The urban and peri-urban population in many developing countries is increasing at an alarming rate and it is projected that by 2015 the urban population will equal the rural one. Food and fodder insecurity is foreseen to accompany this increase. Agroforestry technologies can contribute to increased food and fodder production and m inimized risks associated with small-scale agriculture, especially in the peri-urban setting. Tree nurseries play an important role in these areas and to understand their status, 39 nurseries were studied in urban and peri-urban Nairobi, Kenya, with the aim of understanding the technical and managerial nursery practices, germplasm pathways and the current economic situation of these nursery operations. In the urban nurseries, 47 agroforestry tree species were encountered while the species in the peri-urban nurseries were 66. Most frequently encountered species - in declining order - in urban nurseries were Grevillea robusta, Dovyalis caffra and Casuarina equisetifolia, and in the peri-urban nurseries Dovyalis caffra, Grevillea robusta and Passiflora edulis. All nurseries visited were commercial enterprises. The majority (76%) of the urban nursery operators have no other source of income, whereas 76% of the peri-urban nurseries contributed between 5% and 90% of household income. Urban and peri-urban nurseries also differed in their approach to nursery management. Irrigation water was drawn from rivers by 36% of the peri-urban and only 11% of the urban nurseries. 30% of the urban nurseries used sewage water or road runoff for irrigation, none of the peri-urban nurseries did. Urban nursery operators generally had a higher education level than the peri-urban operators. Most prevalent constraints were access to water, germplasm availability and quality, and a lack of markets. The total value of seedlings raised in the 39 surveyed nurseries in January and February 2000 was over USD 320,000.
Publication year
2001
Authors
Basweti, C.; Prytz, L.; Jaenicke, H.; Coe, R.
Language
English
Keywords
forest nurseries, urban areas, plant nurseries, seedlings, urban population, urban forestry, urban agriculture
Geographic
Kenya
