Giving birth to many children among parents from the Gusii community has been blamed for uneconomical land subdivisions for sharing out among sons for inheritance purposes.
The National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) South Nyanza Regional Population Coordinator, Maurice Ofula, blamed men from the community for contributing to giving birth to many children in the search of a boy child to inherit their land and property.
Speaking in his office on Friday, Ofula said the belief among community members, especially men, that giving birth to many sons was the only way to safeguard their land and property after they have passed on, has led to rapid population growth in the region.
He said the population growth has exerted pressure on existing land which has been sub-divided into uneconomical strips for inheritance among the many sons.
Ofula challenged area residents to abandon retrogressive cultural beliefs that having many sons translates to security of one's land and property against invasion by relatives.
"The rate at which population is growing in the Gusii region is worrying and if not controlled, it will lead to pressure on existing land resources and contribute to poverty which will finally lead to land-related disputes and conflicts due to poverty and competition for land," said Ofula.
Kisii Governor James Ongwae has in the past challenged residents to abandon the traditional culture of sub-dividing land and sharing it out among their siblings.
Ongwae asked residents to instead embrace new agricultural production technologies to maximise food production to avert food insecurity in the region.
Ongwae said land sub-division in Kisii region was uneconomical in terms of food production since the average farmer owns less than an acre of land.
"The traditional system of land ownership where fathers divide and share out land among their sons is an outdated practice which has no room in the progressive society," said Ongwae.