Pastoralists are turning the invasive and poisonous Mathenge weed into an animal feed with high protein to rescue them during Kenya’s worsening droughts.
Isiolo and Garissa counties have invested in Mathenge Maisha Animal feed while in Baringo farmers are using mathenge (Prosopis juliflora) seedpods as the main ingredient in making animal feeds that are an answer to livestock deaths caused by drought.
The evergreen Mathenge is ranked among the world’s worst 100 invasive species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The weed was first introduced in Baringo in the 1980’s to prevent soil erosion and restore the county’s plains. However, the weed became invasive and has moved to Turkana, Tana River, Garissa and Taita Taveta counties. On its way, it has overrun most other fodder crops, chocked out waterways, and killed thousands of livestock.
Despite the devasatation it has wrought, Manei Naanyu the Program Head at Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Association describes the pastoralists relationship with the invasive weed as a complicated one. “Mathenge was the only piece of green that animals could eat during the 2020 to 2023 drought.”
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This is because the weed can tolerate a year of drought receiving less than 40 mm of rain.
“The only problem is when pasture is limited they will only eat the green and sugar rich Prosopis pods which gum up their jaws making them inflamed and lead to their teeth falling out. In some cases, the animals find it painful to eat and and starve. They are also injured by its thorns during feeding,” she explained.
Thin with falling branches and deep roots, Mathenge has sweet seed pods that are rich in protein, fiber, and sugars and can make up 20 to 40 per cent of livestock total nutrition.
The pods contain 7 per cent digestible crude protein while the seed contains a healthy 31-37 per cent protein content that is high in energy.
Each tree gives 10-50Kg of pods every year once it is older than three years. The pod yield per hectare has been reported as high as two to four million metric tonnes. Pods are harvested during the hotter seasons of May to June and September to October.
To be used without injuring the animals the pods and seeds need to be pounded, then ground, or milled.
In Marigat Sub-County in Baringo the LOKASACHA Group which is made up of 1,500 women and 500 men collects ripe Mathenge pods for livestock feed making.
The Prosopis pods are collected from member farms and in the wild and then sun dried and milled separately before being mixed in at a ratio of 30 per cent with maize cobs (10 per cent), maize stovers (20 per cent), millet stalks (10 per cent), Balanites aegyptica seeds (10 per cent), Acacia tortilis pods (10 per cent) and grass (10 per cent)
The rest of the feed is added to reduce the sugars in Prosopis and make the feed better rounded and nutritious.
With its two milling machines LOKASACHA group can make up to ten 90kg bags of the feed every two hours.
The feed is mixed and made into livestock feeding blocks withe the groups compressing machine.
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“Each farmer pays Sh10 for an animal block feed. Half of this cash goes to community development programs and the other to meet LOKASACHA’s running expenses,” she said.