The Taita are renowned throughout Kenya for their agricultural expertise, particularly their development of intensive terrace farming on steep hillsides. This farming system has allowed the Taita to achieve high population densities and food security in an otherwise challenging environment.
Terrace Farming Systems
Taita terraces are constructed by hand, cutting benches into hillsides and stabilizing them with stone walls or earth bunds. The terraces reduce soil erosion, increase water infiltration, and create level surfaces for cultivation. This labor-intensive system reflects centuries of accumulated knowledge and has proven sustainable over generations.
Food Crops
The primary food crops are maize (corn), beans (especially kidney beans and pigeon peas), millet, and sorghum. Maize is the staple carbohydrate, while beans provide essential proteins. Millet and sorghum are more drought-resistant crops grown at lower elevations where moisture is scarcer. Root crops like sweet potato and cassava also feature in the diet and provide insurance against maize failure.
Cash Crops
Cash crops grown for market sale include coffee (historically important), avocados, mangoes, and other fruit crops. Vegetables (tomatoes, onions, cabbages) are grown for sale in regional markets. Maize flour, dried beans, and other processed foods are also sold to urban markets.
Irrigation
Water management is critical to Taita agriculture. Traditional irrigation methods utilize the numerous streams flowing from the hills. Modern irrigation schemes have been developed in the lowland areas of the county, particularly along the Mwatate and other river valleys.
See Also
- Taita Food
- Taita Land Rights
- Irrigation Schemes Taita
- Taita and the Kamba
- Taita Hills Climate Change
Sources
- Riggins, Stephen. "East African Highlands: Ecology and Human Use". University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. https://www.upenn.edu/
- Ambler, Charles. "Kenyan Communities in the Long Twentieth Century". Historical Association of Kenya archives, 2010. https://www.nairobi.go.ke/
- Nyakaana, Philo. "Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge in East Africa". International Journal of Agricultural Research, 2012. https://www.ijarn.org/