Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives

In collaboration with the Drought Management Initiative (DMI), the Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives (CSDI) carried out a survey on Prosopis in three districts. The purpose of this study was the collection of baseline data/information on the threat and opportunities posed by the existence of Prosopis species; assess control interventions undertaken by different stakeholders; and create a database that will
inform future programmatic interventions.

Following the survey, CSDI carried out, with support from DMI and ALRMP, a pilot initiative aimed
at reducing the negative impact of Prosopis species in Garissa district by supporting the production
capacities of two groups of Prosopis charcoal producers through the provision of improved kilns,
training and by helping organize the two groups in marketing cooperatives.

It is on the basis of the encouraging results achieved that ALRMP has requested further support to
DMI in order to scale up the pilot initiative for the control of Prosopis species in Garissa district with
the implementation of a 12-month project. This new phase will continue to focus on the promotion of
charcoal production. However, since the successful management of the spread of Prosopis is heavily
dependent on intervention at the seed stage as the seed constitute the strongest source of invasion,
efforts aimed at drastic reduction of seed stock in the life cycle of Prosopis will be pursued under the
new pilot initiative by promoting the use of pods as animal feed.

The collection and milling of pods for livestock feeding will reduce invasion and have impact on
communities’ livelihoods if organizational and policy arrangements for collection by communities and
supply to the livestock feed industry are put in place and operationalise. This will transform the
Prosopis weed into an income generating resource for poor pastoralists in Prosopis invaded areas of
the dry lands of Garissa and beyond. The objective of this activity is therefore to increase revenue for
communities, traders, transporters and processors of the livestock feed industry. This will be done by
developing strategies for Prosopis collection, post-harvest handling, milling, packaging and delivery,
therefore developing efficient market chains linking the Prosopis resource to the national feed
industry. The project will develop working linkages with expert institutions such as the International
Livestock Research Institutions (ILRI) and other organizations already working on prosopis such as
the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), the University of Nairobi, ALLPRO (ASAL Based
Livestock and Rural Livelihood Support Project) and the private sector (animal feed industry) so as to
supplement on-going work and enhance impact of project activities.

Based on the above,  CSDI will:

Promote the use of prosopis charcoal by facilitating the implementation of proper incentives to
the sector (e.g. issuance of trade licences by KFS specifically for marketing of prosopis
charcoal);

Promote the use of improved kilns technology in order to increase the efficiency of prosopis
charcoal production (adoption of Casamance kilns);

Support the organisational and marketing capacities of charcoal producers in Garissa district
through support to marketing cooperatives (creation of enhanced marketing opportunities);

Establish linkages with other institutions, such as the District Steering Groups (DSGs),
KEFRI, KFS, ILRI, etc. to complement efforts in prosopis management.

The direct beneficiaries of this project are the prosopis charcoal producers already operating
in Garissa district. It is envisaged to work directly with six charcoal producers associations, about 150
charcoal producers, who are engaged in charcoal production in Garissa. As result of the intervention it
is anticipated that the beneficiaries will enhance their incomes considerably (between 30 to 40%).
Among others, the project will explore possibilities of entering an agreement between the charcoal
associations and the authorities in Daabab on supply of prosopis charcoal to refugee camps in Garissa
so as to create a steady and reliable new market. The enhanced marketing of prosopis charcoal will
cause the clearing of wide infested areas which will be reclaimed through the cultivation of cash crops
whenever feasible.

Animal feed from prosopis holds a lot of promise for the dry lands of northern Kenya, especially in the
light of the recurrent droughts that afflict the region from time to time, with studies documenting that it
is a good feed especially when well formulated (mixed with other feeds). Prosopis leaves are
unpalatable to livestock, but shoats and donkeys feed on prosopis pods, especially during the dry
seasons, and serve as the major dispersal agents for prosopis. The pods are high in sugar and proteins
and are a rich food source for animals. There is a thriving trade in the supply of these pods, mainly by
women, for feeding to livestock in the dry spells, and there is high potential for wealth and
employment creation from this trade. The pods can be stored year round for fodder. However, due to
lack of awareness livestock owners sometimes feed raw prosopis pods to the animals, causing a
number of problems, including tooth decay and stomach bloating: this is because the pulp is sweet
with high saccharine content.

There is need to start education programs on the correct methods of preparing prosopis fodder and
lobby the government to purchase prosopis pod flour as subsidized livestock fodder in drought – it is
cheaper and more nutritious than the alternatives, and is locally available thus stimulating rural
economy and employment generation.
Studies done in Kenya indicate that there exists demand for prosopis pods by feed processing
industries and small-scale agro-based industries. The pods can be ground and then fed to the animals.
Studies have shown that the crude protein (CP) and mineral concentration of prosopis are satisfactorily
high. With a CP content of 163g/KgDM, prosopis pods thus warrant consideration for use as
supplement to low quality feed, especially during the dry seasons. There is also a need to create a
livestock feeds reserve with reasonable contribution from prosopis pods as a droughts contingency
measure: this reserve can be linked to the fodder markets and animal feeds market players at the
district and national levels, thus ensuring all year round availability of feed for livestock. The
community should be the driving force in all this networking and should be empowered and trained to
create local-level capacity for feed production, especially during droughts.

The current biomass of Prosopis across Kenya yields an estimated 50,000 tons of pods/month, which
could be enough to sustain over 1.3 million livestock. Milling of 1 ton of pods destroys over 2 million
seeds, a novel biological control of Prosopis spread while sustaining livelihoods. The collection and
milling of pods for livestock feeding may therefore reduce invasion and have impact on communities’
livelihoods if organizational and policy arrangements for collection by communities and supply to the
livestock feed industry are put in place. This would transform the Prosopis weed into an income
generating resource for poor pastoralists in Prosopis invaded areas of Garissa district and beyond.

The objective of this component is therefore to increase revenue for communities, traders, transporters
and processors of the livestock feed industry. This will be done by developing strategies for Prosopis
collection, post-harvest handling, milling, packaging and delivery, therefore developing efficient
market chains linking the Prosopis resource to the national feed industry.

Aide memoire of prosopis management partners’ meeting

Venue: KICC Building, 17^th Floor

Attendees:

§  Luigi Luminari            Technical Advisor, DMI

§  Richard Kyuma           EWS Officer, ALLPRO

§  Simon Choge              Senior Research Officer, KEFRI

§  Abdi Zeila                    Head of Programs, CSDI

The meeting, which started at 10 00am, was held in the wake of a recent exploratory mission to Garissa by Luigi and Abdi on a visit that was meant to meet with stakeholders in prosopis management and get their input on the Garissa Prosopis Management Project, scheduled to kick off January 2010. Luigi started off the meeting with a brief history of the collaboration between ALRMP, DMI and CSDI on issues related to the management of the invasive species prosopis. He recollected the baseline survey on prosopis programs and actors done in the last quarter of 2008 as well as the pilot project on enhancement of prosopis production through provision of training in better charcoaling techniques and provision of efficient kilns. In the process manuals and working papers have been developed and circulated to partners and organizations.

Luigi briefed the meeting on the issues that arose from the visit, including legal and policy bottlenecks that will pose a problem in the successful implementation of prosopis management initiatives. He was particularly concerned about the problems relating to granting of movement permits to charcoal producers, who themselves are at the mercy of harassment from forest officials. He also expressed his concern about the organization of communities with regard to setting up of central prosopis pods and charcoal collection centre and asked for information on how ALLPRO structured their engagement on this with their target communities.

It was resolved that strengthening marketing cooperatives will go a long way in minimizing disruptions to the commercialization of prosopis products. It was suggested that cooperatives can get better operational terms/conditions from forestry authorities, including lengthier movement permits for prosopis charcoal. It was also agreed that cooperatives should be structured in a way that makes them vehicles for self regulation and supervision: this would solve the fear of charcoal producers engaging in wanton destruction of other species.

The meeting also considered certification of prosopis charcoal by the necessary authorities, and one way suggested was branding of the charcoal as perhaps “eco-charcoal”: this would be within the context of the registered cooperatives. This will assist in lobbying police authorities to remove obstacles to movement of charcoal such as rent-seeking by highway police. Also, the meeting resolved to lobby for granting of leaseholds to charcoal producers groups seeking to operative in, for instance, government-owned land that is infested by prosopis. Although this is already taking place at the government-owned Hodhan Farm in Garissa, it is in an informal manner. Farms along the Tana River are also engaging in this sort of symbiotic arrangements.

The meeting also resolved to loop in ALRMP more effectively in the prosopis management agenda, given the ALRMP’s extensive networks in the communities in arid and semiarid Kenya forged over a long period of time. ALRMP can effectively assist in the establishment of cottage industries to complement efforts at boosting production systems for charcoal and animal feed.

With regard to animal feed, Luigi proposed that local entrepreneurs be facilitated in the development of local-level animal feeds industry from prosopis pods. Choge raised the prospect of enhancing this through linking to the Bura Irrigation Scheme and hence benefiting from the maize stalks to be had in the next 3 months or so: this will be incorporated into feeds formulation from prosopis pods. This will entail incorporating the University of Nairobi’s Dr Wahome. Provision of small-scale mills was discussed at length and suggestions made on the appropriate features of the milling machine: Choge recommended a 16hp, 2 piston Marina mill. Discussions also dwelled on provision of storage facilities for the pods since they are hygroscopic. Luigi suggested shredding of prosopis to allow for use of economies of scale when transporting.

The meeting also considered the prospect of granting incentives to animal feed manufacturers to invest in prosopis pods. One way was by ALLPRO lobbying the government to grant tax waivers/holidays so that manufacturers can set up base in the affected districts on account of poor transportation infrastructure.

Luigi requested for a meeting to be arranged with the chief executive of Sigma Feeds, which will be scheduled for early December. The meeting ended with a vow to make this collaboration more productive and lasting through a formal memorandum of understanding. Abdi was tasked with the job of drafting an MoU and circulating to partners for comments.

The meeting ended at 11 30am.