Land conservation in Kenya: The role of property rights
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Date
2006-03-03
Authors
-Mariara, Jane Kabubo
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research consortium
Abstract
Land conservation technologies are known to play an important role in improving farm
incomes. For this reason substantial investments have been made in research to improve
agricultural technologies in various parts of the world, from the development of new
crop varieties to new practices of land management. The present study responds to the
paucity of literature on determinants of land conservation practices in Kenya. The study
builds on the few existing studies in this area and explores the impact of land rights and
assets among other factors on adoption of soil conservation practices. The study further
tests for Boserup’s hypothesis and the evolutionary theory of land rights using both
descriptive and econometric procedures. Primary data from households in a semi-arid
district in Kenya are used to achieve the study objectives. Random effects probits are
used to derive the parametric estimates of our models. The findings are that property
right regimes and assets affect both the decision to conserve land and the type of
conservation practices used by farmers. The results further suggest a positive correlation
between land tenure security and population density, thus supporting Boserup’s hypothesis
as well as the evolutionary land rights theory. We also find that the poor are less likely to
adopt land conservation practices than the non-poor. Education, available biomass, market
development and location of the farm are also found to be important determinants of
adoption. These findings call for pursuit of both short-term and long-term policy measures
that offer incentives for land conservation through government initiatives and involvement
of local communities. The recommended policy measures include enhanced security of
tenure, targeted programmes for poverty alleviation, improved access to education, and
development of social and physical infrastructure.