• Livestock deaths have prompted Baringo residents to start clearing mathenge trees
• However, expert says it is difficult to eradicate the aggressive plant due to its traits
Image: JOSEPH KANGOGO
Residents of Baringo South have resorted to clearing their farms of the mathenge weed to use the land to plant food crops.
Led by Mzee Ezekiel Parteneu, he said they are sick and tired of the thorny and poisonous weed.
“As a community, we have decided to replace it with pasture and edible fruits, such as mangoes and bananas,” Parteneu said.
He further said their livestock are dying of starvation for lack of grass after the being chocked and suffocated by the ‘useless’ plant, scientific name prosopis juliflora.
The elder accuses the government of taking too long to offer a solution to excavate the mathenge bushes, which has caused their animals to lose their teeth.
“The poisonous thorns have also pricked and maimed our people,” he said.
Parteneu called on the national and county governments to support their idea by issuing them seeds and seedlings for pasture and fruits so they can start clearing and preparing their farms for early next year.
Fellow resident Joel Lokeroito blamed the government for worsening the problem by banning charcoal burning in 2018.
“The weed is now growing to our doorstep, a thing that wouldn’t have happened had the government allowed us to carry out charcoal burning,” Lekeroito said.
But ecological scientist Clement Lenashuru, a lecturer at Egerton University, says it is difficult to eradicate the aggressive plant once and for all.
“It might take years before the land can be restored to its original state,” Lenashuru said.
He said in Mexico, areas invaded by the weed were left to thrive for industrial use and residents relocated to suitable grounds where the tree cannot thrive, like the hills.
“My advice to the government and investors is to employ modern technology to put into use and process wooden products from this invasive tree,” he said.
In this case, he said the community members will be encouraged to harvest the tree to sell the poles and pods to an industry that will be processed into other finished products for energy generation.
Dr Lenashuru further said the animal feed industry can thrive well through the plant, as well as furniture and modern charcoal production firms. He said prosopis provides a good and nutritious diet to livestock if well processed.
“The pods are rich in energy and can be useful as food supplements, if proper rations with other feeds are mixed,” he said.
The don said the hard-thick mature wooden poles can produce construction timber, wooden floor tiles and charcoal briquette, ordinary charcoal, firewood, local huts, construction timber and live hedges.
He said the shrub, once it establishes, is hard to eradicate due to its massive seeds, deep-rooted nature and coppice (regrowth) characteristics when cut above ground level.
“These attributes of the tree have led to some negative impacts,” he said.
HARMFUL EFFECTS
Lanashuru said the tree's thorns are poisonous in the sense that once it pricks part of an animal or human body, especially the limbs, they can lead to paralysis and loss of the limb.
And when chewed by livestock, the sugary pods have the effect of wearing off the enamel, eventually leading to loss of teeth, causing paralysis of the jaws. Animals get difficulty in eating or browsing, hence dying out of starvation.
Ecologically, he said this shrub is such a disaster to the well-being of the environment.
“It is very dominant and suppresses the growth of the native species. This leads to loss of biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services provided by these species,” he said.
Its shading effects, he said, could lead to the suppression of other species, or the roots could be acidifying the soils (allelopathy effects) to the extent of killing others.
The tree forms thorny, woody impenetrable thickets in areas where it is grown, and more so in flood-prone areas, along water courses and roadsides.
These affect the general health of the environment and make it unfriendly and uninhabitable to other animals and humans.
The waterways are blocked, leading to flooding of the surrounding villages and farmlands.
It encroaches on the roads, where its thorns become a nuisance to bicycles, motorbikes and vehicle tires. The thorns are so strong and nail-like, they can puncture any tire.
Edited by T Jalio