Can Melia Help Reimagine Kenya’s Dryland Timber Economy?

The gap in Kenya’s timber story

Kenya’s timber story has long centred on the highlands.

That is where commercial species such as cypress, pine and eucalyptus have been grown. It is also where many sawmills and timber markets have developed. But land in the highlands is increasingly crowded, while Kenya’s drylands hold much of the country’s available space for tree growing.

At the same time, demand for timber is growing, from furniture and joinery to construction – demand Kenya currently meets by importing timber. The situation raises a practical question: could indigenous dryland trees help Kenya grow more of the timber it needs, while supporting farmers and restoring landscapes?

Researchers at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute ( KEFRI) believe the answer is yes. For years now, they have been exploring a key indigenous species: Melia volkensii – and they believe Melia could play a key role in Kenya’s forest economy. But only if the system around the species is built well.

Meet Melia

Dr Musyoki, a KEFRI scientist and Regional Director for the Dryland Eco-region Research Program, begins with the landscape.

“Melia is one of the dryland species,” she says. “We have been promoting it because it is well adapted to the arid and semi-arid areas.”

In dryland areas, tree species need to survive heat, uncertain rainfall and termite pressure. Melia is suited to these conditions. It is also indigenous to parts of East Africa, including Kenya and Tanzania, and is already familiar in some dryland communities.

For Nellie Oduor, a KEFRI wood scientist and Program Director of the National Forest Products Research Program, Melia stands out because it links ecological fit with commercial value.

“This is a relatively fast-growing indigenous species,” she says, “producing very high-value timber in a short rotation of 10 to 15 years.”

In areas where degraded landscapes need tree cover, Melia can contribute to restoration while offering farmers a future timber crop. Its leaves can add organic matter back into the soil, and its fit within agroforestry systems means farmers can integrate it into working farms rather than setting land aside entirely for trees.

That restoration role matters. In dryland landscapes where tree cover, soil health and farm resilience all need support, Melia can bring trees back into productive use. But Musyoki and Oduor make a second case for the species: it can also produce timber with real commercial value.

What the science shows

KEFRI has studied Melia across several parts of the value chain, including its performance as timber. Researchers have compared its wood properties with species already valued by the market, including African mahogany, teak and mvule.

Oduor describes Melia as comparable to these hardwoods in density, grain, colour and mechanical performance. Its reddish heartwood gives it visual appeal for furniture and joinery, while its strength and hardness make it suitable for products such as doors, window frames, furniture and handicrafts.

“The bending strengths, the hardness, all these properties make it very comparable,” Oduor explains.

That comparison gives Melia a clearer market position. Kenya already has demand for attractive, durable hardwood. If Melia can be grown, processed and supplied consistently, more of that value could move through dryland farms, nurseries, processors and carpentry workshops.

What it means for farmers

On the farm, Melia can begin providing value long before it is transformed into logs.

Dr Musyoki describes a value chain that starts with seed. Farmers and trained local collectors can collect mature Melia seed for sale. Young people can earn money by extracting and preparing the seed — a labour-intensive step that turns collected material into something nurseries can use. Nurseries can then raise seedlings for farmers, institutions and restoration programmes.

Dr Musyoki shared examples of Melia seed selling for around KSh 5,000 to KSh 6,000 per kilogram, depending on quality and source. The land used to grow Melia can support other crops as well – all of which can provide annual income while farmers wait for Melia to mature. . In the early years, before the trees create too much shade, farmers can intercrop with low-growing crops such as green grams and cowpeas. As the trees mature, grass can grow underneath, creating fodder for livestock or hay for sale.

Oduor describes this as a way of “maximising land use.”

By the time Melia becomes timber, it may already have supported several income streams: seed, seed processing, seedlings, crops and fodder. For farmers deciding whether to plant trees, that sequence offers more than a distant harvest.

Growing it well

However, Melia’s commercial value depends on how farmers manage it. 

The first challenge is pruning. Melia branches low on the stem. If those branches are not managed early, they create knots in the wood. Those knots reduce timber quality and can make the wood less attractive to buyers.

“For farmers to get good-quality timber, pruning is a major thing,” says Dr Musyoki.

She explains that some farmers remove the leaf instead of the small bud that later becomes a branch. At the seedling stage, that difference can be easy to miss. Years later, it can show up as weaker, knotty timber in a carpenter’s workshop.

Spacing creates another challenge. Trees planted too closely may grow tall but remain thin, reducing the diameter and value of the log. Farmers also need guidance on where Melia grows best, how to weed, and how to respond to pests and diseases. KEFRI has observed cases in some orchards where trees ooze gum after insect or disease attacks, and researchers encourage farmers to report these cases so specialists can advise them.

Dr Musyoki says farmer training remains limited. In some areas, KEFRI can only reach a small number of groups each year. That leaves many farmers to learn by trial and error, even though early mistakes can shape the value of the tree for years.

What still needs to grow around Melia

The next set of challenges sits beyond the farm.

Processing is one of them. Many sawmills are located near highland timber areas, not in the drylands where Melia grows. Oduor argues that logs should be processed closer to where trees are harvested. That would reduce transport costs, limit damage and allow more value to stay near the growing areas.

Market awareness is another gap. Some carpenters know Melia and use it, but many timber yards still do not stock it. Buyers in larger markets are more familiar with cypress, pine, eucalyptus and imported hardwoods. Without deliberate outreach, farmers may have trees but no clear route to buyers.

Oduor says the sector needs “more concerted effort” to raise awareness of the species among timber dealers, furniture makers and buyers.

Farmers also need stronger organisation. Cooperatives could help growers aggregate supply, improve quality, share knowledge and negotiate better prices. Dr Musyoki also points to the need for clearer technical guidance, including technical notes or orders that explain how Melia should be managed in plantations and agroforestry systems.

The risk is that farmers grow Melia but fail to earn enough from it. Oduor puts it plainly: “If the farmer is not getting money, they will just cut it and not plant it.”

Building the system around the tree

Melia already has a start in  Kenya’s forest economy. What still needs to grow around it are the practical conditions that will help farmers benefit: training, local processing, market connections, farmer organisation and clear guidance.

Kenya’s drylands are often described through what they lack: water, tree cover, infrastructure and investment. Melia offers another story. With the right support, these landscapes can become sources of timber, enterprise and regenerative growth.

Melia’s future will not depend on the tree alone. It will depend on whether farmers can grow it well, sell it fairly, and see its value move from dryland farms into Kenya’s timber markets.