Is The Shamba System Ideal For Kenya?

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on September 24, 2022, proposed to have the country revert to Shamba System.

Gachagua’s proposal sparked debate across the country on whether the system is ideal for Kenya or whether Kenya is ready for the re-introduction of the Shamba System.

The deputy president while speaking in Baringo on that same day hinted that the government plans to allow peasant farmers to farm in forests to boost food production in the country – Shamba System.

“There was Shamba System where locals could plant maize until the trees grew. This government is yours; we have made an order for Wananchi to be given an opportunity to cultivate in the forest to have more food,” Gachagua noted.

However, Kenyans have had mixed reactions on the DPs proposal with critics saying it is the most abused programme in the forestry sector.

Kenyan Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi equated the Shamba System to land grabbing while the outspoken lawyer Miguna Miguna termed it “a very bad idea”.

What Is the Shamba System

Shamba is a Swahili word meaning farm.

Shamba System was introduced in Kenya by the colonial administration in 1910 to provide raw materials for the timber industry and reduce pressure on natural forests. In other words, it was meant to promote sustained and optimum production of food crops and at the same time assist forest conservation.

It involved allocation of Shambas to farmers in degraded forests to plant and tend to tree seedlings as they cultivate their crops.

Moreover, the seedlings were provided by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) who also oversaw implementation of the system, whereas farmers provide labor whose pay was the product they would harvest from the Shambas. When the trees had matured enough, the beneficiaries would hand back the land to the Kenya Forest officials. For them, it was a win-win agreement.

Nonetheless, the Shamba System became very popular during the late President Daniel Moi’s rule. At this time, the system was aligned, and locals would cooperate with officials from the Kenya Forest Service in matters allocation of land (which was usually not more than an acre for each family).

Likewise, the communities who participated in the Shamba System cultivated maize, beans, potatoes, groundnuts, onions, and tomatoes.

In addition, farmers allocated the land would be allowed to harvest firewood, forest fruits, and even keep beehives.

In the beginning, the Shamba System transformed natural forest to 160,000 hectares of plantation forest. However, years later, the system was abolished due to mismanagement and destruction of forests.

Its first ban was in 1986 but was lifted in 1994 before the late President Mwai Kibaki barred it again in 2003 citing abuse by Kenya Forest Service (KFS) officials and timber millers.

Nonetheless, Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration also outlawed the Shamba System in January 2021 citing environmental degradation, three years after imposing cessation on logging in public and community forests over the same concerns.

Moreover, the government raised concerns over the encroachment of the Mau Forest particularly leading to mass evictions.

Why the Shamba System Was Abolished

In its inception stages, the Shamba System was successful due to the governments involvement through the Kenya Forest Service docket.

The KSF had personnel working hand in hand with farmers on a weekly basis. As a result, farmers could be guided on what to plant and what not to, and during what season plus the kinds of trees to plant and when to harvest.

Moreover, the KSF officers were also responsible for plot acquisition which ensured that only those with good intentions were allocated farmland.

Conversely, the Shamba System was banned under the late president Mwai Kibaki’s tenure after most farmers refused to vacate their allocated plots of land on the expiry of the three-year period given.

Similarly, the Kibaki-led government abolished the Shamba System because of logging.

Corruption was another reason for its abolishment as rogue millers allegedly collaborated with some KFS officials to cut down indigenous trees for personal benefits. The foresters were allegedly apportioning themselves huge chunks of forest land with little attention to the plants and tending to tree seedlings.

At the same time, the late Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and environmentalist Prof. Wangari Maathai criticized the Shamba System saying it had been abused.

According to the late Wangari, farmers turned large chunks of indigenous forests into farmlands thus, reducing the capacity of the forests to be effective water reservoirs.

Prof Wangari also noted that the Shamba System gave room for the introduction of non-native species such as cypress and eucalyptus. Thence, warning against sacrificing native forests for exotic plantations which she argued are environmentally harmful because they lack the ecologically crucial functions that an indigenous forest ecosystem can provide.

Nonetheless, an institutional task force was formed in the year 2000, to review the implementation of the Shamba System.

The task force comprised the Forest Department, the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Nyayo Tea Zones and Development Corporation (NTZDC).

In 2001, this task force released its report which recommended the sound management of areas under the system. This is where the deputy president needs to start before effecting his directive.

DP Gachagua’s Pronouncement

According to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, forests belong to Kenyans, and they have a right to unrestricted access.

“You are the ones who have taken care of them all these years. There is a CS who came and banned you from taking even a leaf to cook.” Stated the DP.

Gachagua further added that they were only waiting for the appointment of the new Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Forestry to give way forward.

He also added that it is unreasonable to deny Kenyans the chance to cultivate crops in forests and then import maize.

Also Read: DP Rigathi Says Farmers Should Revert to Shamba System

“So, we will release a plan where you cultivate in forests without destroying trees. And the good thing about trees is that once they grow big, no one will tell you to vacate the forest.” DP Gachagua stated.

The big question remains; Is the Shamba System Ideal for Kenya?