Mt. Kilimanjaro farmers battle with changes forced by climate, population pressures

Finnish geographer Eija Soini defended her doctoral dissertation on agricultural livelihoods and land use in Eastern Africa in October 2006. The dissertation was based on her time as a researcher at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya.

One of her most important research areas was the agricultural landscape on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The highland slopes harbour the world-famous Chagga home gardens, where coffee has been grown as the main cash crop since the 1930s. Soini interviewed farmers about their agricultural practices and situation have developed over the years. Using aerial photographs, she studied land-use changes since the 1960s and investigated their impact on the income of farmers and on local biodiversity.

The results gave little cause for optimism. "The Chagga home gardens were long seen as a model for sustainable agriculture. My research shows that this is no longer the case," says Soini. Coffee growing, which formed the basis of the gardens, has lost its value due to sinking world market prices. However, most of the current problems are driven by population growth. Since the 1920s, Kilimanjaro has seen a twelve-fold population increase, and still today the average woman gives birth to five children. In order for all sons to inherit some land, the farms are split into smaller and smaller holdings. Today, many farms are too small to provide for a whole family.

Overcrowding in the highlands forces farmers to settle in the less fertile lowlands. In earlier days, highland farmers used the lowlands for supplementary food production, but did not consider them suitable for permanent settlement, since the rains are highly unpredictable.

It is not easy to cope with the new environment. Soini explains, "Farmers with a background in highland agriculture don't know much about dry land agriculture. Because their parents grew maize and beans in the lowlands as supplementary food, the farmers continue with these crops. However, now their whole livelihood is dependent on them. In a drought year, they stand to lose all of their harvest. I was told that people starved to death during a drought some years ago."

Some farmers on Kilimanjaro have pinned their hopes on "fair trade" coffee, which is increasing its share on the world markets. Soini thinks, however, that many would benefit from at least one other option. Temperate fruit trees, for example, grow well in the cool highlands of Kilimanjaro. There are also many crops that could tolerate the lowland droughts and provide the farmers with additional food, or even crops to sell.

"However, the decision to change farming practices or grow new crops is not easily made by the individual. Farmers have limited knowledge of the alternative crops and the starting capital required is often out of reach. One possibility is for the farmers to organise themselves into groups to save for larger investments, and to obtain credit," Soini proposes.

The lowland farmers are of special concern. They have become a poorer class of farmers who have much fewer livelihood options than highland farmers. The lowland environment they live in precludes the growing of the most valuable cash crops, and their fields are depleted since they cannot afford to leave them fallow or buy fertilisers. Furthermore, the divide seems to be growing. During droughts, the lowland farmers may be forced to sell parts of their land to wealthier farmers. Land thus lost is difficult to regain later, and so the poorest become even poorer.

"Development projects should target the lowland farmers. There is an urgent need for experimentation on farming practices and crops suitable for these dry lands, as well as for the development of markets for the new crops. And, since off-farm income is increasingly important, young people should be supported to learn skills that are useful for off-farm work," suggests Soini.

University of Helsinki