BARINGO, KENYA – A road trip to Mangar village in Baringo county, Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, is defined by corrugated roads, tight turns, boulders, and the blazing sun bouncing off the ground.
Cattle keeping has long been the primary source of income in this area, but the business faces numerous difficulties, such as a severe lack of water and pasture.
Guns and other illicit weapons have proliferated in the area as a result of cattle raiding, which is encouraged by the poor circumstances there.
Livestock farmers suffer losses during droughts because they have to sell their animals for low prices. Butchers from Nairobi and other major cities in the country travel to the villages to purchase livestock at extremely low costs; a mature cow can occasionally be purchased for as little as KSh 5,000.
The region’s pastoralists have always been vulnerable to drought.
However, the past few years have been especially harsh, with the region facing the possibility of starvation as a result of failed rainy seasons that killed thousands of animals and destroyed the livelihoods of their owners.
However, aloe vera farming is becoming a new venture for Baringo farmers like Daniel Kibet. They hope to offset their losses by producing and marketing a range of goods from this perennial plant.
Aloe vera is well known for its medicinal qualities and can grow in semi-arid and dry environments.
It has been discovered to be a workable solution to the climate problems pastoralists in the Loruk, Kimalel, Sabor, and Koriema areas are facing.
Kibet said they specialise in growing aloe vera barbadensis miller variety.
“We can use their flowers as a substitute for tea leaves, even if the plants we now have on our fields have not yet begun to flower. Aloe vera barbadensis Miller is another herb we use medicinally, especially for kids. Children are dewormed using the roots,” he said.
According to Kibet, aloe vera liquid can make hair food, soap, and perfume.
“I appreciate the efforts made by our neighbourhood to preserve our aloe vera. This is a result of its extinction in certain regions. He stated, “We want our people to start purchasing other products here besides soap.”
Baringo County Conservation Association Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Susan Jepkemoi observed that Mangar Conservancy and Geo Site in the Baringo South sub-county have massive potential for aloe vera business.
Farmers in Mangar already have over 20 acres of the plant and much more within their farms.
“Aloe vera is very adaptable to the area. Although the area is arid, locals can’t produce many crops. So, the only compatible crop between aloe vera and livestock is keeping, especially goat rearing,” she said.
According to Jepkemoi, the aloe vera plant is vibrant, and the local communities are happy that the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), at the national level, has developed a strategy for its conservation and management.
“Because due to its over-exploitation, we might render it extinct, yet it is of great value to our communities. BCCA plans to venture with the rest of the conservancies in the aloe vera business, whereby adding value to the product will allow us to have more income visa vee the amount of aloe vera being used,” Jepkemoi further said.
Jepkemoi said that exploiting the aloe vera plant and selling it raw is a significant threat to it.
“They are harvesting it without really taking into consideration its growth. So, soon, we might not be able to have any aloe vera,” said Jepkemoi.
Jepkemoi also said that BCCA’s strategy is to add value to products like cosmetics and herbal products that can be sold at a very high income so that the host communities can benefit from this natural resource.
“This should also enlighten many young people to be attracted to more valuable, helpful, and constructive activities other than just idling or engaging in banditry. So, we would wish to use this planting of aloe vera to involve our youth and have that intergenerational exchange of information about herbs within the communities of Baringo,” Jepkemoi further explained.
In Baringo, the common aloe vera species is aloe vera barbadensis miller, tugenensis and secundiflora.
“These are the most important ones that can give good production of the supp as well as other products that you can get from the aloe vera plant,” Jepkemoi said.
According to Michael Wahowe, an environmentalist, aloe vera is a significant plant in many ecosystems due to its various ecological, medicinal, and environmental benefits.
“Aloe vera’s extensive root system helps bind soil, reducing erosion and maintaining soil structure. It also improves soil fertility by adding organic matter as its leaves decompose, enhancing nutrient content and soil health,” said Wahowe.
Among other importance of aloe vera according to Wahowe is that the plant is highly drought-tolerant and can survive in arid conditions with minimal water.
“The plant stores water in its thick, fleshy leaves, making it a resilient species in water-scarce environments,” he added.
Aloe vera also provides a habitat for various insects, including pollinators like bees, which are crucial for the pollination of numerous plants.
By supporting pollinators, Wahowe said aloe vera indirectly supports plant biodiversity in the ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Kibet raised the red flag over the invasion of the aloe vera farms by some unidentified individuals.
“Some people invade our aloe vera farms and steal the plants for selfish interests. We are telling them that their days are numbered,” Kibet warned.
Another farmer from Baringo North, Stanley Cheboi, claims that the plant is the only way to address the various issues that the Baringo people are suffering due to climate change.
He claims that farming is gradually changing people’s lives of the pastoralists in the area.
“Our lives have been elevated compared to those who rely solely on livestock. “People who farm aloe vera for a living also deter animal raiding and reduce losses caused by climate change because they only keep a small number of easily managed livestock,” he explained.
Aloe vera cultivation calls for almost no weeding and very little chemical input.
According to the locals, the plant kills weeds after planting and is inedible to animals. This is primarily due to the prickly structure of its leaves, which have thorns on both sides, including the tips.
To encourage aloe vera farming and selling in the area, the county government of Baringo signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Zonken Biotech Corporation Limited, a Chinese corporation, four years ago.
The MOU contract states that Zonken is responsible for marketing the cultivation, buying sap from local farmers, and promoting it.
On the other hand, the Baringo County government must provide land to establish a facility that would aid in the processing of aloe.
