Assessing and monitoring agriculture crop production for improved food security in Machakos County

Abstract

Most parts of Kenya are semi-arid/arid with scanty rainfall amounts irregularly distributed. Population pressure in high potential agro-ecological zones has pushed human settlement to fragile ecosystems. The objective of this study is to define extent of current agriculture landuse, assess crop health and vigour for the growing season of 2010 and compare with 2011, identify influence of rainfall distribution on crop production and define soil characteristics related to crop production in Machakos County. The methodology is based on satellite data processing. Landsat Image is used to classify land use land cover and derive agricultural land. SPOT Vegetation Index data is used to assess and do a time series analysis of biomass health and vigour for the cropping season in Machakos. FEWSNET rainfall data was used to compute cumulative rainfall amount and mean for the growing season. Soil characteristics were derived from the soil database. The analysis revealed that Agriculture farming land occupies 64% of the total land mass, and most land in high potential areas of the district is under agricultural production. Between March and September 2011 the region received total rainfall of 81-250mm. Crop health condition from measured vegetation index in 2010 was better than 2011 agronomic season, this can be attributed to decline in moisture content and nutrients. The soils in the region are characterized by low water holding capacity and low organic matters. Irrigation and Water harvesting mechanisms need to be put in place. Sustainable agriculture eg. crop rotation can be put in place to boost agriculture.