Diploma in Dryland Resources Management

The diploma programme in Dry land Resources Management seeks to train middle level human resource capacity to address the ever increasing need to realize sustainable dry lands production. The frontiers of these ecologically fragile regions are expanding due to increasing demand on livelihood resources for supporting increasing human needs and welfare. The training of diploma holders has an advantage of imparting knowledge and skills to graduates who will deal with grassroots development issues in the areas that target improved human welfare. This curriculum has been enriched with courses that will enable graduates to offer services that will facilitate participatory approaches in dealing with issues of dry lands resource management. Graduates will have technical skills and knowledge that will enable them work in dry lands and among the communities therein. The program will be offered to both regular and Self-Sponsored students SSP.

Dry lands cover over 80 % of Kenya‘s landmass. These lands embrace a rich diversity of flora and fauna that constitute an important economic resource base. They are an important resource that supports the tourism and livestock based industries. In the past, utilizations of dry lands have emphasized livestock production and wildlife at the expense of other possible production enterprises. The reason given for this attitude was that the dry lands lacked capacity to sustain arable agriculture with use of existing technologies developed for use in high potential areas.Worldwide, the dry lands are a source of irrigated food crops and other products. The diploma programme in dry lands management is geared to the production of middle level graduates with the capacity to diagnose the needs of the dry lands and provide appropriate advisory services on the management of these resources.