Barnabas Bii
14 May 2008
Nairobi — Commercial tree growing has become a multi-billion shilling sector business in Western Kenya region - thanks to the recent ban on harvesting of trees in public forests and emerging market niches.
Most farmers in the region are now shifting from agricultural production to farm forestry and in particular cultivation of eucalyptus trees due to lucrative prices.
Statistics from the Kenya Forestry Services indicate that between 690,000-800,000 hectares of land which accounts to 20 per cent of the land holdings in the region is under cultivation of the eucalyptus trees.
The director of Londiani Regional Research Centre Dr Joshua Cheboiwo said that eucalyptus trees in the region are expected to increase from 14.5 billion to 31.6 billion by 2020 as more farmers venture into farm forestry.
"A ready market for various tree products has made many farmers in the Western Kenya region to shift to commercial tree growing that differs in scale ranging from small woodlots of tens of trees to large estates of up to 400 hectares," says Dr Cheboiwo.
Multi-purpose
The farmers prefer eucalyptus trees because of their fast growth, good stem form, reasonable durable wood, multipurpose use and ready market for its various products.
"Most of the commercial tree planting has targeted fast growing exotic trees mostly eucalyptus as opposed to the indigenous ones," confirms Dr Cheboiwo.
The eucalyptus trees can be harvested from two years to over 100 years but firewood and construction poles, classified as short rotation crops can be harvested between 2-7 years.
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