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The forest cover in Kenya has been decreasing mainly due to conversion of forests to other land uses especially agriculture and settlement. The situation has further been aggravated by increased demand for forest products for a growing population. As one of the strategies to counter the decrease in forest cover, the government 11 years ago banned tree harvesting in state forests. Since then, the country has been sourcing domestic and industrial wood from farms, supplemented with timber imported from neighbouring countries. The over-dependence on farms for forest products has led to depletion of farmland wood stock. |
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The country therefore requires to urgently
intensify tree planting on farms to restock trees cut, as well as
increase the number tree.
The Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2007 on Forest Policy and the Forests Act (2005) emphasizes the development of Farm Forestry as a way of increasing the low forest cover, diversifying subsistence products and income, while contributing to soil and water conservation. The Agriculture Act (Cap. 318) on Farm Forestry Rules, 2009, stipulates a 10% forest cover on farms, while Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2007 on Forest Policy emphasizes the need to support farmers with sound management and utilization principles, incentives, information, better germplasm and marketing strategies. Thus farmers need to have a list of priority products from multipurpose trees in order to optimize production. The Farm Forestry Research Programme aims to develop appropriate on-farm tree management technologies and guidelines. The main focus and activities of Farm Forestry Research Programme include: * Development of management practices for fast growing tree species with high market demand. * Market research for on-farm forestry products. * Establishment of on-farm tree seed sources. * Fruit trees selection, propagation, and management. * Development of technologies for soil enrichment and conservation. * Evaluation and harnessing of traditional tree management practices. * Development of on-farm efficient wood conversion technologies. *Processing and value addition of non-wood forest products. *Policy analysis in on-farm forestry development. *Development of bio-fuels. |
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KENYA FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE P.O Box 20412 - 00200 Nairobi Tel: +254-724-259781/2, +254-722-157414 Wireless +254-2010651/2 Fax 254-20-2386353 |
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