Deliberations of the Garissa

Prosopis Stakeholders Consultative

Forum
Held on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at the Nomad Palace Hotel,
Garissa

RAPPORTEUR:
Abdi Zeila
Head of Programs, CSDI

Executive Summary
The Drought Management Initiative (DMI) and the Arid Lands Resource Management
Project (ALRMP) in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives
(CSDI) convened a two-day consultative forum for stakeholders interested in prosopis
management and control in Garissa district.
The forum was conceptualized to bring together various organizations and actors who are
working in or are interested in prosopis management issues. The institutions and actors
who participated in this forum were those working in various aspects of dryland
development (livestock interventions, livelihoods support, such as CSDI, DMI, ALRMP II,
Kenya Drylands Livestock Development Project), prosopis products producers and end
users (farmer association and prosopis charcoal interest group), government regulatory
(Kenya Forestry Service) and extension authorities (ministries of Agriculture and Livestock
Development) as well as potential donors (CARE, KDLDP).

Contact person: Abdi Zeila (azeila@csdikenya.org)

Introduction
The meeting had the following primary objectives:

Provide a venue for cross-sharing of experiences and lessons learnt during the oneyear DMI/ALRMP/CSDI collaborative trials on prosopis management and control

Review and critique contemporary prosopis management methodologies and

approaches used in the one-year trials, with an eye on prospects for employing bestbet practices and leveraging synergies and partnerships, and

Draw up a collaborative framework for future prosopis management initiatives in

Garissa with a view of scaling out impacts and outcomes

Expected outcomes of the meeting

By the end of the meeting, the expectations of the workshop conveners as well as that of
the participating institutions were that:

There would be objective and helpful critique of current prosopis management

interventions as conceptualized and implemented by the three initial organizations
collaborating (DMI, ALRMP and CSDI)

There would be opportunities for synergies and complementarities between the

three initial organisations work and the newly participating institutions and actors

There would be a diverse array of ideas, thoughts and suggestions on how to best
structure future prosopis interventions for optimal impact

Day One
Summary of the deliberations
Opening statements: The meeting was opened with a word of prayer by Mr Mohamud Ali
Bilal, vice-chairman of the Wadhajir farmers association and one of the pioneering
members of the charcoal production interest group (CPIG). This was followed by a round of
introductions of representatives of the various organisations present in the meeting.

Photo: Mr
Oyugi,
representing
the Kenya
Forestry
Service (KFS)
making a
pitch on the
floor of the
forum

Introduction and background check by CSDI: The CSDI Head of Programs Abdi Zeila,
who also doubled up as the forums rapporteur, welcomed the participants to the forum
and emphasised the need for their robust participation in this meeting. He took the
participants through the history of the 3 year old collaboration between CSDI, DMI and
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Contact person: Abdi Zeila (azeila@csdikenya.org)

ALRMP, and took time to explain the history of the introduction of the species in Garissa
district. He also explained the rationale behind the current program being sponsored by
DMI and ALRMP: that it is piloting the adoption of alternative beneficial uses of prosopis by
community segments most affected by its presence on farmlands and pasturelands. Abdi
explained that the current CSDI/DMI/ALRMP collaboration, which covers three distinct but
thematically related interventions, namely:

Promotion of sustainable charcoal production from prosopis wood: this is done through
enabling members of the prosopis charcoal interest group (CPIG) to enhance their efficiency
in their production systems as well as support in marketing of their products

Support to production of animal feed from prosopis pods: this is done with support from
the Ministry of Livestock Production (ALLPRO) and entails production of compacted fodder
blocks from prosopis pods and the training of community in the use, operation and
maintenance of hammer mill machine

Rangeland rehabilitation and reforestation: this is done through the use of water retention
Groasis boxes, that have been imported from The Netherlands, and involves researchermanaged trials in two areas, one in Garissa municipality and the other site in Shanta-Abaq
(160kms from Garissa)

All of the interventions are hosted in the 5-acre demonstration farm loaned to the three
partners by members of the association of Wadhajir Farmers.

The Centre for Sustainable Development Initiatives (CSDI, www.csdikenya.org) is a

Kenyan-registered NGO operating and working in Kenyas drylands. CSDI is committed to
playing its role in working with the rural poor in Africa in improving lives and livelihoods
through appropriate program targeting and efficiency in service delivery. CSDIs thematic
areas of work are enhancing food security, sustainable environmental management and
policy research and advocacy. CSDI has competencies in food security and livelihoods
assessments, institutional strengthening and capacity building, climate change
adaptations, helping communities access markets and reduce transaction costs through
benefiting from economies of scale, building capacity across value chain, soil fertility,
enhancing farmers access to seeds, enabling farmer to farmer extension, agroforestry,
managing invasive species, water resource management as well as influencing policy
makers through policy analysis, research and dissemination.

DMIs mandate and interest: Mr Ahmed H Ali of DMI was given a slot in the forums
proceedings to inform the participants of his organisations engagement in rangeland
management issues, with specific reference to the case of prosopis control and
management. Mr Ali informed the forum of DMIs mandate for the creation of the National
Drought Contingency Fund and the National Drought Management Authority. Over the
years since its establishment, DMI has extended much support to the Arid Lands Resource
Management Project (in whose offices the DMI is hosted), primarily through capacity
building of 28 district project steering groups (DSGs).
DMI is also heavily involved in lobbying and advocacy among policy makers and legislators
with respect to the establishment of the aforementioned Fund as well as the formulation
and adoption of enabling ASAL-related policies. In some arid districts, DMI is supporting
moves by government agencies and NGOs in linking relief and rehabilitation initiatives to
longer-term development.
In the midst of all this, DMI was approached by CSDI and ALRMP II to consider supporting
nascent initiatives on reducing the impact of the alien invasive species Prosopis juliflora on
the lives and livelihoods of most affected communities in Garissa. This initiative bore fruit
when DMI decided to collaborate with the other two organisations in a pilot program
aimed at promoting alternative beneficial uses of the species.
ALRMPs pitch: Mr Ahmed M Farah, the Drought Management Officer for Garissa, also
addressed the gathering and took the participants through a timeline of the collaboration
between his organisation and CSDI. He made reference to a learning trip made in May 2005
to the drylands of India, when professionals working in eastern African drylands were
hosted by the Central Arid Zone Research Institute of India. India has pioneered in the
development and evolution of practices, policies, techniques and technologies of
ameliorating the impact of prosopis colonisation of arid lands through wide-scale adoption
of alternative beneficial uses of an otherwise invasive species.

Contact person: Abdi Zeila (azeila@csdikenya.org)

Beneficiary testimonials: The gathering also heard from two projects partners, both of
whom have been closely working in the prosopis initiatives. Mr Mohamud Ali Bilal, the
chairman of the association of Wadhajir farmers, gave a detailed timeline of the history of
the farm, the milestones achieved so far since his group started collaborating with
DMI/ALRMP/CSDI, and the challenges facing the farm.
Wadhajir Farm was started about three decades ago by resource-poor men and women
who had fallen out of pastoralism as a direct result of changing climate and fortunes. These
first-generation farmers tried to eke a living with no extension support until a mission from
the Canadian Baptist association came along and offered support in building irrigation
infrastructure in 1987. In 2004, the ALRMP Garissa office started engaging with the
association and subsequently assisted them with agronomic trainings and supply of
germplasm. At present, the 74-member farm is beset by a number of problems, including
ageing and extremely inefficient irrigation canal system. This has prevented them from
utilising the full potential of the farm: they are now only farming about 150 acres (about
20% of the arable land).
Mr Hassan Ahmed is a member of the Garissa prosopis charcoal interest group. He too
addressed the gathering, focusing on his income from producing charcoal. He primarily
works in the confines of Wadhajir Farm, and he was initially content with producing only
15 bags from his typical traditional earth kiln, which takes 15 days to produce (Note: the
TEKs have efficiency or recovery rates of no more than 10%). This was until CSDI,
supported by ALRMP and DMI, offered him and his group of 25 other members, training in
efficient charcoal production kilns, which involves changes in the way the members
stacked their kilns. CSDI supplied them with the more efficient Casamance kilns, which
have rates of about 36%. Now, after the trainings, the kilns and a learning trip to Baringo
where Hassan and his group met with their counterparts in that region, they are realising
45 bags from the same kilns, only now stacked better and with aeration allowances.

Hassan also made references to the highly efficient Half-Orange kilns that they saw while
on the Baringo learning trip. These kilns have the capacity to produce up to 80 bags (of the
90kg-variety). Their main needs now are more current trainings, more Casamance kilns
and power saws to simplify the process of cutting down prosopis logs. He also identified
their biggest problem or threat as the harassment and rent-seeking from agents of forest
authorities, and appealed for help in addressing this challenge.

Presentations by organisations on prosopis-related work

CARE: This organisation is currently running an adaptation learning program focusing on
climate change mitigation through community-based adaptation of processes. The program
involves the drawing up of participatory community action plans (CAPs): some of the
proposed interventions in the CAPs are supported by CARE while others are shared with
other stakeholders.
CARE is of the view that prosopis-related work as enumerated by the preceding
contributions by DMI, ALRMP and CSDI can be integrated as a framework for climate
change adaptation: this is seen as an opportunity for joint collaborative initiatives.
Particularly of interest is the program on fodder production from prosopis pods and
marketing, and CARE will consider future joint initiatives on this front.
KLMC: The Kenya Livestock Marketing Council was also represented at the gathering and is
currently working on a major livestock support programs for the drylands of Kenya. KLMC
noted its interest in producer of fodder blocks from prosopis pods as an avenue of
supplemental feeding.
KDLDP: The Kenya Drylands Livestock Development Project is a relatively new program,
less than a year old, which operates in most parts of northern Kenya. The project focuses
on livestock production and ways of enhancing this as a sustainable livelihood for the
region.

Contact person: Abdi Zeila (azeila@csdikenya.org)

KDLDP is interested in supporting scaling out prosopis fodder, more so since vast swathes
of land that were formerly pasturelands and farmlands have been put out of action by the
presence of dense prosopis stands on these lands. Ipso facto, KDLDP will thus support any
initiative that seeks to reclaim land from prosopis annexation. In addition to opening up
land for reclamation, this initiative also promises to employ large numbers of previous
employed or under-employed youth: this dovetails with KDLDPs youth employability
program in which the project seeks to get 300 youths employed in gainful work in the next
3 years.
KDLDP has potential for partnership on account of its grant-making component: the project
will be making grants to NGOs and CBOs (totalling to about $800,000) and will be making
30 grants of about $5,000 each per district. CSDI promised to liaise more with KDLDP to
explore more avenues for resource mobilisation for the prosopis management initiatives.
KFS: The Kenya Forestry Service, formerly the Forest Department, is now a revamped
institution that seeks more inclusion of communities and forest products stakeholders in
running of forests. The working structure has also been changed to reflect more decisionmaking prospects at the grassroots levels. Prosopis management at the local level is
allowed, only in consultation with the zonal conservancy manager (the former title was the
district forests officer).
The KFS has put in place forest charcoal regulations that would regulate trade in charcoal.
In Garissa, there is in place the forest conservation committee which has leeway to allow
trade in prosopis charcoal. The KFS insists on prospective charcoal traders to be grouped in
associations for ease of negotiation and self-regulation: they will then identify their area of
operation, and based on discussions they will be issued with movement permits.

Emerging issues for discussion

The forum provided an opportunity where most stakeholders in prosopis management in
Garissa were able to ventilate on issues of importance to them. Some of the issues that
were raised at the meeting included:

Issues on regulations: This was made clear by the KFS representative Mr Oyugi, who
referred to the substantive regulations on charcoal production in the light of the new
Forestry Act

Access of services from KFS: how easy is it to acquire a certificate or origin for
prosopis charcoal, what are the procedures and how can they be simplified bearing
in mind the economic strengths of prosopis charcoal producers: This was addressed
by Mr Oyugi, however it was felt that there was a need for another forum that will
focus on how to make these processes easier

Promoting other beneficial uses of prosopis: Mr Oyugi referred to the current use of
prosopis timber in Garissa and fingered this as one way of reducing prosopis
prevalence

How to prevent charcoal harvesters from targeting other trees other than prosopis:
Mr Oyugi from KFS reiterated the need for more public education so that there is an
intrinsic understanding of the value of these trees, while Wadhajir representatives said
on their part that they will not allow destructive harvesting of other species on their
land

How KFS is incorporating the communities in sustainable forestry management:

This was clarified by Mr Oyugi, who took the participants through the new Forest Act,
with its emphasis on community participation in forestry management through
representation in, for instance, the forest conservation committees

How to position prosopis wood as the species of choice in the refugee camps
complex in Dadaab: The forum addressed this exhaustively and resolved that there is

Contact person: Abdi Zeila (azeila@csdikenya.org)

need for policy advocacy and reforms to make this as an attractive solution for GTZ
and UNHCR

Day 2
The participating institutions made a visit on the second day of the forum to the Wadhajir
Farm, where they were treated to a display of the work done so far by ALRMP, DMI and
CSDI.
The participants were conducted on the tour by members of the Wadhajir Farm: the tour
started with a visit to the farmhouse that houses the hammer mill machine for production
of compacted fodder blocks. Later, the team visited the 5-acre demo farm and charcoal
production

sites.

Photo: Members of the Garissa prosopis consultative forum listen

keenly as Hassan Issa, vice-chairman of Wadhajir Farm, make a
point on animal feed from prosopis
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The Way Forward

The forum made the following suggestions as the way forward:

The immediate formation of a stakeholder committee to coordinate initiatives on

prosopis management in Garissa district that will also serve as a cauldron to
promote synergies and cross-pollination of ideas and initiatives

The convening of another consultative forum that will focus on studying the newly
inaugurated dryland forestry management regulations and their impact on prosopis
management

A current review of prosopis management initiatives in Kenya with a view of

identifying best-bet practices, what has worked, what has not, and how this can be
used as experiential learning for future initiatives

Dedication of more resources into enhanced public communication and awareness

activities and campaigns (including field days) to enhance the profile of prosopis
products

More emphasis on the role of prosopis products in meeting national food security
and fodder production gaps

A further one-day consultative forum to plan for a more substantive project

proposal to be submitted to DMI and other donors: this project is expected to build
on the successes registered so far and enhance income possibilities for most
affected community groups.

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Contact person: Abdi Zeila (azeila@csdikenya.org)

List of participants at the Forum

Name
Aden Haji Yusuf
Ahmed M Farah
Osman Ibrahim
Philip Sigei
Ahmed H Ali
Abass S Mohamed
David Cheruiyot
Abdi Muhumed
Hassan Mahat
Mohamud Ali
Hassan Issa
Habon Baadhi
Peter Oyugi
Ismail Abdi Abdille
Joseph Machaka
Saafo Roba
Shukri Sirat
Abdi Zeila
Mohamed Ali Sheikh
Bashir A Muhumed
Patrick Karani
Benson Kabotia
Hassan Gedi

Department
KDLDP
ALRMP
CSDI
Farmers Training Centre, Garissa
DMI
KLMC
Min of Livestock Development
Charcoal burner
Charcoal burner
Farmer
Farmer
Farmer
Kenya Forestry Service
CNFA-KDLDP
CARE
CNFA-KDLDP
ALRMP
CSDI
PACT-Kenya
Min of Agriculture
Min of Agriculture
KDLDP
ALRMP

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