State commits to allow communities farm in forests

The government has assured the community living near forests that they will not be denied the chance of cultivating in the forests.

The state department of forestry principal secretary Ephantus Kimotho on Tuesday said the government cannot underrate the impact of the Kenya Forest Service program known as Plantation Establishment and Livelihoods Systems (Pelis) owing to the role it has played in tree-growing activities in the forests.

He said the major forests have seen trees growing as a result of being taken care of by the communities who work closely with the KFS.

“We cannot underrate the role the Pelis has played. We know it has helped in reforestation, protection and conservation of forests” he said.

The community had earlier said that the KFS move to stop them from planting maize crops in plots allocated to them for denying trees planted sunlight, was a strategy to chase them away silently.

Kireita Community Forest Association chairman David Waweru told Kimotho that locals had started cultivating in the forests since they relied on maize crops to feed their cattle.

He was supported by Lari MP Mburu Kahangara who asked the government to reconsider the directive since it was killing the morale of the community in forest activities including conservation.

“The community is angry with the KFS’s decision to abolish maize crop farming in the forests. Despite the fact that their maize crops are destroyed by elephants, they harvest them early to feed their livestock, so for sure even for maize to mature for them to eat is hard and has been hard,” the legislator said.

In early 2000, the KFS decided to replace the Shamba System with Pelis so that they can follow up on trees planted so as to ensure the growth of all trees planted.

Kireita CFA chairman says the system allows the community to be assigned plots where they plant food crops and take care of all seedlings planted in those plots.

“For instance, we are given a block of about 20 acres and we subdivide it to all our members. Then, the KFS, different organisations, government departments and partners come in different times to plant trees on them” he explained.

“As we cultivate our food crops, we take care of them. If a tree dries up, you plant another one before the KFS questions you. After the trees are about 10 meters tall that is after 3 years, we are relocated to another block,” he added.

They spoke at Kireita forest in Lari constituency in Kiambu county during the forest international day which was being observed in that area.

Kahangara and Waweru asked the KFS and fence the whole forest since it hosts wild animals adding that elephants invade them and destroys food crops not only in their forest farms but also in the villages.

Also present was the acting chief conservator of forest Alex Lemarkoko who was also with central highlands conservator Adrew Soi, Kiambu ecosystem conservator Thomas Kiptoo, Kiambu county commissioner Joshua Nkanatha and Lari deputy county commissioner Samuel Kariuki.

Lemarkoko said the government was working closely with the community so that they can both benefit.

The acting CCF encouraged the community to take advantage of planting trees during the ongoing rains.

“Let us take this rainy opportunity to plant trees so that we can compensate for the time lost during the dry season,” he said.