Kenyan farmers lose Sh240 million annually as forest cover expands

Kenya’s government expanded national forest cover between 2019 and 2024, causing local farmers to lose an estimated Sh240 million in annual income.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reported that the country's forest cover grew from 3.47 million hectares to 3.59 million hectares over five years. This growth resulted from afforestation and restoration efforts that added 124,003 hectares of forest land. However, the expansion reduced the area available for food crops.

The land used by nearby communities for farming shrank from 8,410 hectares to 3,636 hectares during this period. The reduction in available land directly impacted the livelihoods of people participating in the Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme. Under this program, the Kenya Forest Service allows community forest associations to grow crops like maize, beans, and potatoes in young plantation forests while they nurture tree seedlings.

As the forest area expanded, the annual income for these farmers dropped from Sh421 million in 2019 to Sh182 million between 2022 and 2024. Specific crops saw sharp declines in production. Maize farmers lost Sh120 million in annual income as their cultivation area dropped from 3,814 hectares to 1,427 hectares. Other farmers also saw losses, including Sh47 million each for potato, cabbage, and sukuma wiki farmers, and Sh24 million for pea farmers.

The statistics body noted that these figures might undercount the total economic impact because they do not include non-timber forest products like traditional vegetables or insects.