County stops switch from coffee farms to real estate

By ERIC WAINAINA

Kiambu, Kenya: The County Government of Kiambu has temporarily stopped approvals of change of land user pending zoning of commercial and agricultural areas.

Governor William Kabogo says the move is aimed at safeguarding tea and coffee farms which are being taken over by real estate in the county.

Mr Kabogo said plans are underway to survey the county to mark areas which will be reserved for agriculture and commercial purposes.

“We want to protect, revive and improve agriculture in the county and we must ensure that all arable land which can be used to produce food is not turned into housing estates,” he said.

This means land owners will no longer be at liberty to change their tea and coffee estates to commercial plots for real estate as has been happening.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Felix Kosgey has said the Government is planning to revive coffee and tea farming and asked County Governments to regulate change of land use from farming to commercial purposes.

In the recent past, Kiambu County has received a major facelift as investors have turned tracts of available land to real estate.

The most affected crop is coffee where owners have sold their farms to investors who are setting up gated community projects.

Among them are the multibillion shilling Tatu City (more than 1,000 hectares), Migaa (774 acres) and Eden Ville (149 acres) which were previously coffee farms. Small farm holders are also constructing rental flats on their land, which are said to have better returns than coffee or tea farming.

Lack of policies to control the approvals has been blamed on the massive change of user, with lands officials saying they have been receiving numerous applications. Applicants have included both small and large land owners.

Mr John Kamau, the Kiambu District Land Administration Officer said they receive five applications per week, revealing that last year, Sasini Ltd had sought to change a stretch of its coffee farm to commercial land but they declined. “We have been getting very many applications and we have to sign because we do not have a policy to control the change of usage,” he said.

The liberlisation of the coffee sector he said, contributed highly to the change of user since farmers no longer have to seek government approval to uproot their coffee like before.

The governor however said they are not out to fight investors in the housing sector. “We must ensure we produce coffee and at the same time have areas where one can construct commercial houses,” he said.