How do large-scale agricultural investments affect land use and the environment on the western slopes of Mount Kenya? Empirical evidence based on small-scale farmers' perceptions and remote sensing

Abstract

Africa has been heavily targeted by large-scale agricultural investments (LAIs) throughout the last decade, with scarcely known impacts on local social-ecological systems. In Kenya, a large number of LAIs were made in the region northwest of Mount Kenya. These large-scale farms produce vegetables and flowers mainly for European markets. However, land use in the region remains dominated by small-scale crop and livestock farms with less than 1 ha of land each, who produce both for their own subsistence and for the local markets. We interviewed 100 small-scale farmers living near five different LAIs to elicit their perceptions of the impacts that these LAIs have on their land use and the overall environment. Furthermore, we analyzed remotely sensed land cover and land use data to assess land use change in the vicinity of the five LAIs. While land use change did not follow a clear trend, a number of small-scale farmers did adapt their crop management to environmental changes such as a reduced river water flows and increased pests, which they attributed to the presence of LAIs. Despite the high number of open conflicts between small-scale land users and LAIs around the issue of river water abstraction, the main environmental impact, felt by almost half of the interviewed land users, was air pollution with agrochemicals sprayed on the LAIs' land. Even though only a low percentage of local land users and their household members were directly involved with LAIs, a large majority of respondents favored the presence of LAIs nearby, as they are believed to contribute to the region's overall economic development.

An analysis of environmental sustainability in small & medium‐sized enterprises: Patterns and trends

“…The barriers do not stop there when questioning the academics. Underdeveloped countries were unfamiliar with the statement of green and are just learning about green ideas (Masocha, ; Zaehringer, Wambugu, Kiteme, & Eckert, ). They lack many resources and individual competence (Lambrechts, Gelderman, Semeijn, & Verhoeven, ).…”

“…The barriers do not stop there when questioning the academics. Underdeveloped countries were unfamiliar with the statement of green and are just learning about green ideas (Masocha, 2018;Zaehringer, Wambugu, Kiteme, & Eckert, 2018).…”

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“…However, the focal smallholder system in this case is the spillover system and it is integrated into the telecoupled system through the connection of local water flow to LAIs. The abstraction of river water for irrigation by these LAIs has caused some subsistence-based farmers within a close buffer zone to change their farm management practices [70]. Water is clearly the main factor limiting agricultural production in the region, and the proliferation of LAIs coupled with massive population growth has exacerbated the shortage of this valuable resource.…”

Mapping Food Systems: A Participatory Research Tool Tested in Kenya and Bolivia

“…The fertile land and the available water on and around Mount Kenya are used for food production for both domestic consumption and export. The diverse habitats and socioeconomic contexts host livelihoods that include smallholder farming, pastoralism, large-scale wheat farming, and intensive horticulture and flower production (Lanari 2014;Zaehringer et al 2018).…”