Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County.

Fredrick Munyao Mutie,Peninah Cheptoo Rono,Vivian Kathambi,Qing-Feng Wang,Guang-Wan Hu

doi:10.3390/plants9081017

Abstract

Wild food plants are important resources for people living in dry areas of Kenya. A botanical inventory of vascular plants of Kitui county was compiled from specimens collected during field investigations in Kitui county, at the East African (EA) herbarium and from literature reporting on plants of Kitui county. To obtain an inventory of wild edible plants found in Kitui county, literature reporting on wild edible plants of Kenya were searched and combined with the use reports obtained from field surveys in Kitui county. A total of 199 wild plants found in Kitui county have the potential of being utilized as foods in different ways. Plant species growing either as trees or shrubs (83 species) and herbs (36 species) are the dominant life forms while the best represented plant families are Leguminosae (25 species) and Malvaceae (17 species). Fruits (124 reports) and leaves (56 reports) are the common plant parts collected for food. Fruits (120 species) and vegetables (44 species) are the common wild food types in Kitui county. Further studies on species distribution are necessary to address conservation concerns that may threaten such plants.

Highlights

Arid and semi-arid areas cover about 80% of the Kenyan land mass and are characterized by a hot and dry climate and soils of poor agricultural potential [1]
Climate manifestation in East Africa has proved to be difficult where warming is likely to lead to dryness in some areas and a higher precipitation in others [3], meaning that local populations are forced to cope with climatic uncertainties [4,5]
A total of 199 plant species in 52 families and 114 genera currently growing in Kitui county have been documented as wild food plants in different parts of Kenya (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Arid and semi-arid areas cover about 80% of the Kenyan land mass and are characterized by a hot and dry climate and soils of poor agricultural potential [1]. The lives of people living in dry areas of Kenya are constrained by frequent droughts, which in turn trigger further challenges such as poor grazing resources and poor water quality. This in turn results in poverty and human to human conflicts over scarce resources. These challenges coupled with poor veterinary services make pastoralism an increasingly difficult source of livelihood for dryland communities [2]. Livelihood diversification is the main way to cope with drought [6]

Methods

Results

Conclusion