Nature Stories – Mazingira Yetu https://mazingirayetu.net Environment | Sustainability Development | Magazine Tue, 16 Jun 2020 08:49:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 https://mazingirayetu.net/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-Mazingira-Yetu-fv-32x32.png Nature Stories – Mazingira Yetu https://mazingirayetu.net 32 32 THE AFTERMATHS OF SIO RIVER BANKS BURSTINGS 2020. https://mazingirayetu.net/the-aftermaths-of-sio-river-banks-burstings-2020/ Tue, 16 Jun 2020 08:32:56 +0000 http://mazingirayetu.net/?p=2683

THE AFTERMATHS OF SIO RIVER BANKS BURSTINGS 2020.

By Caxton G Juma. Coordinator, Samia Ecosystems CBO)

River Sio bursting it's banks has tremendously affected the farming community living adjacent in various ways, more specifically agricultural, ecological, health and economical brackets. During the flooding most of the farmers crops fields were submerged under waters as the flooding came two months after
planting when the crops height was over the knees. The floods have stayed for 3 months. During which all crops beneath waters on the farms were destroyed. Due to the prolonged floods on farming fields, the soils was saturated with water and eventually the soils turned acidic, a condition that hardly supports terrestrial crops life.

This soils acidic conditions might require some intervention measures to reclaim the affected farming fields back to its normal crops production. There also has been acute soil erosion due to large volumes of surface runoff as saturated soils could not withstand heavy rains experienced during this unusual erratic
long rains against the usual long seasonal rains that used to benefit the farmers with high crops yields. This situation entirely have subjected farmers to massive crops destruction. The crops field yields are by no means any harvest for the farmers eventually there is much hunger now and, until next season of
planting probably during short rains towards end of the year.

Ecological effects of Sio River flood evidently have been adverse. Firstly, the top soils microorganisms which supports crop growth have been destroyed due to prolonged floods submerging the farming fields. The mongoose that have been feeding on snakes in the ecosystem have drown and much numbers killed because the wetlands was saturated with water for prolonged period. They have faced extinction because on the main landscape they only scavenge on poultry unlike in the wetlands they feed on snakes, birds, caged black snails and fish among others insects.

A lot of biodiversity in the wetlands have River banks bursting eg Bees among other been tremendously affected by the Sio insects. Birds like guinea fowl also hibernated due to prolonged floods as they normally nest on the ground of wetlands. Sio Siteko wetlands for the first time witnessed massive pollution by on-farm chemicals washed by surface runoff from the farming fields as the floods waters in the wetlands would smell and even change the colour to black and whoever stepped in would itch on body contact. There is Lake Victoria back flow along the mouth of Sio River for the first time in history of Samia Sub County and unlike the case of Budalangi along the mouth of River Nzoia that has been common. Subsequently, fish populations have been affected as fishing require deep lake unlike when fish catch was evident along the Sio River mouth which experience much silt deposits and pollution from on-farm chemicals.

Siltation is rampant due to sugar cane plantation that Busia Sugar Company has tried to establish on Sio Siteko wetlands on wetlands encroachment because had they observed community participation on the entry point they would not be encountering the losses.

]]> URBAN AGRICULTURE-URBAN ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIP; EXISTING CONSTRAINTS https://mazingirayetu.net/urban-agriculture-urban-environment-relationship-existing-constraints/ Mon, 15 Jun 2020 15:34:55 +0000 http://mazingirayetu.net/?p=2635

URBAN AGRICULTURE-URBAN ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIP; EXISTING CONSTRAINTS

By Grace Ndinda

In some aspects, urban and rural agriculture are alike. They both use the same instruments, indicators and partnership approaches. However, the difference comes in their environments and scales as the actors involved are different. For this reason, urban agriculture requires its own conceptual framework, which goes beyond the typologies. Unlike rural producers, not all urban producers are devoted exclusively to agriculture, many have add on jobs; this means the level of training and monitoring they require should have specific features tailored to deal with the urban environment. A plot with a variety of crops might have a more sustainable organic management system than an urban garden has, not using agrochemicals does not necessarily mean that the production is organic and conducting organic activities does not mean that they are
sustainable. For example, in the urban agricultural sector as currently in Havana, management and training concerning diseases and pests, soils and the value of the urban soil among other subjects are addressed and discussed generally in the same way as those of rural agriculture.

Mazingira Yetu

The current urban design does not favor cohesiveness between urban agriculture productive spaces and already constructed spaces. A design that takes in the relation of other components to the urban environment is imperative. In order to produce benefits on different scales e.g. neighborhoods, zones, municipality, city. The interests of urban farmers and those not directly associated with the production should be taken into consideration in a participatory manner. Research done has been insufficient, concerning the impact that the establishment and management of any of the different types of urban agriculture may have on a particular place within the city. In the case of Nairobi County, there is little information concerning the amount of toxic elements, their accumulation and their presence in for example leafy green vegetables cultivated along
riverbanks like the Nairobi River. It is clear that obtaining and storing water for urban agriculture and reusing water on different scales is not being given the attention required. Urban agriculture needs to enhanced, in terms of higher yields, trade mechanisms and management systems, and in terms of increasing the quality and efficiency of those mechanisms. A broader approach to the evaluation of cost-benefit of production in each of its different modes is needed.

On the other hand, if those who are involved in urban agriculture-technicians,decision makers, officials and all those who in some way participate in this complex environment are not taking into account the environment dimension of this activity or its relationship with other related components in the city, it will be impossible to ensure its real economic,social and environmental long-term sustainability by other means. Those involved directly with urban agriculture require more comprehensive training based on the city’s needs in general and not particularly from the agricultural point of view. The
environment as a subject should be the supporting component of this type of farming.

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