Melia Volkensii is an indigenous tree to Kenya’s arid areas and has very good hard timber. It is drought and termite resistant, which makes it ideal for the arid climate where other tree species perform poorly.
However, its natural seed germination is poor and it therefore grows in less numbers despite being ideal for the arid areas. It was for this reason that the research scientists at KEFRI undertook to find easier ways of propagating seedlings for farmers and in large quantities. This research has been going on since the 1990s and the scientists have now made a breakthrough.
In Kenya, the species grows naturally in Mbeere, Tharaka, Kitui, Mutomo, Mwingi, Makueni and Taita Taveta. It has in the past been exploited for timber as a hardwood which makes it quite marketable. Scientists are therefore introducing it as both a plantation as well as an agro-forestry tree among farmers who may have small pieces of land.