practicalaction.org/europafrica
DCI-NSAED/2010/240-529
In the past few lessons you’ve
looked at:
• Foods that are grown in Africa and imported to
Europe.
• Stories of small family farming systems in Africa.
• That small scale farming and industrial farming has
different features.
• That a food sovereignty movement believes that
family farming is the most sustainable farming
system for Africa and needs protecting.
Learning aims
In this lesson you will be learning about some of the
issues that are increasing threats to small scale farmers.
Learning aims:
 To learn that access to land in Africa is unequal.
 To know that small scale African farming is
under threat.
 To understand the terms land grab and water
grab.
Farming in the Tana Delta Kenya
Starter activity

Use your atlas to find
the best map showing
the River Tana and
where it enters the sea.

Find 3 places along the
course of the River Tana.

Find 3 pieces of
information about the
geography of this area.
Who farms in the Tana Delta
district?
Different farmers…
• Pastoralists who graze 20,000 cattle here
permanently increasing to 60,000 during the dry
season
• Family farmers who grow maize, bananas and other
vegetables on their shambas
• Fishermen who fish for a variety of fish for their
families and local markets.
Who owns the land in the Tana
river region?
 Much of the land in the region is ‘trust’ land, this
means it is held in trust for the farmers but organised
by the regional council for the community.
 This land should be set aside for good of the people
who live there.
 However, land rights in the region are tricky because
there is land that is owned privately, publicly, as
well as trust land.
 Farmers have been here for generations, so there are
traditionally different rights of access to the land.
Who has rights to water in the Tana
river region?
 There are also another set of rights linked to access
to water.
 Rights of access to water are often traditionally
based on negotiation between the groups of farmers
rather than clearly defined rules.
 This can lead to problems, particularly during the
dry season.
Small-scale farming under threat…
Can you solve the mystery in the Tana River District?
Look at the 4 events that are happening in the Tana River
District.
Read and follow the instructions on the ‘causes’ cards and
decide which one card caused all the mysterious events to
happen.
Write 3 geographical questions that you would like to ask to find
out more information.
Remember that enquiry questions will help you find out
information will need. Use the 5Ws i.e.:
What, Why, Where, When, Why and hoW.
Find out what happened…
Watch the video extract to find out what happened to
cause the threat to farmers in the Tana region:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGdBSP31tlI
Participatory science in the Tana delta
What are the main threats to small
scale farmers?
Land grabs
European companies are buying large areas of land to
grow crops (sugar cane and jatropha) for ‘agro-fuels’.
These fuels are used for renewable energy in Europe.
Other land is used to grow crops for export too.
Water grabs
To grow crops for agro-fuels a constant supply of water
is needed to irrigate the crops. Water is often taken
from local rivers used by small scale farmers.
What’s the future?
 Small scale farmers throughout Africa are fighting for
their rights to land and water, enabling them to lead the
productive lives they value and have led for generations.
 Individual family farmers or small communities often find
it impossible to challenge the companies and
governments who are causing the threats. So often
farmers join local organisations and unions for support.
Many voices…
• Organisations and unions meet regularly with family
farmers to understand and represent concerns.
• Many of the African Farmers’ Unions are lobbying their
governments to develop policies in favour of small scale
farming providing food for families, local community
and local markets.
There are many opportunities to view and listen to
meetings with family farmers in Africa.
Here’s an example;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io82Wxiw2x8
Plenary
• What are some of the causes leading to small scale
farmers’ land being under threat in the Tana Delta?
• What are agro-fuels? Why are they being farmed in
Africa?
• How are the rights of family farmers represented
local and national level?
Further information
and ideas for action:
Research UK organisations who campaign in
support of small-scale African farmers.
Mind map the many actions people can take in Europe
to reduce the risk of land and water grabbing from
African farmers.
Highlight the actions that you could, and want to carry
out, and SHARE them with your class!
DCI-NSAED/2010/240-529