Enclosure management regimes/systems
Enclosure management regimes showcase the various possible combinations of production practices carried out by individual enclosure owners on rehabilitated land. The presence of different enclosure regimes in the formerly degraded lands provides enclosure owners in Chepareria with the opportunity to enhance flexibility in fodder production, land and livestock management. This enables them to ensure that restored areas do not revert to their previously degraded state, optimize on land use and diversify livelihoods to cushion households from various climatic and market shocks.
Enclosure management regimes integrate various land use options or enterprises as enclosure owners attempt to optimize and diversify on land use. Livestock-based management regimes are livestock-dominated systems whose main objective is to support livestock production. They also integrate other complementary or subsistence land use practices to either support livestock production or for sustenance. On the other hand, crop-based regimes are cultivation-dominated management systems whose main goal is to produce food crops for own consumption or for sale. Similarly, they also integrate other complementary or subsistence land use practices.
Livestock-based enclosure management systems
Variations observed across the locations in the adoption of the grazing and cultivation enclosure management system can be attributed to climatic differences across the study area. Morpus and Chepkopegh locations are in the drier, low altitude regions of Chepareria (Agroecological Zone (AEZ V), while Ywalateke location which is on the lower slopes of Kamatira hills is in AEZ IV. Climate variability and rainfall unpredictability impede crop cultivation within the study area, except in Ywalateke which is humid and receives more rainfall. The grazing and cultivation management regime is practised by more enclosure owners in the drier locations of Chepareria, namely Chepkopegh (66.7 %) and Morpus (76.7 %), as indicated in Table 2. The dominance of this enclosure regime in the drier areas of Chepareria is supported by previous studies which have observed that well-managed livestock production is more adapted and economically and environmentally efficient in drylands (Neely et al. 2009). It also requires limited capital investment (Kandagor 2005). In Ywalateke, the stable climate and higher rainfall in the mixed farming livelihood zone (Fig. 2) enables individuals to engage in intensive livestock- and crop-based regimes; hence, it is only practised by 30 % of Ywalateke residents.
The grazing, cultivation and contractual grazing management regime indicates that pastoralists are looking for possibilities to diversify income, as observed by Fratkin (2001). Contractual grazing represents a grazing arrangement between households with relatively few animals and those who are better off during the dry season, hence creating access options to pasture for such households and income for the poor households (Beyene 2006, 2011). This enclosure regime reaffirms observations in previous studies which indicated that contractual grazing presents a new form of income generation among enclosure owners, one which would be impossible if the entire range was held communally (Keene 2008; Beyene 2010). Chepkopegh location has the highest percentage of enclosure owners who lease grazing at 15 % owing to the high potential of livestock production in the area. This is due to pasture availability owing to a favourable climate for pasture production and the large enclosure sizes, coupled with the recent developments such as the investments in a meat processing plant by the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC). Intensification of crop-based enclosure regimes such as maize production in Ywalateke has reduced the amount of land available for livestock-based regimes. Consequently, there is increasing demand for additional pasture which translates into high prices for contractual grazing. This tends to tempt some individuals into demarcating some parts of their enclosure for leasing out, hence practised by 13.3 % of the residents in the location. Morpus location located in the lowlands of Chepareria is in AEZ V. Since the region is dry with erratic rainfall, most individuals choose to maintain pasture for dry-season grazing; hence, land use integrating contractual grazing is practised by only 10 % enclosure owners in this location.
The grazing, cultivation and fodder production management regime integrates rearing of improved breeds, cultivation of maize and beans, and cultivation of high-yielding grass varieties. This regime has been necessitated by two factors: (1) reducing availability of natural pasture due to increasing uptake of crop-based regimes in the wetter regions of Chepareria and (2) intensification in livestock production (through improved breeds) and ready market for livestock marketable products, particularly milk. These factors necessitate households to practise fodder production in order to ensure sufficiency/stability in pasture availability and stability in milk production. The regime is therefore prevalent in Ywalateke location (13.3 %) located in the wetter regions of Chepareria. Notably, it is less practised in the drier areas of Chepareria by only 3.3 % and 0 % in Chepkopegh and Morpus locations. Under proper management, it is possible to optimize Chepkopegh and Morpus locations in zone V to this regime. However, rainfall and inadequate finances to invest in capital intensive practices such as irrigation are key limiting factors hindering enclosure owners in the location . Our results are similar to findings in previous studies which indicated that fodder production in enclosures not only enables enclosure owners to stock fodder for use during the dry season (Gaani et al. 2002; WOCAT 2003) but also presents opportunities for enclosure owners to earn income from sale of hay or grass seeds from the enclosure (Napier and Desta 2011).
Crop-based enclosure management regimes
The cultivation and grazing enclosure regime integrates intensive production of market-oriented crops and rearing of improved livestock breeds. Commonly cultivated crops within this regime include maize and beans. Individuals practising this regime tend to keep improved breeds which have higher productivity, particularly for milk, and higher demand in the market due to their productivity (milk and meat). Pasture availability for those inhabiting the wetter regions of Chepareria (Ywalateke) supports livestock production in this regime. This coupled with supplemental livestock feeds from crop residues maintains the production of livestock even during the dry period. It is therefore common in Ywalateke location (43.4 %), which is a mixed farming livelihood zone (Fig. 2) which can support rain-fed agriculture. The increasing practice of this regime in the wetter regions of Chepareria reaffirms the observation of others (BurnSilver 2007; Galvin 2009). They all reported increasing adoption of crop cultivation among pastoralists in East Africa who inhabit areas that can support rain-fed production.
Factors influencing the choice of enclosure management regimes in Chepareria
In Chepareria, enclosures were established to provide dry-season grazing reserves (Makokha et al. 1999; Kitalyi et al. 2002). Initially, enclosures were only used as dry-season fodder reserves while livestock were grazed in the open range during the rainy season. However, the continuous establishment of enclosures in Chepareria has reduced the available communal land, hence restricting livestock grazing within individual enclosures only. With reduced communal and individual land holdings, the need to diversify and complement sources of household livelihood, particularly from land use among enclosure owners, is gaining momentum. While the dominance of livestock-based management regimes in our study reaffirms previous studies which report that enclosures in African rangelands were mainly established for livestock grazing (Gaani et al. 2002; Nedessa et al. 2005; Napier and Desta 2011), we have also observed agricultural diversification of land use among enclosure owners to include crop cultivation, contractual grazing and fodder/grass seed production.
Agroecological zonation
The upper altitude areas with wetter climates support more of rain-fed dependent production practices, hence the higher proportion of crop-based agropastoralism management systems and cultivation and grazing in Ywalateke. On the other hand, livestock-based agropastoralism regimes dominate further down the rainfall gradient. Variable and unpredictable rainfall in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continues to curtail reliable crop production through rain-fed agriculture. The dominance of crop-based enclosure management regimes in the wetter regions of Chepareria supports previous studies that reported increasing adoption of crop farming among East African pastoralists inhabiting areas that support rain-fed agriculture (BurnSilver 2007; Galvin 2009).
Land tenure
Land ownership or lack thereof influences how individuals use their land. In Ethiopia, enclosure establishment through rangeland privatization by the state has been found to foster proper management and use of rangelands (McCarthy et al. 2003; Keene 2008; Napier and Desta 2011). It also offers independence in land management and utilization of enclosures in Somaliland (Gaani et al. 2002) and allows enclosure owners to practise what they wish with their land (independence) and gain the accruing benefits as is the case in Chepareria, West Pokot (Saxer 2014). While most individuals in Ywalateke have title deeds, those on the lower altitude areas (Chepkopegh and Morpus) still operate under the group ranch system although land boundaries are delineated and they have allotment letters/numbers (Saxer 2014). Enclosure owners in Ywalateke are significantly practising crop-based management regimes compared to those in Chepkopegh and Morpus, although livestock-based management regimes tend to predominate.
Livestock owned
Households with large herd sizes are likely to adopt livestock-based management regimes in place of crop-based regimes. This can be explained by the underlying positive correlation between the number of livestock owned by a household and its income.
Household income
The observed positive correlation between enclosure management regimes and household income can be explained by the underlying correlation between household income and number of livestock owned. The rich households are more likely inclined than are the poor households to diversify land use options and by extension management regimes, since the former do not find sufficient feeds for their large herds during the dry season. Wealth stratification influences not only enclosure regimes but also the decision to enclose land (Beyene 2010).