Farmers Near Forests Reap Big Gains From Conservation Plan
While many Kenyans are grappling with an acute food insecurity occasioned by the prolonged dry spell, a move by Uasin Gishu County residents to engage in shamba system is paying off with millions of shilling generated from the initiative.
Residents bordering various forests in the region have embraced the Plantation Improvement Livelihood Scheme (PILS) where they engage in cultivation of food crops as they help conserve forests through various Community Forest Associations (CFAs).
"The main concept of the project is that residents adjacent to forests are allowed to do farming as they tend to trees for a period of three years," said Uasin Gishu County KFS conservator Paul Karanja.
Under the initiative, KFS charges residents Sh500 per acre every year where they tend to trees as they plant their food crops.
According to Mr Karanja, the arrangement which started in 2010, wananchi also prune the trees and get some money from KFS.
Thoralf Gutierrez