Journal of Natural Sciences Research www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3186 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0921 (Online) Vol.6, No.16, 2016 5 A Review Farm Forestry Evolution for the Last 100 Years in Kenya: A Look at Some Key Phases and Driving Factors Joshua K. Cheboiwo 1* David Langat 2 Festus Mutiso 3 Florence Cherono 2 1. Socioeconomic, Policy and Governance, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, P.0. Box 20412-00200, Nairobi, Kenya 2. Kenya Forestry Research Institute, P.0. Box 20412-00200, Nairobi, Kenya 3. South Eastern Kenya University, School of Environmental and Natural Resources Management, P.O. Box 170-90200, Kitui, Kenya Abstract The study reviews the evolution of tree growing in Kenya from pre-colonial through colonial to the present day in order to understand some factors that have influenced such developments. The study is based on desktop literatures reviews of various studies done in the country over the years and the authors’ experiences. The study indicates that forest resources management during pre-colonial period were based on individual communities’traditional structures that ensured that its members had abundant supplies of land and resources to support their socioeconomic activities. Forestlands were viewed as reserves for future agricultural expansion depending on community population growth and settlement patterns. In 1895 the country was declared British Protectorate that heralded the entry of colonial settlers that drastically changed land ownership through displacement and concentration of indigenous populations. Improved health services led to drastic population growths that further shrunk available productive land and forest resources to levels that could not adequately accommodate traditional land uses. The resultant was seriousland degradation in Africa reserves that prompted the Colonial Government to initiate agricultural and land use transformations that included afforestation in highly populated for environmental conservation, boundary marking and supply of tree products. Another parallel development was forest reservation and expansion of public plantation by Forest Department that involved planting of fast growing exotic species such as Eucalyptus, Pines and Cypress among others that diffused to neighbouring farms, missionary centres, schools and emerging elite Africans for amenity and social status. The emergence of Acacia mearnsii as a cash crop for African farmers in Central and western Kenya in 1930s was another development that enhanced adoption of tree growing on farms in the country. After independence in 1963 more policies and strategies to promote tree growing on former settler farms and African reserves for environmental conservation and subsistence needs implemented. The last chapter of the farm forestry evolution was the commercialization of farm forestry operations due increased demand for various forest products beyond the capacity of public forests. The key markets niches mostly for firewood in tea processing, transmission poles manufacturing, charcoal and sawnwood for rural and urban markets were lucrative enough to motivate millions of smallholder farmers to expand their farm forestry investments. The markets based incentives to meet the growing demand for various products has transformed farm forestry in Kenya into multibillion sector enterprises that competes with public and private plantations products in local markets. The lessons learnt in Kenya case is the multiple factors that have shaped farm forestry development over the last 100 years and the critical role played by market related factors that enabled smallholder tree growers to enter into lucrative short rotation wood product markets. Keywords: Farm forestry evolution, phases, driving factors 1.0 Introduction Like in most developing countries, private and common property land resources in Kenya coexist. In medium and high potential areas where population density is high private land is mostly devoted to crop production and the diminishing common lands constitute the prime source of extractive natural resources such as firewood, charcoal, poles, fodder, fruits and medicinal products mostly for domestic use. However, land alienation; break down of traditional resource control systems, population increase, and encouragement of privatization of land in Kenya has increased pressure on common resources. Scarcity and lack of sustainable traditional resource control structures has forced households to shift from laborious extractive activities to planting and management of trees on private farms. Despite shifts in forest resources management from natural vegetation extraction to intensive tree planting most empirical studies in the tropics still focus their attention on deforestation and management of common resources (Angelsen et al 1999). Cross country studies link deforestation to several factors such as inefficient management of common resources due to imperfect controls by communities (Baland and Platteau, 1996, Lopez, 1997), higher agricultural prices (Barbier and Burgess, 1996, Panayotou and Sungsuwan, 1994), construction of access roads (Chomitz and Gray, 1995) and tenure insecurity (Deacon, 1995). Population growth resulting in greater demand for agricultural land and forest products is supported by most cross-countries empirical studies (Deacon, 1995). However increased rural wages and off-farm employment was found to reduce the pressure on forest clearance (Barbier and Burgess, 1996). CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals