Abstract
Mount Kenya serves as a natural water tower in the savanna-dominated Upper Ewaso Ng'iro River Basin in the Kenyan highlands. Major water users in the upper reaches of the river include medium- and large-scale commercial horticulture farms that produce flowers and vegetables for export using perennial irrigation schemes. These farms first appeared in the region in 1991 and gradually became powerful stakeholders that compete with small-scale farmers and urban centers over seasonally scarce water, increasing the potential for conflict. A comprehensive survey of commercial horticulture farms in the study area, including expert interviews with managers, enabled detailed analysis of the sector's development and its impact on local river water resources. Calculation of the horticulture sector's dry season water use revealed an increase from zero liters per second (L/s) in 1991 to 357 L/s in 2003 and 663 L/s in 2013, far exceeding minimum river flows. Despite this absolute increase in total water use, reliance on river water has decreased by roughly 30% since 2003, with a dramatic absolute increase in the use of alternative sources such as water stored in dams and groundwater. At the same time, the share of river water used varies greatly between specific rivers (2.2–32.5%), depending on the local availability of alternative water sources. Overall, to mitigate water conflicts, long-term monitoring and local stakeholder engagement must accompany practices and policies of efficiency.
Highlights
Since the global food and financial crises of 2007–2008, the world has seen a substantial upsurge in agricultural investments and large-scale commercial agriculture schemes by private companies and institutions (Deininger and Byerlee 2012)
Calculation of the horticulture sector’s dry season water use revealed an increase from zero liters per second (L/s) in 1991 to 357 L/s in 2003 and 663 L/s in 2013, far exceeding minimum river flows. Despite this absolute increase in total water use, reliance on river water has decreased by roughly 30% since 2003, with a dramatic absolute increase in the use of alternative sources such as water stored in dams and groundwater
Supporters of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) argue that acquisitions help to develop neglected agricultural sectors by countering the failure to maximize the potential and productivity of small-scale farming (FAO, IFAD, UNCTAD, WB 2010; Deininger and Byerlee 2011; Collier and Dercon 2014)
Summary
Since the global food and financial crises of 2007–2008, the world has seen a substantial upsurge in agricultural investments and large-scale commercial agriculture schemes by private companies and institutions (Deininger and Byerlee 2012). In contrast, argue that the shifts frequently harm the environment, local livelihoods, food security, and human rights of local populations and refer to the acquisitions as ‘‘land grabs’’ and challenge narratives of investors targeting land that is ‘‘idle’’ or ‘‘unused’’ with legitimate concerns about speculative activities (De Schutter 2011; Borras et al 2012; Messerli et al 2014; Dell’Angelo, D’Odorico, Rulli, et al 2017) It is this more critical research that has investigated how access to water may be a key driver of LSLAs (Woodhouse 2012; D’Odorico et al 2017; Dell’Angelo et al 2018). This hydrological dimension of LSLAs is crucial in fueling debates about the respective merits of large-scale versus small-scale farms in achieving development goals
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