Farmers with idle land take up tree planting, carbon credits
By Winstone Chiseremi, July 1, 2025For more than three decades, Alfayo Kuruna, 70, a prominent cereal farmer from Soy sub-county in Uasin Gishu county, had not seen the need to utilise a 20-acre parcel of land which is part of his 100-acre property.
The said portion of the land had been turned into a grazing field by surrounding members of the community for their animals, while a small section of it had been converted into a play field by school children during weekends.
Kuruna is among more than 500 farmers from the North Rift region who own large tracts of idle land and have now been introduced to a tree planting initiative with the aim of enabling them to earn good returns from carbon credit ventures.
The farmers, drawn from Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia, Nandi, Baringo and West Pokot, have entered into a partnership with a global agro-forestry and regenerative land management organisation.
The initiative aims at inculcating a culture of growing a variety of trees on large tracts of idle land to conserve the environment, and while at it, enable the property owners to earn income from selling carbon credits to international markets.
Under the 45-year deal, the farmers will get tree seedlings from the organisation, Earthtree, and as the trees grow, the grower is linked to the global carbon credit markets.
According to the farmers, payments from trees planted on their expansive properties will start earning them lucrative earnings from carbon credit organisations in the next five years.
Growing income
Initially, the idle land had been set aside as inheritance for their children and grandchildren, but they have now realised that it should instead be utilised before they hand over ownership to the younger generation in future.
Hundreds of landowners are now turning idle land into indigenous forests with the hope of increasing income while conserving the environment.
Some farmers are planting fruit trees such as mulberries and avocados, among others, to double their benefits.
Acacia Seyal, Croton, Markhamia, Elgon Teak, Prunus, Olea, Prunus, Warbughia, Olea and cedar are among indigenous species making a return to expansive idle farms that old men had planned to bequeath to their children and grandchildren.
Most of the indigenous trees were on the verge of extinction in Uasin Gishu and neighbouring counties after years of replacement of natural ecosystems with maize and wheat crop plantations.
Elders who are eying timber have resorted to utilising their idle land with cypress, Eucalyptus saligna (Sydney blue gum), Eucalyptus grandis (flooded or rose gum), Whistling Pines, Pinus and Grevillea among others.
Kuruna says that he was inspired by the credit carbon plan to plant mulberries and other trees on his 20-acre idle land in Mogon Block 3 farm in Kipsomba, Uasin Gishu County. He says the land was his grandchildren’s inheritance, but he would earn from it meanwhile before he hands it over to some of his grandchildren.
According to him, the 45-year-old contract farming will also slam the brakes on land fragmentation and sale, while making idle land profitable to the owners.
“I was introduced to the idea by other farmers. Earthtree explained the benefits, and I bought the idea. I grow mulberries on a 20-acre piece of land and separate an eight-acre property because during the period, I will harvest fruits as I earn from my efforts to conserve the environment,” said the elderly farmer while inspecting the plants.
He is also happy that through the climate initiative, they are going back to indigenous trees that were almost endangered.
Another large-scale farmer, Belfast Sang, says that, together with other elders, they chose a land utilisation legacy that will be passed down generations.
“The biggest advantage is that the farmer remains the owner of the land and the beneficiary of the proposed carbon credit compensation,” argued Sang.
According to Stephen Kosgei, the promised compensations will place Kenya’s forest cover above the minimum 10 per cent.
Kosgei, who planted Eucalyptus on his 30 acres’ idle farm, said he was looking forward to lucrative earnings from the harvest of mature trees as well as carbon credit.
“By planting trees and earning from them, we are teaching our children and grandchildren that tree growing is an alternative,” he said.
Uasin Gishu Kenya National Farmers Federation Ruth Maraba said the environmental conservation initiative is creating hundreds of jobs in villages.
Maraba said thousands of acres of land in Uasin Gishu alone were lying idle and urged farmers to register with an organisation such as Earthtree to benefit from carbon credit compensation.