LAND USE LAND COVER CHANGES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD PRODUCTION: A CASE STUDY OF KEUMBU REGION KISII COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Keumbu  Region  in  Kisii  County  is  experiencing  a  high  rate of  land  use  /  cover  changes  which  has  affected  food production significantly. The agricultural land fragmentations, high population increase and urbanization has led to decrease of agricultural land, food production and impacted on agricultural production and biodiversity an effect which has left the rural livelihoods food insecure. Study explored land use /cover changes, food production trends and  main  drivers  behind  deteriorating  agricultural  land,  relationship  between  population,  land  use  changes  and implications on food production and security. The land use / cover changes classification of landsat TM image and change  analysis  done  in  Erdas  Imagine  with   soil  fertility  and  DEM  data,  population  density  and  poverty  prone areas  processed  and  analyzed  and  correlated  to  food  production  using  ArcGIS  10.1,  SPSS  and  Microsoft  office computer programmes. Results showed 58% forestland and 91% grassland reduced and 11% of cropland and 0.6% of  settlements  increased  between  1990  and  2010  respectively.   The   population  increased  by  average  of  20.5% between  1989  and  2009,  population  density  of  830  persons  per  square  kilometers,   Nyaura  location  having  an extremely high density of 3135 persons per square kilometers, with 65% of Kegati location in absolute poverty. The soil fertility depletion trend negatively impacted on food production which decreased by 29% and cash crop yields increased by 12.5% respectively. In conclusion Keumbu is food insecure region with agricultural land already degraded and densely populated. In recommendation, the government and other stakeholders should make small scale farmers adapt to good farming practices and land tenure systems. 

Key words: Land use, land cover, population density, poverty, land degradation, food security