The origin, intentions and outcomes of controversial Shamba System

“This is your government, we have issued an order for citizens to be allowed to cultivate crops so that we can increase food production,” the DP said during the funeral of Baringo Deputy Governor Charles Kipngok on September 24. 

If the Kenya Kwanza government makes good its promise, it will see the return of the controversial Shamba System that allows farmers to move into depleted forest with the aim of planting crops and nurturing tree seedlings to mature before moving out. 

The intention of this, to restore and increase forest cover in previously depleted forests

This system of farming was introduced in Kenya in 1910 by the colonial government. The plan then being to meet a growing demand for timber, while easing the pressure on natural forests. 

The programme implemented through the Kenya forestry service initially worked well, especially since the farming was done in depleted plantation forests.

However, as the years went by, successive governments after independence began to systematically turn a blind eye to the abuse of the practice through illegal logging and land grabbing for political expediency. 

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), an NGO that advocates for environmental conservation and justice says the return of this system will be many steps backward  in the conservation agenda. 

“Its evaluation actually determined that it was wrongly applied, it was abused and never worked, there are many studies which have been made and have returned a verdict  that this is actually another way of land grab and deforestation,” says Mithika Mwenda, Executive director PACJA. 

Indeed, by the early 1980's, problems associated with the system started becoming evident, mainly the fact that the Shamba Systems were encroaching on natural forests, leading to deforestation and land grabbing. In 1986, the system was banned, reinstated in 1994 under the Moi administration  and banned again in 2003 when Kibaki took over power.

The late president Kibaki's aim was to reign in the rampant land grabbing that had festered under the guise of the Shamba system, and reclaim forest cover. The benefits of that ban have been evident, according to conservationists

“This is like opening a can of worms and once it is being proclaimed politically , then you can see how it will end,” Mithika added. 

While the suggestion to return the system, now known as Pelis (Plantation Establishment for Livelihood Improvement Scheme) has been welcomed by sections of the society, especially those living near forests, environmentalists say the benefits of such a move will be short lived, but the dangers will far outstrip the gains

“The assumption is that the forest is more fertile, i think that defeats the purpose, if we are genuine in looking at the long term food production and food security, there are other ways sustainable ways that can be used to achieve this.” 

The latest attempt to re-assess the possibility of making the system work was made in 2018 through the 2018 Taskforce Report on Forest Resources Management and Logging Activities in Kenya. 

That report's recommendations resulted in the ban of logging and also brought to an end farming activities in forested areas or the shamba system. 

Conservationists now want the government to consult widely before making further pronouncements in regards to the fate of the return of the Shamba system in Kenya