Gachagua's shamba system proposal elicits mixed reactions

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s call for a return to the Shamba system has elicited mixed reactions.

The DP on Saturday said the government was considering allowing farmers to use forests to boost food production.

“There was shamba system where residents could plant maize until the trees grow. We have made an order for wananchi to be allowed to cultivate in the forest for more food,” Gachagua said.

He made the remarks in Baringo.

Gachagua’s remarks have however raised a storm.

A senior manager with the Kenya Forest Service who requested anonymity said they will abide by what the government decides.

“We work for the government and will follow the orders.”

Another source said there is a need for the government to empower KFS.

On Sunday, the Green Thinking Action party said Gachagua’s position contradicts President William Ruto’s position when he addressed the 77th session of the UN Assembly.

“Many countries now bear witness to the unsettling phenomena of rivers, canals, and water reservoirs that are drying up on account of droughts and heat waves occasioned by climate change. Kenya is no exception,” Ruto said then.

“The northern, arid, and semi-arid rangelands of our country have been gravely impacted by drought whose severity has not been experienced in 40 years. 3.1 million residents of these ASALs are now severely food-insecure on account of scarce rainfall over three consecutive seasons, leading to poor crop and pasture.”

The Green Party said the food insecurity being experienced in parts of Kenya is caused by climate change as the President rightly pointed out during the assembly.

“It’s not because the shamba system was revoked,” the party said.

The Green Party said when Ruto was the deputy president, he launched a multi-sectoral task force that reviewed forestry management across the country.

“The task force was very categorical about the importance of forest conservation and why it should not be compromised,” they said.

In February 2018, the government appointed a task force to look into forest resources management and logging.

The Marion Kamau-led task force handed over its report in April 2018, recommending reforms.

They said the KFS board and management were unable to stem, and in some instances had directly participated in, abated systemised rampant corruption and abuse of office.

By doing so, they had overseen wanton destruction of forests, systematically executed plunder and pillaging of water towers and borne the responsibility of pushing the environment towards the edge of a precipice.

The Green Party said the impacts of the moratorium that had been put in place need to be reviewed adding that the community conservation groups and water resource users association must be strengthened.

“Instead of opening up our forests for human settlements, we should in fact fence all our major forests. When this was done in Maasai Mau parts of Mau Forest, it led to the regeneration of the forest,” the Green Party said.

“The Kenya Water Towers Agency has already called for the fencing of Kenya’s Water Towers that comprise major forest blocks.”

The party said that during the launch of Kenya's Tree Growing Fund and campaign, the former presidency set an ambitious 30 per cent target for forest cover by 2050.

“To achieve this, we must expand our forest cover drastically. That cannot happen if we open up forests for human settlements, however temporary,” the Green Party said.

“We appreciate and welcome the government’s focus on increasing food production. This can be done through climate-smart agriculture. About 80 per cent of Kenya is arid and semi-arid land. Forest cover extends to only 10 per cent of the country.”

They said there was a need to introduce agroforestry in the country’s vast ASAL region.

This, the Green Party said, will yield considerably more agricultural produce than limited farming in forests ever can, and take the trees to the crops, not the crops to the trees.

Kenya Forest Service manages 6.4 million acres of forests and helps counties manage another 4.2 million acres.

Much of the closed canopy forest has in the recent past been depleted due to internal and external influences.

The losses of forests and associated resources have had far-reaching negative effects on the country’s economy and the welfare of Kenyans. 

Some of the consequences include an inadequate supply of water,  environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity among others.

Recently, however, the government announced that the country’s forest and tree cover had improved.

Results generated from the National Forest Resources Assessment 2021 indicate that Kenya has 7,180,000.66ha (17,742,168.02 acres) of tree cover, representing 12.13 per cent of the total area.

The findings indicate that the country has 5,226,191.79ha (12,914,201.16 acres) of national forest cover which represents 8.83 per cent of the total area.

The Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) have been working in some areas with strict supervision of KFS.

It is a system whereby KFS allows forest adjacent communities, through community forest associations the right to cultivate crops during the early stages of forest plantation establishment.

Cultivation is often allowed to continue for three to four years until the tree canopy closes.

PELIS scheme which is practised mainly in areas under plantation is meant to improve the economic gains of participating farmers while ensuring the success of planted trees.

It has been used to establish forest plantations in Kenya since 2007 and was first rolled out in 24 forest stations in Mau, North Rift, Central and Eastern conservancies.

The task force had however raised issues with how the system was being managed.

Edited by Kiilu Damaris