Land Resource Management in Machakos District, Kenya, 1930-1990 (World Bank Environment Paper)

World Bank Environment Paper 5. This paper reviews land management practices and agricultural innovation in this semi-arid region since the 1930s, when it was feared that the region would quickly lose its capacity to support its inhabitants and their livestock. The review both confirms and challenges the conventional wisdom. The paper documents changes that have allowed the land to support a population that has grown fivefold and agricultural production whose value has increased threefold during this period þ without additional resource degradation. The social, technical, and economic factors behind these changes and innovations are identified. The author argues that an increased market orientation would provide low-income farmers with incentives to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. They recommend ways to do so. More than 30 tables and figures document the past and current status of land resources and land management practices.