Rural Land Sub-Division and its Impact on Maize Production: The Case of Kiminini Sub-County in Trans-Nzoia County

Abstract

Globally, around three million hectares of agricultural land are lost each year to other land uses. This results in a huge decline in household food production and livelihood security. Maintaining rural land in optimally sized allotments is critical for sustainable food and livelihood security. Sustainable natural resource management and increased productivity of primary industries can also be assured by ensuring that economically viable land sizes are maintained. The literature reviewed indicates that there is limited information on land sub-division trends, their associated impacts on the settlement schemes, and development control measures in the rural area of the Kiminini sub-county. This study investigated the trend of rural land subdivisions in Kiminini sub-county from 1963 to 2018. It examined the causes of rural land subdivision, its impacts on household maize production and has proposed policy interventions to reduce rural land subdivision in Kiminini for food and livelihood security. A cross-sectional survey of 120 households was conducted. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and observations were also used to collect the data. The findings have revealed that household land size has decreased from the initial 30 acres to 1.5 acres leading to a reduction in maize production from the potential 600 (90 kgs) bags to 30 (90 kgs bags), a 95% reduction. The main causes of land sub-division are inheritance, for sale, population pressure, and poor implementation of policies. There is no land use plan for the sub-county to guide land use, and there are no guidelines to regulate development. The study recommends land use planning through the development of a local physical development plan, determination of a minimum land size for maize growing, e.g., 5 acres, agricultural land protection zoning, policy review of the land inheritance tradition, consolidation where it has been subdivided to un-economic units and promotion of alternative technology for sustainable agricultural practices