Rumble in the jungle as shamba system returns

By Isaiah Lucheli

The shamba system was reintroduced to replant depleted Government forests but it could lead to another ‘rumble in the jungle’ as stiff opposition greets the project.

Prof Wangari Maathai, the anti-shamba system champion, who was instrumental in stopping it in 2003, has pointed a finger at the reintroduced system, which now comes under a new name.

The Government says the reintroduction of the system, through the Plantation Establishment Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS), will give farmers an opportunity to cultivate forestland and replant it.

TREE COVER

The country’s forest cover, which is below the international 10 per cent requirement, was made worse in January when unscrupulous individuals took advantage of post-election chaos to fell trees. The Kenya Forest Services (KFS) says its efforts to increase forest cover are timely because it falls below the United Nations Environmental Programme recommendation.

In view of this, and following the review of the Forestry Act in 2005, the KFS has reintroduced a pilot test of the non-residential cultivation (shamba system) in 17 districts.

A forest guard takes farmers through the programme.

The shamba system was banned in 2003 following stiff opposition by then Environment Assistant Minister Maathai, who blamed it for decimating indigenous trees and replacing them with exotic species.

NEW GUIDELINES

KFS Chairman Eric Koech now says unlike then, appropriate measures have been taken and legislation enacted to ensure people allocated the land will stick to guidelines.

"The earlier shamba system was uncontrolled and led to destruction of forests as people farmed in total disregard to afforestation," says Prof Koech.

He adds that KFS is now determined to return the country’s forest cover to more than 10 per cent. He says the new system should be given a chance.

But Maathai, who spoke yesterday, said: "This is just another name for the shamba system. It will cause harm."

Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace laureate, told KFS to avoid "short term projects that may not address deforestation in future".

"Conservation of indigenous forests cannot succeed with reintroduction of farming in the forests," she said.

Among districts where PELIS has taken off are Eldama Ravine, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, Lugari, Keiyo, Mt Elgon and Trans Nzoia. It will start in another 10.

Lugari District Forest Officer Anthony Musyoka, said measures have been taken to curb a repeat of practices that led to destruction of forests.

Mr Musyoka said initially, many people who were allocated land during the non-residential farming, were not committed. This, he adds, made the system flop.

Musyoka added that the system failed because people were allocated huge swathes of land, which compelled them to engage in mechanised farming and destroyed seedlings.

"The shamba system was uncontrolled, had political interference and regulations were not effective. This contributed to the plunder of forests," he says. But in an effort to avert a repeat of the past, KFS has introduced strict rules to ensure PELIS succeeds.

FOREST ASSOCIATIONS

"Measures have been taken to improve management of plantations through the establishment of Community Forest Associations (CFAs)," adds Musyoka.

He says CFA has to be registered, with officials and members who are farmers.

In the new rules, all cultivators must be residents of areas adjacent to the forest stations and members of a registered community forest association.

Initially, the allocation method required interested people to pay Sh165 to be allocated land. Musyoka says the rules have been crafted to ensure CFAs and the cultivators abide by requirements.

Crops allowed include maize, beans, potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, chillies, amaranths and cabbages, among others. KFS has also stipulated penalties for cultivators who abuse the system.

Those who flout regulations would lose the right to cultivate in the forest or be arrested and prosecuted. Farmers have been allocated half an acre each in Lugari and Nzoia forest stations. The land under the programme is more than 2,000 acres.

The regulation also demands that a map of the area under cultivation be maintained, updated and displayed in the forester’s office.

Additional reporting by Francis Ngige.