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I. RE-THINKINGBIODIVERSITY
INFORESTANDFIELD
ColonialMaizeandClimate:
LimitsofAgriculturalDevelopmentfor
AdaptationinRiftValley,Kenya
William Collier, MESc 2010
Introduction
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systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Increased variability
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variability and temperature in the Rift Valley will
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for future development and climate adaptation.
Local populations in the Rift Valley have
adapted to variable climatic conditions over hundreds
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HUKJ\S[\YHSWYHJ[PJLZOLSWLK[VTHUHNLYPZRPU[PTLZ
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HYLOPNOS`]\SULYHISL[VJSPTH[PJZOVJRZ[OH[KPZY\W[
THPaL J\S[P]H[PVU +\YPUN [OLZL [PTLZ MHYTLYZ [\YU
[OLPYH[[LU[PVUHUKSHIVY[VZTHSSNHYKLUZILZPKL[OLPY
OVTLZ;OLZLOVTLNHYKLUZYLZLTISL[OLPUKPNLUV\Z
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OH]L ILLU YLVJJ\YYPUN JOHYHJ[LYPZ[PJZ VM 2LU`H»Z and they may provide an avenue to adapt to future
climate for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. JOHUNLZPUJSPTH[L[OH[OHZILLUSHYNLS`V]LYSVVRLK
-HTPUL HUK MVVK ZOVY[HNLZ OH]L ILLU PU[PTH[LS` by national policies and research objectives.
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they are also deeply historical and political.
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In this article, I examine the recent history HWWYV_PTH[LS`ZXRTJVU[HPUPUNHKP]LYZP[`
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I discuss several historical adaptations to climate HUK HYPK SHUKZ -PN >P[OPU LHJO aVUL L_PZ[Z H
variability embedded within the broader political ZPTPSHYS` KP]LYZL Z\P[L VM SP]LSPOVVK Z[YH[LNPLZ [OH[
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William M. Collier is from Free Home, GA. He holds a BS HNYPJ\S[\YL[V[OLJVHZ[HSJLU[YHSHUK^LZ[LYUYLNPVUZ
in Ecology and a Certificate in Environmental Ethics from VM[OLJV\U[Y`(NYPJ\S[\YLPZ[OLZPUNSLTVZ[PTWVY[HU[
the University of Georgia. He received a MESc in Social ZLJ[VYPU[OL2LU`HULJVUVT`HJJV\U[PUNMVYTVYL
Ecology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environ- [OHUVMLJVUVTPJWYVK\J[HUKTVYL[OHU
mental Studies, focusing on agricultural development, VM LTWSV`TLU[ )H[LZ ;OL THQVY Z[HWSL JYVW
climate change, and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. WYVK\JPUN YLNPVUZ PU [OL JV\U[Y` HYL MV\UK THPUS`
10 Volume 29, 2010
Colonial Maize and Climate in Kenya
Figure 1. Political map
of Kenya. Fieldwork
was conducted in
Moiben Division,
Rift Valley Province,
located northeast of
Eldoret. Map courtesy
of Nations Online
Project.
in the Western Province and the Rift Valley Province,
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commonly known as the breadbasket of the country,
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THPaLW`YL[OY\THUKZ\UÅV^LYaVUL<HZPU.PZO\
SPLZ HWWYV_PTH[LS` RT UVY[O^LZ[ VM 5HPYVIP
Interviews with small, medium, and
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employees form the basis of the study. Interview
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development in the Rift Valley.
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Pre-colonial agrarian history
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Rift Valley have provided fertile soils and favorable
climatic conditions to farmers for thousands of years.
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tremendous varieties of millets and tubers, a stark
contrast to their famous nomadic contemporaries, the
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cultivation practices is sparse, it is clear that
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trade in foodstuffs between different tribes in the
Rift Valley was a common practice, especially
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Tropical Resources Bulletin 11
William Collier
LU]PYVUTLU[HS OHaHYK VY \UJLY[HPU[` MVY 5HUKP MVY[OLPY(MYPJHUMHYTSHIVYLYZ+\YPUN[OLWLYPVKMYVT
THPaLNYHK\HSS`ILJHTLHZ[HWSLMVVKPU[OL
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Colonial rule and New World crops
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Western exploration and expansion in PU [YHKP[PVUHS MHYTPUN Z`Z[LTZ 9LW\ISPJ VM 2LU`H
(MYPJH OHK H WYVMV\UK PUÅ\LUJL VU HNYPJ\S[\YHS +\YPUN [OPZ [PTL THPaL J\S[P]H[PVU ZOPM[LK
and economic development. Perhaps one of the [V PUJYLHZLK \UPMVYTP[` HUK Z[HUKHYKPaH[PVU :THSS
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establishment and proliferation of Western cereals ^P[OSHYNLTVUVJ\S[\YLWSHU[H[PVUZ4HPaLHUK^OLH[
HUK JHZO JYVWZ 4HPaL Zea mays H 5L^ >VYSK became substitutes for the traditional varieties of
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mercantilism and formal colonialism in the sixteenth [VOVTVNLUPaH[PVUPZHKLÄUPUNJOHYHJ[LYPZ[PJVMIV[O
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a staple of the local diet, and by the mid-nineteenth
JLU[\Y` THPaL ^HZ ^LSSLZ[HISPZOLK HZ H WYPUJPWSL Policies for monoculture cash crops
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Z`Z[LTZ[OYV\NOV\[[OLYLNPVU4J*HUU,HYS` THPaL HNYPJ\S[\YL PU 2LU`H ^HZ JOHYHJ[LYPaLK I` policy, have played a fundamental role in contemporary
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cheap food source, as the main form of sustenance ¸\UOLZP[H[PUNS` YLJVTTLUKLK [OH[ MHYTLYZ ZOV\SK
Figure 2. Desiccated
maize field, Moiben
Division, Rift Valley,
Kenya. A field of maize
intercropped with beans
is withering due to
insufficient rains. Photo
by William Collier.
12 Volume 29, 2010
Colonial Maize and Climate in Kenya
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correct policy would be to return at the earliest possible
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that the only practical option was to develop a
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was unwise. But now, after more than four decades
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Future Climate Adaptation
Homegardens and climate variability
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Figure 3. Agricultureforest mosaic in
Moiben Division, Rift
Valley, Kenya. The
agricultural landscape
is dominated by large
tracts of maize and
wheat. A relic of a
colonial plantation is
located in the center
of the valley. Photo by
William Collier.
Tropical Resources Bulletin 13
William Collier
Figure 4. Home
garden in Moiben
Division, Rift Valley,
Kenya. This small
home garden -containing pumpkin,
kales, cassava,
maize, and bananas
-- provides a diverse
source of subsistence
for smallholder
farmers during
drought and climate
variability. Photo by
William Collier.
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also provide a window into the broader history of
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environmental conditions, these crops exhibit a variety
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Implications for adaptation
When weather conditions are unfavorable,
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anticipated to exacerbate food insecurity, there will
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economic, environmental, social, and political
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scientists and policy planners have heralded the
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14 Volume 29, 2010
0UKVULZPHOVTLNHYKLUZPU2LU`HWYV]PKLHUH]LU\L
for farmers to rely on and develop their own resources
despite the transformations of the colonial experience
(Dove 1990).
Colonial Maize and Climate in Kenya
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adoption as its most visible expression, are already
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adaptation initiatives that focus exclusively on new
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productivity will not solve current and future food
crises. They may very well continue to perpetuate
a system that increases the vulnerability of poor
smallholder farmers.
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Tropical Resources Bulletin 15