Throughout Eastern Africa, pressure on land is increasing. Average farm size is decreasing as plots are sub-divided and farmers struggle to find space on their farms to grow subsistence and cash crops as well as to keep livestock. Many farmers would like to keep dairy cows but do not have...

Sand dams are a simple and cost-effective rainwater-harvesting technique which can provide a lifetime supply of clean water within 30 minutes of people’s homes. They can save up to 11.5 hours each day (otherwise spent on collecting water) in periods of drought. A sand dam is a reinforced stone masonry...

At present the need to plant trees on farms is on the increase. It is difficult, however, for smallholders to access – at the right time, in the right quantities and of high quality – the trees that they want to plant. In order to meet present and future demand...

This technology describes the various stages in the vegetative propagation of trees (from tree nursery management to cuttings, grafting, and layering). It is targeted at helping field technicians and nursery managers active in tree propagation research or development. The concept of vegetative propagation is that an exact copy of the...

Indigenous chickens play an important role in the livelihoods of most rural families in Eastern Africa. Despite increased use of commercial breeds by large-scale producers, around three quarters of chickens in the region are indigenous breeds. This manual gives information on improved management practices of rearing indigenous chickens. The following...

A project initiated by the Pastoralist Development Network of Kenya investigated and documented the community initiative in the Olgos area of Narok county to reverse the perilous effects of the fragmentation of Maasai rangelands and fencing off of individual parcels. It was essentially a reflection on the functional experiential learning...

Kenyan prisons are full of the young and the poor. It is no surprise when you consider the high levels of unemployment and the criminal means to which many turn to survive. Trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and crime, former prisoners are often left stigmatised by society and...

In Eastern Africa, reduced soil fertility has led to declining crop yields on many small‑scale farms causing food insecurity and greater poverty. Throughout the region, soils are generally low in nitrogen and phosphorus – which are essential for crops to grow well. Soil fertility can be increased by the use...

Les poules indigènes jouent un rôle important dans la vie des familles rurales en Afrique orientale. Malgré l’usage accru des races commerciales par de gros éleveurs, près des trois quarts des poules de la région sont de races indigènes. Leur viande et leurs œufs sont plus savoureux , elles exigent...

Les moutons qui broutent dans les pâturages peuvent être infestés par plusieurs types de parasites. Le niveau d’infestation parasitaire doit faire l’objet d’un contrôle. Dans le cas contraire, l’infestation peut entraîner des saignements, l’amaigrissement et même la mort de l’animal. En cas d’hydatidose (maladie due à l’infestation par un ténia),...

Cassava, sweet potato, papaya and pumpkin leaves are widely eaten in Africa. They are nutritious, tasty, inexpensive and can help reduce hunger and malnutrition. Fresh green leafy vegetables and fruits start to lose their quality immediately after harvest, becoming damaged, wilted and eventually rotten. Storing and drying fruits and vegetables...

Water availability is crucial for agricultural activities, in the dry seasons or at time of reduced rainfalls, water becomes a rare commodity. Harvesting rainwater can offer a solution to increase water availability during the dry season. This practice describes how to harvest rainwater in Kenya. Rainwater harvesting is the collection...

The Organic Agriculture Centre of Kenya (OACK) saw that by providing the right skills, information and support, they could help small-scale farmers move away from subsistence farming and into thriving livelihoods that improve their local communities and the landscapes they live in. Kangari village in Murang’a county, Kenya, has practiced mono-cropping...

The holistic gardening project in Emuhaya, Western Kenya, is attracting local and international acclaim. Bio Gardening Innovations (BIOGI) is equipping smallholder farmers to break away from monocultures and create thriving, overflowing “food forests” on their farmland.

Maize is the most important staple food in Eastern Africa. But yields on smallholder farms are often very low, typically just one quarter of what could be achieved. In a good year, using improved varieties with good management, recommended amounts of fertilizer and effective control of pests and diseases could...

The holistic gardening project in Emuhaya, Western Kenya, is attracting local and international acclaim. Bio Gardening Innovations (BIOGI) is equipping smallholder farmers to break away from monocultures and create thriving, overflowing “food forests” on their farmland. Maize, the staple crop of Vihaga and Kakamega counties in Kenya, is harvested twice a...

Control of Foreign Fishing (CFF) explores options available to coastal states. It seeks to find the optimal combination of fee level, surveillance expenditure, and magnitude of legal penalties to minimize the risk of illegal fishing and maximize the benefits accruing to the coastal state. It provides an economic model that...

This report responds to heightened concerns over rising levels of farmer-herder conflict across a wide band of semi-arid Africa. We assess the quantitative evidence behind this general impression and review the explanations in the scientific literature, in the light of known issues with long-standing attitudes towards pastoralism and mobile populations....

Rinderpest is a serious contagious disease of cattle, Asian buffalo, yak and many other herbivores both domesticated and wild, including swine, African buffalo, giraffe and lesser kudu. Rinderpest is caused by a virus which is related closely to that of human measles, canine distemper, pests de petits ruminants (PRP) and...

Tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) infest over 11 million sq km of Africa, and are vectors of Trypanosomosis (or Trypanosomiasis) in both man and domestic livestock. For example, it is estimated that tsetse cover over 7 percent of Zimbabwe and 60 percent of Tanzania and Trypanosomosis has an important negative impact on livestock...