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Land Adjudication and Agroforestry on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya: Creating a Farming System

Research reports

This paper investigated the choices of tree species conserved and planted by farmers on the slopes of Mount Kenya in Kenya. Farmers manipulated the selection of trees on their farms, over time saving fruit trees in newly adjudicated fields, then planting pole species once original stocks were depleted, then concentrating planted trees, mainly fruit and hedge species, around their homesteads. By valuing trees for different reasons, men and women together planted trees which fulfilled all household needs. Their commitment to tree planting was illustrated by the fact that they accessed many sources and sometimes travelled great distances to procure seedlings. Nurseries were less important as seedling providers than as sources of advice about species new to the area.

Gill Shepherd