Seminar on shifting cultivation and soil conservation

There are only small areas of tropical rain forest in Kenya but in the coastal strip, the shifting cultivation of food crops is carried out among tree such as mango, cashew or coconut. The most important areas of shifting cultivation are however where grass or bush provide the fallow vegetation. The migration system is usually cyclic, with each family cultivating successive areas within the larger area of its claim. Some random migration may be practiced by landless people. Clearing is achieved in grass areas by the burn, hoe and plant method or in heavier bush by cut, burn and plant. Because of land adjudication, largely completed in the area of Kenya with sufficient rainfall for reliable crop production, traditional shifting cultivation is limited to areas of lower agricultural potential.