Search

In arid and semi-arid lands, water salinity often restricts plant growth, degrades soils, and even causes irrigation systems to fail, especially in hot climates. Worldwide, it is a “major cause” of the irrigation-induced salinization that had already affected 76 million ha of soil in 1991. Our novel and inexpensive irrigation technique addresses these issues, thus potentially improving the food security of affected farmers and pastoralists who often are amongst the world’s poorest. Saline or brackish water is dispensed inside plastic bottles that are modified so as to feed only vapour to the soil, where roots and moisture-retaining materials can capture it. We tested this method in the field in Turkana County (Kenya) with Dual-Purpose Sorghum. Five treatments in five replicates were applied with different moisture-retaining material: biochar; organic mulch; plastic sheeting; Super Absorbent Polymer); and none (Control). Effectiveness of the treatment was appraised by comparing the average heights of plants. At 64 cm after 30 days, the Super Absorbent Polymer treatment performed best (34% better than the control, p=0.05), followed by organic mulch (18% better than the control, p=0.05). Super Absorbent Polymer and organic mulch also retained the most moisture in the soil (37 and 32% better than the control, respectively; p=0.05). Key words: Irrigation, pitcher irrigation, condensation irrigation, superabsorbent polymer, mulch, salinity, brackish water, saline water, soil salinization.

Turkana County is prone to perturbations and famine owing to the prevailing climatic conditions. Due to degradation through natural and anthropogenic activities such as charcoal burning; over time, existing woodlands have been degraded, necessitating rehabilitation. Several drylands adapted plant species studied over the years for the response to the needs of the communities were identified and isolated through a survey. The species identified to be most useful to the communities included Cenchrus ciliaris, Tamarindus indica, Salvadora persica, Moringa oleifera, Aloe turkanensis, Acacia senegal, Acacia tortilis, Acacia mellifera, Cordia sinensis, Adenia obesum, Dobera glabra, Parkinsonia acuelata and Balanites aegyptiaca. The final species planted were A. mellifera; A. senegal; A. tortilis; Adenium obesum; B. aegyptiaca; C. sinensis; D. glabra; P. aculeata, S. persica and Melia volkensii were introduced for observation on performance. This study's objectives were to determine the effectiveness of micro-catchments in rangeland rehabilitation and to compare species performance to appraise the species highly adaptable to the environment. This offered an opportunity to demonstrate climate-smart technologies regarding rangeland rehabilitation. The methodology was adapted from proving phase provenance trials using nested intensity design to give the best measurements that measure native and exotic plant species. The site was in Ekalees 10 km off Lodwar -Kerio road, Lodwar. Micro-catchment was used as a treatment where a similar number of species of the same age were grown with micro catchments and others without micro-catchments. The major result of this study was found in the site with micro-catchments having higher mean heights and root collar diameters for each species tested. The results indicated the usefulness of micro-catchments, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, as well as showing the performance of selected native species performance in the natural ecosystem. Key words: Water harvesting, land restoration, climate-smart technology, native species.

There are many native species that are important to local communities globally. There have been studies on the importance of these plant species for many uses by local communities. Though, there is scanty information on these species’ recognition by researchers. Despite the harsh climatic conditions in Turkana (semi-arid to arid), the community has over the years developed strategies for conservation of some sections of important woodland and riparian zones that provide multiple goods and services for the people and livestock. This study seeks to appraise the plant species preferred for construction and related cultural uses by pastoral communities in Northern Kenya where Turkana county in situated. The key results are list of plant species and their uses in regard to housing as well as the relative importance of the plant species to the Turkana pastoral community for housing. This will inform on priority species for conservation and also emphasize on key areas that this knowledge can be used. Key words: Turkana pastoralists community, housing, indigenous knowledge, plant species.

Background: COVID-19 has become a public health concern globally with increased numbers of cases of the disease and deaths reported daily. The key strategy for the prevention of COVID-19 disease is to enhance mass COVID-19 vaccination. However, mass vaccination faces challenges of hesitation to acceptance of the vaccine in the community. The youths may not be among the vulnerable population to adverse effects of COVID-19 but are highly susceptible to contracting the virus. The aim of the study was to assess COVID-19 vaccine youth behavior intentions and their determinants in Kenya. Methods: The study used a mixed method study design, employing a cross-sectional survey and focused group discussions across 47 counties in Urban, Peri-Urban and Rural settings. The interviewees were youths aged 18-35, registered in online platforms that included Shujaaz, Brck Moja, Aiffluence, Y Act and Heroes for Change. Quantitative data was collected using Google docs while the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were done virtually. A total of 637 interviews and 4 FGDs were done. Quantitative data was analysed using STATA version 16. Qualitative data was analyzed using MAXQDA software.Results: The findings of the study indicated that only 42% of the youths were ready to be vaccinated, 52% were not ready to be vaccinated adopting wait and see approach to what happens to those who had received the vaccine, and 6% were totally not willing to be vaccinated. The determinants of behavior intention among the youths were; the perceived effects the vaccine on health, lack of adequate information about the COVID-19 vaccine, too much conflicting information about COVID-19 vaccine from the social media, religion, education level, perceived risk of contracting the COVID-19 disease, efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, gender, trust in the ministry of health, and the belief that the COVID-19 vaccine was harmful to the populations.Conclusion: The Vaccine hesitancy among the youths was found to be 58%. The Hesitancy is higher among females, protestants, those with post-secondary education. Lack of information and concerns around vaccine safety and effectiveness were main cause of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the youths. Social media was the major source of information contributing to hesitancy. Other contributors included; low trust in the MoH, belief that mass vaccination is not helpful

Background Dry regions are facing environmental challenges which have resulted in biodiversity and soil fertility loss. It is highly recognized that trees contribute a range of ecosystem services in urban environments. Rehabilitation using indigenous tree species in Kenya faces challenges as the country lacks guidelines on species site matching. The main objective of this study was to assess the ecological performance of rehabilitation efforts in two arid and semi-arid (ASAL) sites with varying number of tree species but not abundance in each of the sites. The study further determines the efficacy of rehabilitation by varying the number of species in degraded ASAL areas. This study employed ecological study technique using height, diameter at breast height (DBH), Soil pH and compared the performance of the tree species in the field against performance of similar species at their early growth stages in the nursery. Results The study results showed significantly higher soil pH in the nursery (p0.05) in the species DBH in the two sites. Conclusions Other than soil amendments for fertility improvement to increase rtrees perfomance, there is need to rehabilitate degraded areas with higher tree species diversity to achieve a resilient heterogeneous ecosystem. This study has shown how adding economic valuation of tree species would lead to awarenenss and importance on key native species.