S.A.I.S. obtained land through direct tribal contracts rather than state grants.
Evidence
Unlike earlier attempts at plantation farming in Somalia where the settlers had obtained their land from the Administration of the colony, S.A.I.S. acquired both its land and much of its labour by a direct contract with the local tribesmen (the Bantu Shidle) amongst whom the consortium was established. By the end of 1920, the company had at its disposal an area of 30,000 hectares of rich land granted directly from the collective tribal lands of sections of the Shidle. The tribesmen concerned retained possession of the gardens which were actually under cultivation, only conceding to the Society land which they held in reserve. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 266