PART II: SITUATION ANALYSIS
6 LAND
6.1 Overview
Land is a factor of production and the base from which development takes place in
different forms; built, economic and environmental. It is on land that different uses
abound. Land should therefore be used in a manner that is equitable, efficient,
productive and sustainable. The objective of this chapter is to analyze the availability and
capability of land in Kwale, constraints facing land and the land potential.
6.2 Average Land Holding Sizes per Ward
The average land holding size for Kwale County is 4.4 Acres and 100 Acres for small scale
and large scale respectively (Kwale County CIDP, 2013).
According to field survey carried out in 2018 by the consultant, Puma has the highest
average land holding size of 19.23 acres per person while Kinondo has the least land
holding size of 1.85 acres per person. The mean land holding size for the county stands at
7.8 Acres. The average farm sizes for each of wards in the county are as shown in the
table below.
Table 4-3: Average Farm Size in Acres
Ward Mean (Acres)
Vanga 4.02
Mwereni 11.28
Pongwe/Kokoneni 4.14
Dzombo 5.24
Ramisi 8.34
Kinondo 1.85
Bongwe/Gombato 2.67
Ukunda 2.71
Tiwi 6.13
Waa/Ng'ombeni 2.67
Tsimba/Golini 3.71
Mkongani 10.6
Kubo South 7.42
Kasemeni 4.63
Mwavumbo 6.63
Chengoni/Samburu 18.75
Puma 19.23
Kinango 7.98
Mackinnon Road 11.96
Ndavaya 15.89
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Source: Field Survey, 2018
Wards that are located coastal plain, foot plateau and coastal uplands have
comparatively small landholding sizes e.g. Kinondo (1.9 acres), Ukunda (2.7 acres),
Waa/Ngombeni (2.7 acres) as compared to the regions further mainland in the Nyika
plateau e.g Puma (19.2 acres), Chengoni/Samburu (18.8 acres) and Ndavaya (15.9 acres).
This is due to high population densities of the regions adjoining the coastline.
6.3 Land Ownership
According to the Kwale County CIDP, 2013-2017, only 22.5 per cent of land owners in
Kwale had title deeds by 2013. However, household survey carried out in 2018, indicated
that 32 percent of residents in Kwale have title deeds while 55 percent of residents do
not have any legal documentation for land ownership. The lack of tittle deeds limits
farmers’ ability to access credit facilities as they cannot use the land as collateral.
Within the county there are incidences of squatting in areas such as Kinondo and Ramisi,
Lunga Lunga, Waa, Kinango and Msambweni.
Chart 6- 1: Proof of Land Ownership
Source: Household Survey, 2018
6.4 Land Potential Assessment
6.4.1 Agro-potential
Agro-potential
Kwale County is divided into six agro-ecological zones according to agricultural potential.
These include the medium potential and marginal lands which account for 15 and 18
percent of the total land area of the county as well as rangelands that form 67 percent of
the county land. These agro-ecological zones have influenced the land use patterns of
the county.
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Table 6-1: Agro-potential Zones
No. Agro –ecological Zones Economic activities
1 Lowland Sugarcane Suitable for Tropical fruits, coconuts, bixa, rice,
Zone, L2 sugarcane, cashew nuts, pasture and forage for
animal
It is a high potential zone.
2 Coconut Cassava suitable for Coconut, Cassava, grain, tubers, pulses,
Zone, L3 tropical fruits, oil crops and vegetable
3 Cashew nut- The zone is marked by high potential for production
Cassava Zone, L 4 of cashew nuts, cassava and sisal; medium potential
for grain, pulses, tubers, oil crops Pasture and
forage.
4 Lowland Livestock It suitable for sorghum, millet, green grams and
Millet Zone, L5 cassava.
Livestock rearing is a predominant activity
5 Lowland Ranching Suitable for Livestock rearing (cattle, sheep and
Zone, L6 goats)
6 Inner Lowland Livestock- Suitable for sorghum, millet, green grams, and
Millet Zone, IL5 cassava.
Livestock rearing is a predominant activity
7 Inner Lowland Ranching Suitable for Livestock rearing (cattle, sheep and
Zone,IL6 goats)
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Map 6-1: Agro-Ecological Zones
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Kwale County receives annual average rainfall ranging from 500mm in the rangelands of
the Nyika Plateau to 1,200mm in the Coastal Strip. Areas of Shimba Hills and Dzombo
receive the most rainfall with about 5,000mm of rainfall per annum.
About 11% of the total arable land is considered to be highly suitable for rain-fed
agriculture. Approximately 28% is moderately suitable; 29% has low suitability while 30% of
the land is considered unsuitable for rain-fed agriculture.
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Map 6-2: Rainfed Agriculture Potential
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The foot plateau and the coastal uplands have favorable soils and better annual rainfall
averages. The coastal uplands are comprised of soils of moderate to high fertility while
the foot plateau has deep permeable loam soils. These are zones of medium to high
agricultural potential and a capacity to feed the entire county when fully utilized.
Nyika Plateau provides favorable conditions for ranching. This areas experiences
perennial drought during dry season as mentioned earlier.
6.4.1.1 Irrigation potential
The county has high potential for irrigation especially in Kinango sub-county. The
National Irrigation Board is currently undertaking two projects: Kinango Water
Harvesting and Kinango Irrigation within the sub-county. The two projects aim at
irrigating a total of 500 acres (About 200 ha) of Horticulture to boost food security in the
county.
Expansion of Nyalani Dam that will be rehabilitated through a MoU between the Kenya
Red Cross Society and the County Government of Kwale will boost food security in the
county through additional 40 ha of irrigated horticultural produce.
The Mwache Multipurpose Dam will involve construction of a reservoir expected to
irrigate an area of 5,050 ha out of which 40 ha will be solely for production of vegetables.
In addition, the county’s Water Supply Development Master Plan identified irrigation
potential areas as indicated in the table below;
Table 6-2: Irrigation Potential
Irrigation Project Irrigation Project
Mambome Surface water through proposed dam on Mambome River
Ramisi Surface water through proposed dam on Ramisi River
Pemba Surface water through a proposed dam on Pemba River
Mwena Surface water through a proposed dam on Mwena River
Umba Surface water through a proposed dam on Umba River by the NIB
Source: Kwale County Water Supply Development Master Plan
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Map 6-3: Irrigation Potential Map
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6.4.2 Tourism Potential
Kwale County is endowed with numerous tourist attraction facilities and assets such as
the sandy beaches, pristine islands, historical sites, culture and traditions as well as
natural environmental resources such as forests/wildlife for instance Shimba Hills
National reserve and other biodiversity areas.
The Indian Ocean is also a widely untapped resource that can be used for the exploitation
of tourism for linkages within the Kwale coastline as well as the coastal regions for
activities such as cruise ship touring and water sports tourism.
6.4.3 Industrial and Mineral Resource Potential
Potential in industrialization can be exploited at both a manufacturing and value addition
point of view as well as in mineral exploitation. This is due to the presence of industrial
raw materials such as cotton, sugarcane, coconut, Bixa among others and the presence
minerals such as titanium, gemstones, rare earth elements (niobium, phosphates), silica
sand zinc, lead and copper, barite, coal, sandstones, limestone, coral and oil/gas.
Table 6- 3: County Mineral Potential
Rock sediment Mineral found in Rock Economic Viability
Basement rocks Limestone, in form of They bear gemstones
gneisses schists, quartzites
and granitoids and crystalline
Karoo sediments Maji ya Chumvi formation Rock slabs for Construction
Traces of coal (mining)
Mariakani formation Sandstone: Source of ballast for
road and building construction
Mazeras formation Mazeras sandstone: Source of
water for Kwale town
Jurassic rocks Limestone blocks and ballast Manufacturing and
construction
Recent rock sediments Titanium Mining (in progress)
Pleinstone and facies Quarry rocks from caves in Organic fertilizer from guano
Shimoni and Ngombeni deposits (the excrement of
seabirds and bats)
Intrusive rocks Rare earth elements and Colouring of glass and ceramics,
phosphates (e.g. also used in electric motors
Neodymium)
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Source: Consultant analysis
6.4.4 Energy Resource Potential
Kwale County has a high potential in wind energy given the fact that it has a 250 Km
coastline and in proximity to Kenya’s 200 nautical miles of ocean of exclusive economic
zone. However, this type of energy has not been exploited at all. If exploited the county
can produce to meet its energy needs and possibly export the surplus. Preliminary wind
resource assessments in the Coastal region show that these areas can support
commercial electricity generation as they enjoy wind speeds ranging from 8 to 14 metres
per second (m/s).
The region experiences sunshine most times of the year, especially in the periods of
November to February. The Nyika Plateau is an ASAL area with great potential for
developing commercial-scale solar energy. This potential should therefore be tapped to
help supplement traditional sources of energy.
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Map 6-4: Solar Radiation Intensity
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6.4.5 Ground Water Potential
Kwale County has four aquifers. Three are holding fresh water while the rest are
exhibiting saline properties. These aquifers include:
i. Tiwi Aquifer has a width of 20 km with good quality water
ii. Msambweni Aquifer covers about 42 km2 with the aquifer having a capacity to be
abstracted without changes in water quality during the dry spell.
iii. Diani Aquifer covers 19 km2 and has a very low recharge rate due to high clay
content which decreases permeability.
iv. Ramisi Aquifer is a very large aquifer that reaches westward to include outcrops
of the Duruma sandstone series. Due to this reason surface runoffs are saline.
Tiwi, Msambweni, Diani and Ramisi aquifer are along the coastal strip where the county
has the highest population. They can therefore be used for provision of fresh domestic
water to the residents along the coastline and beyond.
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Map 6- 5: Assessment of Underground and Surface Water Potential
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6.5 Challenges
● About 55 percent of residents in the county lack tenure security
● Land has not been put to optimal use
● Incidences of squatting and land conflicts
6.6 Opportunities
● Availability of aquifers
● Arable land suitable for agriculture
● Tourism sites and facilities
● Availability of unexploited minerals.
6.7 Emerging Issues
Overpopulation in regions along the coastline.
Majority of residents in the county lack tenure security
Huge tracts of land lie underutilized
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