The land where settlement schemes were established was
acquired through the following ways:

a) Buying the crown land
Just before Independence the British government gave money to the colonial
government in Kenya to enable it to buy land from the settlers who were leaving the country.
These large farms were then sub-divided into smaller units and sold at affordable prices to Africans.

b) Reclamation of land

i) Large areas of land that were found in semi-arid areas were irrigated on a large scale and turned into farming land. They were then used to settle many families.

Today, large-scale irrigation schemes are found around Mwea Tebere, Bura, Ahero  and Kibirigwi.

ii) Swampy areas were drained and turned into dry land which was then used for farming. Yala Swamp is one example of such areas.

iii) Getting rid of pests like tsetse fl ies and mosquitoes. This made the land safe for settlement and the government used it to settle landless people.

An example is Lambwe Valley in Nyanza.

Reasons why settlement schemes were set up

a) To settle the many landless people in Kenya.

b) To reduce population in highly populated areas.

c) To increase food by growing crops in the schemes, especially in irrigation schemes like Mwea Tebere.

d) To reclaim fertile land like the Yala swamp and Lambwe Valley in Nyanza province and use it for farming.

The examples of main settlement schemes in Kenya

In Nyanza region e.g.Yala, Ahero,Lambwe Valley

In Western region e.g.Mount Elgon, Matunda settlement schemes

In Rift Valley region e.g. Cherang’anyi Hills, Lessos, Sotik, Molo

In Coast region e.g.Lake Kenyatta settlement scheme, Bura-Galole settlement scheme

In Central Kenya region e.g. Mwea irrigation and settlement scheme, Ol Kalou scheme 

Effects of establishing settlement schemes

Some effects were positive while others were negative.

Positive effects

a) The government was able to re-settle landless people.

b) People who were jobless and had no means of earning a living became engaged in farming.

c) Large scale commercial farming has continued since some plantations were retained.

d) Idle and waste land was put into good use after being reclaimed to settle the landless.

e) Food production improved with more land being opened up for cultivation.

f) The government was able to improve roads in the schemes in order to help farmers to transport their goods.

g) People were able to use their title deeds to get loans to improve their farms.

h) People from different parts of the country and from different communities were able to live together in harmony.

This created national unity.

Negative effects

a) Most of the small-scale farmers did not have enough money to buy farm machinery and inputs, and this caused a drop in crop production.

b) Many African farmers preferred to grow cash crops on their farms because from these, they could earn money.

As a result, fewer people grew food crops and this led to a drop in food production.

Problems facing settlement schemes Settlement schemes face several problems today.

a) Increased population has led to a strain on the available land. Some people have subdivided their land further, leaving the plots too small for farming.

b) In some schemes, there was a feeling that land allocation was unfair because it favoured some communities.

This created bad feelings between communities.

c) Title deeds were not issued immediately hence denying the people a chance to develop the land.

d) Political and cultural differences among the communities living in the schemes sometimes lead to conflicts.

e) Some settlement schemes lack good roads and essential social facilities.

f) Some settlement schemes have led to deforestation and drying up of water catchment areas.