is often degraded quickly as residents strive to meet daily needs, using resources in a manner that maximizes short-term benefits. However, this shortsightedness often increases poverty in the long-term as the resources are diminished with degradation of land. Developing national governments, as well as international development agencies, are tasked with the difficult job of helping the poor meet their daily needs and plan for longer-term sustainability.

The Akamba people have been able to improve agriculture productivity by implementing innovative farming techniques suitable for their unique landscape and climate. Ideally, agricultural specialists survey an area to find what techniques may work best given the characteristics and topography of a particular region. In addition to terracing, no-till agriculture, a method that minimizes disturbance to soil, has been used to successfully maintain soil quality in some locations. Regardless of the technology, when implementing new farming techniques, community participation is vital for success, something realized in the Akamba experience.

Despite the success of the Akamba, poverty remains a limitation to the Machakos region. Primarily, the Akamba people rely on the capital provided by members of the community in order to carry out their conservation programs. This limits the improvements that can be made, as the farmers cannot typically afford useful equipment such as water tanks, or animals to plow terraces. It is sometimes difficult to find the resources to improve roads, which better enable farmers to connect with markets. The majority of farmers are without electricity, and the availability of off-farm jobs, which bring in money to the area, are not always available. Drought has also been an obstacle for the region.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Periodicals

Scherr, Sara J., and Satya Yadav. "Land Degradation in the Developing World: Issues and Policy Options For 2020." International Food Policy Research Institute 44 (June 1997).

Web sites

"Agricultural Case Studies." Bill Moyers Reports: Earth on Edge. 〈http://www.pbs.org/earthonedge/ecosystems/agricultural2.html〉 (accessed March 17, 2006).

"Land Degradation and Desertification." United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 〈http://soils.usda.gov/use/worldsoils/landdeg〉 (accessed March 17, 2006).

United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, and World Resources Institute. "Agroecosystems: Regaining the High Ground: Reviving the Hillsides of Machakos." Excerpt in World Resources 2000-2001: People and Ecosystems: The Fraying Web of Life, 2000. 〈http://pdf.wri.org/wr2000_agroecosystems_machakos.pdf〉 (accessed March 17, 2006).