| dc.description.abstract | Land is an important asset for economic, social and cultural
development in Kenya. Agriculture is a key sector in the Kenyan
economy, which requires optimal and sustainable use of agricultural
land available. Insecure land ownership is one of the challenges that
hinder optimal and sustainable land use in the country, while secure
rights have resulted to instances of productive land being left idle and
land hoarding. This study applies the Generalized Estimating Equation
model on Yala Wetland data obtained from the Kenya Institute for
Public Policy Research and Analysis 2005 field survey to investigate
how land tenure affects land use and land improvements in Kenya. The
results indicate that private title holders had an increased probability
of investing on land improvements compared to those on communal
land, while livestock keeping, food and cash crop farming had an
increased probability of investing on land improvement compared to
those whose land was idle. Land tenure was not significant in those
farms that no farming activity was taking place, but the type of soil
was significant with those farms with rocky unsuitable soils having
higher probability of not being farmed compared to the other types of
soils. Land tenure did not affect food crop farming. It affected farming
involving cash crops, whether planted alone or in combination with
food crops. Land reforms, especially titling in agricultural areas,
need to be fast tracked as this would encourage investments on land
improvements and the growing of perennial crops, thereby reducing
land degradation. | en |
