Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives

By Abdi Zeila

This article is in response to the news item published by The East African Standard on the 18^th of June titled “Dreaded weed haunts residents,” referring to the thorny and aggressive tree that has invaded many areas of our dry land districts – Baringo, Garissa, Tana River, Turkana – and it continues to spread. Recent estimates suggest it covers hundreds of thousands of hectares of land and the area is increasing every year. But Kenya is not alone - mathenge (known by the scientific name of Prosopis juliflora) is a major problem in Ethiopia (it is called the ‘devil tree’ by the pastoralists in the Afar region), Sudan, Chad, South, Australia, USA, India, among others.  It was inadvertently introduced to Kenya in the early 80’s through a development project.

Regarding control, the experiences from these countries and from the scientific community is that it is hard or almost impossible to eradicate mathenge, but it can control (at least partially) through utilization. And this is what most communities are doing, and this what we need to do in Kenya as well. Let’s stop complaining about it; let’s control through use.

Even if it were possible to eradicate it, there would be no consensus on this among the communities affected. For instance, there are many people currently using for charcoal production in several districts in Kenya (in particular Baringo, Garissa and Tana River) and supporting their families with incomes derived from mathenge. This is their only source of income. They would probably not accept eradication. There are also many who believe that mathenge is protecting many areas from soil erosion and land degradation, and that if removed the land will be destroyed. It is providing protective cover. But of course, mathenge has posed lot problems for the same communities, including restricting grazing lands, taking over water ways and native vegetation, among many other problems.

Charcoal is one important use that mathenge can be put into. This is, indeed, happening and this needs to be supported by both the government and its development partners. Most of the charcoal production in Kenya (which by the way is illegal to transport) at present comes from the dryland. Kenyans consume about 22 million metric tons of charcoal per year that is estimated to be worth KSh 35 billion (US$514 million at current rates). Unfortunately, most of this charcoal comes from our drylands and specifically from acacias and other valuable indigenous trees that take long time to grow. Many have been destroyed and lands degraded. Mathenge could potentially be a substitute under these conditions.

Mathenge charcoal producers could be organized into associations and supported with financing and knowledge to produce quality charcoal from mathenge. This is what is done in the Afar region of Ethiopia where the mathenge is also a problem.  The wood can also be used for poles, and replace materials currently used for scaffolding during construction. This is indeed happening in Garissa, where one pole now sells for over KSh 100 (about US$1.5).

Mathenge also produce food for human beings and feed for livestock. In Latin America where mathenge originated from, the local use it as an important food supplement. In Colombia and Venezuela, Prosopis is sometimes referred to as ‘maíz criollo’ (‘local maize’), indicating its importance as a nutrient source for either man or animal. The pods can be collected and fed to livestock. But it is important to crush the seeds before feeding. Doing also will minimize the seeds being moved around through the animal feces. This is the main avenue for the spread of mathenge. The problem is that communities don’t have the technology for crushing the pods and seeds, and making protein-rich feed out of it that can be fed to the livestock of those collecting it or sold in local or distant market.

Simple hand-hand mills exist and are used in place like India to make animal feed from mathenge. This is what our communities need to be supported to access. Again, the government and its development have to come in and provide the financial resources (either in the form of credit or better as grants) to individuals and groups to acquire these equipments and the skills to use them.

Fortunately, the government is pro-actively engaged with the communities in the areas affected by mathenge and with various research and development partners to find a solution to the problem, and more specifically through utilization. For instance, the Arid Land Resource Management Project (ALRMP), a GOK program funded largely by the World Bank and that operates in xx districts, has been championing the use of mathenge for charcoal.

The Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) has also been promoting the charcoal use as well it use for furniture. So is ICRAF (the World Agroforesrty Centre that is based in Nairobi) as well as the Centre for Sustainable Development Initiative, a local NGO. KEFRI is also exploring the potential of biological control, and is testing various local insects that can eat the plant. The problem of mathenge is that it has no major enemy or predator outside of its original home in South America. 

The charcoal use is so far the most use of mathenge. In India, for example, mathenge is primarily used for making charcoal, and hence meets more than two thirds of the energy requirements of people living in the rural arid and semiarid lands. CSDI and ALRMP are collaborating in promoting this knowledge through stakeholder training in several affected districts. There are many charcoal kilns that can be used and ALRMP has been promoting several with the help of local institutions, in particular KEFRI and CSDI.  

Some of the charcoal kilns promoted produce 4-5 times more charcoal than the traditional methods used by the locals. We have the casamance kiln, which originated from Senegal, and which costs about KSh 2000 (US$29) to assemble and can last for 6 months at constant use. It is important to know how what is the standing biomass available for charcoal production. The use of GIS can aid this process. Recent estimates by CSDI for Tana River and Garissa districts alone suggest enough standing prosopis biomass that can meet the national energy needs for one year, and the needs of northern Kenya (including the hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees) for two decades years at the current available biomass. 

What is needed next is promoting the wide-scale use of the tree. Therefore, here are some suggestions for moving forward:

• Organize local people into cooperatives or associations and provide them with financial and technical support to use the tree for charcoal production
• Support communities access small mills to covert the pods and seeds into rich animal feeds. Crushing the seeds also help control the spread of the weed.
• Revisit the charcoal transport laws so that charcoal from mathenge is give an exception. It is easy to identify its charcoal because it has a unique smell when burnt.
• Map and monitor the spread of mathenge periodically so that community and public support programs can be devised, including safety-net programs such as food and cash for work programs.