Mutahi and Kiora declare it’s CA all the way In just three years, Peter Mutahi’s livelihood has transformed. He would previously struggle to pay school fees for his children. Not anymore. He had difficulty putting enough food on the table. Not again.

Having embraced conservation agriculture (CA) under KCEP-CRAL, he says he isn’t looking back because that is what has triggered the transformation in his life. “This programme has helped me a lot. I encourage fellow farmers to use CA to improve their yields,” he says.

Mutahi’s farm is two acres. He grows millet, sorghum, and maize. Prior to joining KCEP-CRAL and applying CA, he would harvest between eight and 12 bags of produce per acre. Now he gets between 20 and 25 bags, and life is easier.

“From the profits I am making, I am now able to pay school fees for my children and have enough food for the family,” he stresses. “Even after KCEP ends, I will continue applying CA techniques. I have witnessed the benefits,” he stresses.

Isaiah Kiora of Muminji Ward in Embu County, makes a similar declaration, saying: “My plan is to continue expanding agriculture. I will also be using part of the millet and maize (from my harvests) to make chicken feed. This is value addition. This will increase my profits and improve the standard of living for my family.”

Kiora doubles up as a CA service provider. He joined KCEP-CRAL in 2019 and received training on CA techniques. “I have since benefitted a lot,” he says. “My harvests have increased from about 8 bags of maize per acre to about 15. Through this, my life has improved. I am in better position to pay school fees for my children. Others are in college. I just deliver maize to school and they calculate its worth to offset against school fees.”

Kiora’s success in farming has motivated him to add chicken farming and livestock production to his emerging enterprise. From a previously subsistence farmer, he is now focused on commercial agriculture. He has hired additional four acres to increase production. Before KCEP-CRAL, Kiora did not have any livestock. Now he has three cows and five goats.

His dedication to farming and sharing of knowledge has made a significant impact on his community. He has become a respected resource person in the area as a trainer. He collaborates with local authorities and organisations to conduct field days and facilitate training sessions for farmers under KCEP-CRAL.

******

With passion, these CASPs are spreading the CA gospel beyond the project.

Charles Njeru Nyaga, a conservation agriculture service provider (CASP) in Siakago, Ruai village in Embu County, joined the KCEP-CRAL in 2018 and attended various training sessions. He then invested in three subsoilers, a ripper, and four planters.

From this little investment through the support of FAO, Ngaruya has made remarkable transformation in the life of his family. “KCEP and CA (conservation agriculture) have been very useful to us. For example, when I use a subsoiler, I am able to cover five acres in a day. Previously when I used the ordinary plough, I would cover only one acre in a day. Thus, as service providers, we are earning much more money now,” he says.

Starting with serving 80 farmers under KCEP-CRAL, his clientele grew to 110 the following season, then 181, and ultimately 381 last year.

“From the money I received last year, I bought a reconditioned car at Ksh300 000. I had earned Ksh381 000 through the programme. So, I still had a balance of about Ksh 80 000, which I added to my construction project. I had started building a house in 2020, bit by bit, using earnings from KCEP. Last year, I managed to do roofing and plastering. For now, it has stalled as I have not earned more money yet. I wish KCEP would continue,” he says.

As the chairman of CASPs in Mbeere North sub-county, and also as a FAO-trained trainer of farmers, Ngaruya has been instrumental in spreading knowledge about CA in the sub-county. He is himself a farmer, and the local county agriculture officers have previously partnered with him to organise a field day to educate more farmers, using his farm as a demonstration. Through such efforts, the adoption of conservation agriculture has been spreading in the area.

In Ndhawa Ward, Josephine Kawira, another CASP, has made much impact too, in addition to improving her family’s socio-economic status. Kawira offers subsoiling services, and from the payment she received after serving the first 38 farmers under KCEP-CRAL, she bought a maize thresher.

As time progressed, more farmers became interested in her subsoiling services, having witnessed the benefits enjoyed by others. Consequently, in 2020, she served 65 farmers and was able to buy a motorbike at Ksh90 000, to facilitate her movement. In 2021, she served 78 farmers, and the proceeds enabled her to further transform her life.

She explains: “I used to stay in a rental house. With the token (payment) I received from serving these farmers, I managed to buy half an acre of land at Ksh450,000. The money I had received was about Ksh150,000. I got a loan from the bank to top up the amount, and to also enable me build at least a temporary house. I plan to build a permanent house as time goes,” she says.

Kawira continues: “This project is very good. It should be extended, so that other farmers who are yet to benefit can also gain.” In the meantime, she is playing her little part to spread the knowledge. I teach farmers conservation agriculture in groups. Each group is about 25 to 30 farmers. Within this area (Githuguri location), I have almost 10 groups. As much as I don’t get paid for the training, I know that eventually I will benefit from them hiring my services. I am also motivated by the fact that the farmers are getting better yields. They are selling surplus and making money. This is very important.”

For Further Information, please contact:

Pauline Akolo Communications Specialist

Email: [email protected]

Groundnuts Farming 

Deborah Akiru removes the defective groundnut pods from a heap groundnuts drying in the sun. She is a beneficiary farmer at Katilu Irrigation Scheme, one of four schemes currently engaged in groundnut production as part of a project financed by FAO and implemented by the Kenya Irrigation Board, Egerton University, and Turkana County.

This is among the many ways that FAO is using to build the resilience of vulnerable farmers. This project is multi-pronged; it will increase the nutrition and incomes of these farmers.

Deborah grins as she picks out the groundnuts with a lot of care, she understand that this is a precious commodity and every pod counts. “This is a talent I've acquired through FAO training. Initially, I was a maize farmer, but I've since diversified into groundnut cultivation. With groundnuts, I've made good money, and my children are happy they have so for the first time had a large amount of groundnuts to eat." Deborah shares, as she lets go a hearty laughter.

At a store in Katilu Josemark Esenyen the Groundnuts community mobilizer is weighing the already selected and packed groundnuts. He is happy to have hit the target and urges us to report that more should be added to further support the production. He comments that farmers who have been very passionate about the new venture.

A Five-Year Strategic Plan

FAO and its partners developed a five-year Groundnuts Strategic Plan with the objective of establishing Turkana County as a major producer of groundnuts. This was due to the county's comparative advantage in terms of natural resources, particularly water supplies and a climate conducive to groundnut cultivation. This is the first bumper harvest, and it has gone a long way toward establishing that the county can be a leader in groundnut production.

In the framework for implementation, Egerton University is in charge of the research component, the irrigation board provides water, and Turkana County and FAO provide technical support. Insta Foods, a private partner, will purchase the groundnuts for use in its industrial food production.

Great Milestones Achieved

The FAO agronomist in the region, Mr. Joseph Okumu, has confirmed that the project is proceeding as planned. "In accordance with the Strategic Plan, we have taught farmers and held multiple stakeholder meetings. I am hopeful that, given sufficient time, our project can improve the economic situation of these farmers." The initial harvest was successful, reaching the target of 2.7 tonnes. The gathered groundnuts will be used as seeds for the following planting season, which has already begun in earnest.

The ultimate objective is to cultivate groundnuts on more than 18,000 hectares of land under the four irrigation systems. In the first planting phase, 200 hectares were planted, and in the second planting round, this number is expected to increase. "The farmers' enthusiasm for this new crop motivates us to provide them with agricultural extension services. I am confident that we will reach our objective." According to FAO field assistance staff member Sarafina Sanya.

For more information contact

Dr. Joseph Othieno National Communications Specialist

FAO Kenya

Email: [email protected]

Edelvale Primary school located in Kayole Zone of Embakasi Sub County in Nairobi County has a population of 1041 pupils (504 boys and 537 girls). It is ranked amongst the most populated schools in Kenya.

The school has been in existence since the year 1964. The catchment has been Soweto slums in Kayole with most of the school students from the surrounding areas. The school has a high migrant population serving children from refugee communities from neighboring countries such as Somalia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.

It is one of the beneficiaries of the COVID-19 food production intervention by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Nairobi County. Maxwell Odundo is a student and candidate awaiting to sit his final exams at Edelvale Primary School and a budding farmer.

The 13 year old lives with his family in Soweto, Kayole. He explains that the vegetable multistorey gardens constructed in the school have been beneficial not only to the students but also the community around. “These vegetables have really improved our diet and nutrition. Initially we ate only “githeri” (mixture of maize and beans) for lunch, but now the githeri is mixed with spinach and kales harvested from the multistorey gardens thus enriching our diets” he says. Families and schools here are increasingly turning to kitchen gardening as a source of better nutrition and a way to inspire young people like Maxwell. “I want to be a farmer,” says Maxwell, who was convinced of this after a few months of agricultural training through the 4K club and after participating in the multistorey gardening at the school thanks to a project implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Nutrition Security

This initiative falls under the integrated actions for innovative food systems across rural urban communities project funded by Italian Agency for Development Corporation, focused on enhancing sustainable development, food security and nutrition in urban and peri-urban areas, and nearby rural spaces. The positioning of such urban agriculture initiatives enables the development of local, sustainable, and resilient urban food systems.

Moreover, being included in the process of establishing the multistorey gardens, the pupils embrace the best practices in growing their own vegetables and can inculcate the practice back in their homes. Maxwell’s enthusiasm for farming has grown as his school’s dusty backyard has given way to a lush vegetable garden. There are no farmers in Maxwell’s family. “I would be the first one,” he says with a beaming smile.

In a bid to improve food security, nutrition and self-sufficiency, FAO has supported the school to construct about 30 multistorey kitchen gardens by providing them with seeds, tools, training and mentorship in partnership with the Food, agriculture and forestry sector in Nairobi County. The gardens are currently planting mainly kales and spinach. “The school is looking to upscale in future to include other vegetables like onions and tomatoes”, says Pauline Njoroge who is the teacher in charge of Agriculture and the 4k clubs at the school.

Agriculture is integrated in the current Competency Based Curriculum in schools and it’s an examinable subject; therefore, farming is not an optional class at Edelvale primary school, and in line with the curriculum, it offers practical experience designed to help students produce their own food in the small spaces around them.

New Farming Techniques

The pupils are taught new farming techniques aimed to produce more vegetables and utilize space. The suitable vegetables to grow are Coriander (dhania), kales (sukuma wiki), capsicum, eggplants, spinach, tomatoes, okra and amaranth (terere). So far three schools, churches, Persons Living with Disabilities, Youth self-help groups, women groups and individual farmers within the urban and peri urban areas of Nairobi have benefitted from the project.

Adjacent to Edelvale Primary School, we visited Kayole Mtaa Safi self-help group, also a beneficiary of the project, run by Emmanuel James, a missionary working with the youth in different projects involved in Agriculture. He says the group houses more than 10 members and their families benefitting from the six multistorey gardens constructed in an empty space besides the flat.

The kitchen garden which he says is slowly gaining interest from majority of community members not only feeds the members but also occupies them throughout the day while they also envision earning a living from it in future. “With further training for the youth, the project is scalable to an income generating project”, says Emmanuel While gardening is beneficial for everyone, it can provide the unemployed youth with special benefits that can make them feel better about themselves while they still add value by contributing to the family’s wellbeing, thus boosting their self-esteem, and giving them a feeling of self-worth.

The project further seeks to create decent employment and self-employment opportunities in agriculture (on and off farm) and agribusiness for youth and women, encouraging the entrepreneurship and agriprenuership among the youth.

Dreams for the future

When we ask about dreams for the future, 26 years old Julius Mwangi who is the youth team lead at Kayole Mtaa Safi Youth group thinks for a moment: “I dream of being able to plant my own crops in the empty spaces around our home and harvest so much that I can even sell my produce to the towns nearby.” And would he encourage other youth and community members around to embrace the kitchen gardening utilizing the small empty spaces around them? “Yes I would. And I would teach others too!”

For More Information

Contact Pauline Akolo

Communications Specialist,

FAO Kenya

e-mail: [email protected]

Deep in the heart of Mombasa County, we drive through ankle deep mud to meet Maunguja Women Group located in Kisauni Sub-County, Mombasa County. They run a demo farm and seedlings nursery at Maunguja vocational training centre. The one-acre piece of land is just one of the many farms used by the group under the Green Cities Initiative.

FAO’s Green Cities Initiative’s main objective is to improve people’s wellbeing through increased availability of and access to products and services provided by sustainable urban and peri-urban agriculture, forestry and food systems.

“We have been receiving training on virtually everything to do with agriculture. From urban agriculture theory to using new urban agriculture technologies. The training has enabled me and some group members to transfer the seedlings from the nurseries in the demo farm to our own farms thus improving our nutrition.” Initially, we relied on Omena (sardines) as our main source of food due to its availability and affordability. But now with the farming, we can balance our diets by including vegetables” says Zuhura Chizi, a farmer beneficiary.

Maunguja women group under an agreement with Environment Trust of Kenya (ETK) were trained on various aspects of agriculture including establishment of a demonstration farm. They were taught how to till and prepare the farm, how to properly apply organic fertilizer from their farm animals. With the application of the knowledge, the women tilled the farm and planted spinach, okra and cowpeas leaves.

Micro-gardens

The women group also set up three cone and eight sack gardens whereby the participants planted Sukuma wiki (kales) and spinach. Due to water scarcity in the area, the women learnt ways of planting crops using new technologies which required minimal water usage. They set up a shade garden nursery and in it, they planted eggplants. The women were also trained on urban forestry and planted 525 forest and fruit trees that will benefit for provision of ecosystems goods and services including food to urban populations.

About 80 women were trained and divided into four groups, each one given four plots each given a section to farm different types of crops for their domestic use to supplement the traditional foods of omena and fish as well as the food rations given, respectively.

Traditionally, women from the coast region are not farmers, but after the training, and with regular interaction with agricultural extension officers assigned to the area from the county office of Mombasa, more crops were introduced. Now in addition to kales and spinach, they also grow okra, cowpeas leaves, eggplant as well as tomatoes.

Clemence Umasi, a member of the women group has become a Sukuma wiki, spinach and tomatoes farmer. From the proceeds she can feed her family and looking to also sell her next harvest from her vegetable surplus. Three quarter of the total farmers are women, and Clemence has become the go to ‘farmhand.’

The initiative has also reduced women’s work burden by reducing time spent going to the market to purchase vegetables. “Initially, we used to travel long distances to Kongowea market (23km) in search of vegetables, spending KES. 1000 for a return trip. Now with my own vegetables, I can feed my family comfortably while also earning an income. My five children and husband have access to good organic food, and I will also make money from it,” says Clemence.

This joint farming initiative has also fostered understanding and peaceful co-existence between the community members. The vegetables grown are fully organic and they use organic pesticides like neem leaves, ash, as well as intercropping to keep pests at bay.

About Maunguja area

Maunguja is located in the outskirts of Mombasa City in Kisauni constituency. There is very little development in the area in terms of infrastructure such as roads, electricity, and water supply. Quality education and good health facilities are also lacking in the area hence exposing the locals to high levels of poverty and diseases.

The climate is typically hot and dry as the county is in the coastal strip which is located in the hot tropical zone. The locals rely on two distinct rainy seasons; the long rains usually between April and June and the short rains between October and December. Due to the recent climate change and the unreliable rainfall, the area remains dry for the most parts of the year.

Majority of the women in Maunguja are housewives who stay at home to raise their children. They also engage in small-scale maize farming which is seasonal and heavily dependent on the unpredictable rains in the region. Some women engage in small scale businesses such as kiosks selling dried fish, crossing the Tudor creek to Mikindani to sell coconuts and Mnazi (Palm wine).

Before this trial, it was believed that Mombasa County could not produce any food due to inadequate rainfall. The success has triggered action towards activating the second phase; they envision to set up green houses. This will not only ensure access to food security and nutrition for the community, but also guarantee a source of income for them and subsequently improve their livelihoods.

For more information contact 

Pauline Akolo

Communication Specialist FAO Kenya

email [email protected] 

Agriculture is among some of the major economic activities in Kilifi County. The County’s Agriculture production is dominated by both food and cash crops at both subsistence and commercial levels. Introduction and implementation of good agricultural practices and conservation agriculture programme led to enhanced agricultural extension services to farmers hence projected yields.

In Kaloleni Sub-County, one Safari Kazungu has for two years worked as a service provider with FAO. He is already seeing an expansion of his company and creating more employment in the near future. Currently, he has 40 staff whom he engages on contractual basis.

Kazungu was one of the first beneficiaries of the KCEP-CRAL Project implemented by FAO and other partners, targeting smallholder farmers already at subsistence level supported to graduate into commercial farming. The project is contributing to the reduction of rural poverty and food insecurity of smallholders in the ASALs by developing their economic potential while improving their natural resources management capacity and resilience to climate change in an increasingly fragile ecosystem.

The goal is to graduate smallholder farmers to commercially oriented, climate-resilient agricultural practices through improvements in productivity, post-production management practices and market linkages for targeted value chains.

The Benefits 

“The project is beneficial to me, my clients and the team members,” Kazungu confirms. “With the knowledge gained from KCEP-CRAL I provided planting services to 161 farmers in total, 114 under KCEP-CRAL and 47 individual farmers in a span of 2 weeks,” says the man who, after graduating from Conservation Agriculture, has registered a service provision company, and is now expanding to provide pesticide control and fumigation services to schools and corporate companies.

The company has employed 40 staff from different areas of the county. With such a big number, and with conservation Agriculture and service provision being a key agenda, the impact of conservation agriculture through the company is promising to spread far and wide in Kilifi. Amongst other services the company provides planting, spraying, fumigation services to other farmers, schools and corporate companies.

The 48-year-old father of 3 children says that from this project he has been able to build his permanent house and fend for his family which has been a challenge over the years. “Many other families have also benefited from this. I pay my workers Kenya Shillings 1500 per acre for a group of 4 people who can successfully complete 3-4 acres per day.”

Kazungu envisions owning a walking tractor that costs Kenya Shillings 340,000. He says he is already paying for the tractor in instalments and so far, he has completed payment of Kes.290, 000 towards it. It will be a significant addition to other equipment that he already owns.

About KCEP-CRAL

The KCEP-CRAL is an expansion to the ASALs of the Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme (KCEP) which became effective in April 2014 through a partnership between the Government of Kenya, the European Union, and IFAD.

The Programme follows a value chain approach to support ASAL smallholder farmer graduation to market-oriented/commercial farming, addressing key constraints in production, post-harvest management, processing, and marketing in target commodity value chains.

For More Information contact:

Pauline Akolo

Communication Specialist FAO-Kenya

[email protected]

We arrive at his farm at around noon. It is simmering hot and a strong wind is blowing in whirlwinds. The land around the area is dry, grass is brown for lack of rain. But Jones farm is a contrast. It is green everywhere.

Jones is practicing dryland agriculture and he is successful at it, he is a happy man. Happy because today he is food sufficient despite living in a dry area where rain fed agriculture cannot be relied upon. Thanks to FAO’s Agricultural Climate Resilience Enhancement Initiative (ACREI) project. This project aims at empowering communities to be self-reliant through utilization of technologies that improve agricultural production in a changing climate.

Jones is a resident of Voi Sub County in Taita Taveta County, and a beneficiary of Farmer Field Schools. In 2019 he received training under ACREI project, and he is among the model farmers who are helping train other farmers. On his one acre piece of land sandwiched between dry patches of under utilized land along the busy Mombasa - Nairobi highway. Jones saw the need and an opportunity in dryland farming. Through the use of modern climate smart agriculture practices that he had learnt as a community-based trainer for FAO supported farmer field schools.

Farmer Field Schools

In October 2020 under the Adaptation fund - ACREI project implemented by FAO Jones received training on climate smart agriculture. This training has helped him to transform his village farmers. He has mobilized farmer into eight groups to benefit from seasonal learning and experimentation of the best climate smart agriculture intervention suitable for their community which is dry. Jones is leading a group of farmers undertaking participatory trial development on green grams and sorghum production under normal farmer practice and use of conservation agriculture, through a farmer exchange visit to other FFS groups.

Jones has learned about indigenous vegetable production under different kitchen garden methodologies and rearing of poultry under different feed regime. This he has taken up, and replicated at his model farm that has now transformed into a community learning centre. Jones joins the list of farmers transforming the agricultural outlook and has begun a campaign to have all his eight groups take up poultry farming and vegetable production under kitchen gardens as a source of employment and food. Jones is reaping fruits of his efforts, so far, four out of eight groups have already taken up the climate smart farming initiatives. Jones has braved the challenges faced before the project as it is now evident that he is on a journey and mission towards building a self-reliant community.

“Through group-to-group exchange visits, I learned how to do fertility trenches from another FAO supported Farmer Field School (FFS) group from my neighborhood which has specialized in production of vegetables through different hoe gardening technologies. That has helped me produce sweet potatoes, cowpeas, onions, kales, spinach, chilies and water melon.” Jones says as he walks us through his farm.

In addition, Jones has set up a tree nursery that is full of seedlings awaiting transplantation onto his farm. He explains to us how through the training he learned that trees provide a micro-climate and also help in the control of soil erosion. Through ACREI Jones was able to get varieties of fruit trees that have also improved his food and nutritional security.

“Those sweet potatoes belong to Irene variety. I am producing them for other farmers and institutions. Last month I sold three sacks at KES 6,000/=. This variety is suited for dry lands like we have here.” Jones says.

A Rich Market 

In the previous season; Jones planted and harvested green grams, groundnuts and sorghum on his farm. His last harvest was very good despite the erratic rainfall he managed to get 60kgs of groundnuts and three bags of sorghum. From the harvest Jones was able to reserve food for his family and sell the surplus to his neighbors. He sold four bags of green grams and groundnuts that earned him a total of KES 25,000/=, with the income he was able to pay school fees, buy farm inputs and pay casual laborers to tender to his one acre farm.

The FAO, ACREI Project Officer Mr. Abedih Mbatha has been working with Mbulia Farmers field school and other seven FFS ’groups in the same area. In collaboration with the county they have trained farmers on small stock (Goats and poultry production and adoption of drought tolerant crops such as green grams, sorghum and production of nutritious dense vegetables under kitchen garden methodologies.

Abedih is happy that the technologies are being adopted very fast in Taita Taveta and this has directly improved the food security. “We are training farmers on conservation agriculture techniques that enable them to produce food on their drylands, and also supporting them to commercially do poultry production. We take this farmers on exchange visits and we have seen them learn a lot of new skills from their fellow farmers.” he concludes.

About ACREI Project

The Agricultural Climate Resilience Enhancement initiative (ACREI) is a four -year (2018-2022) partnership program between the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC) funded by the adaptation fund.

This project is centred on improving farm household food security. Through identification and promotion of appropriate adaptation options and improved farm planning and decision making for increased food production in both good and bad seasons, improved storage of surplus food, and better trade and distribution options thereby increasing food availability in both good and bad years.

Through the project; appropriate climate information flows, and climate information-based decision making, will contribute to better targeting of farming interventions aiming at improving food security and effective safety nets against climatic shocks as well as the identification of climate change adaptation domains for adoption in other Climate Smart Agriculture systems.

Goal: Develop and implement adaptation strategies and measures that will strengthen the resilience of vulnerable smallholder farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists in the Horn of Africa to climate variability and change.

For more information contact

Dr. Joseph Othieno Communications Officer,

FAO Kenya

email [email protected] 

Moreno Kitesho works as a frontline animal health and production officer in Kajiado County in Kenya, which borders the Republic of Tanzania, a critical disease control point. Among his daily duties are disease surveillance on farms, stock routes, livestock markets and laboratory work. These duties were a heavy burden on his naïve shoulders, considering his limited field experience as he was appointed almost immediately after graduation.

Kitesho recalls an incident in 2020, when he was dispatched to collect a sample from a sheep in Namanga. “I went and collected the sample with my bare hands, using the wrong needle gauge and without any personal protective equipment and packaged it to Kabete Central Veterinary Laboratory. When the results came, they were positive for Rift Valley fever, a deadly zoonotic disease. Later, during our ISAVET programme, when we received training on sample collection and packaging, it dawned on me how easily I would have been infected with this fatal disease.”

How ISAVET filled the gaps

The USAID funded ISAVET programme came in just at the right time for Kitesho. The programme core competences addressed almost all the gaps he had encountered while working within the Maasai community, whose main economic activity is livestock keeping. This community relies on livestock for subsistence and on its income for children education. However, vector-borne diseases, emerging and re-emerging diseases are a common feature. Kajiado covers a vast area and access to veterinary services is inadequate.

“I studied animal health specifically to assist my community with livestock production. However, I realized that I needed an in-depth training tailored to my field needs. To me, the ISAVET programme ushered a change that has enabled me to appreciate professionalism, the One Health approach tand to elaborate proposals.” Notes Kitesho.

“Before ISAVET, our interventions to disease outbreaks were rather haphazard. But after the training, I learned how to plan and systematically approach livestock disease outbreaks.” Kitesho adds.

Kitesho notes that the theoretical and practical trainings on sample collection, handling and packaging, proposal writing, disease surveillance and reporting answered directly to his knowledge and skills needs.

Kitesho’s Proposal to Control Celebral Coenurosis Funded

“I remember that afternoon ISAVET class on how to utilize the data collected from disease reports. Some of the uses were to inform policy and fundraise for certain disease interventions.” Kitesho says before recounting how ISAVET assisted the veterinary office in Kajiado to write a proposal.

Cerebral coenurosis is an important disease affecting sheep and goats which causes significant economic losses in their production in Kajiado County.

Unknown to the community though was the role of herd dogs in the transmission of the disease. Armed with the knowledge on this important disease, Kitesho, assisted by his mentor/trainer Dr. Nazaria Nyaga, wrote a proposal to a non-government organization called Action for Protection of Animals Africa which funded the proposal. Among the findings was very low awareness that the disease was perpetuated by herd dogs.

With the results, and through the Action for Protection of Animal Africa funding, the team carried out a sensitization workshop for livestock farmers to educate them on the disease dynamics and to carry out mass deworming of dogs and small stock as control measures. The proposal secured funding of seven hundred thousand Kenya shillings. “This was our collective first fruit from the ISAVET training and I really felt a great delight to get funding to carry out this short project. In the project process, we were able to collect data and we are looking at how to upscale it to get more funding for a bigger project.’ Says Kitesho.

“I have observed significant improvement in his work since he attended the USADI ISAVET training that is being implemented by FAO in collaboration with the Directorate of Veterinary Services. He had passion for animal health and I must say it has doubled. But it is not just him, it has rippled across the department.” Explains Dr. Nazaria.

With the success of the first successful funding of the proposal, the team learned that there are many stakeholders willing to collaborate. As a means to reach more farmers for cerebral coenourosis control in terms of dog deworming, the department decided to take advantage of a better funded Kenya climate smart agriculture project subproject activity that had been planned to address contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in the county.

Other partners who came on board while implementing the ISAVET proposal included Colorado State University, African Network for Animal Welfare and several veterinary clinics within the county. In addition, the county benefitted from rabies control and eradication during this activity.

Kitesho’s Professional Journey

Kitesho started off as an animal health assistant having pursued a diploma course in Animal Health and Production. He did a degree course in Microbiology and Biotechnology and worked with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) as a research assistant before joining Kajiado County as a senior animal health officer. However, the most memorable experience was working at Kajiado County, from where he was selected as an ISAVET trainee and was placed under the mentorship of Dr. Nazaria Nyaga.

For more information contact

Dr. Joseph Othieno Communications Officer,

FAO Kenya

e-mail: [email protected]

A one-acre farm is gaining all the attention in Nguno village Kikumini ward in Makueni County. In addition to being well irrigated, Mary Mathilu’s farm features a motley of crops. From some of these sorghum, maize, beans, pigeon peas and cowpeas. The selection of the crops is from the fact that most of them are drought resistant and can withstand extreme weather patterns.

“I have always loved farming. But my passion intensified after FAO through the KCEP-CRAL project came to train us on Conservation Agriculture (CA) thus highly improving our yields. So, I opted to specialise in farming,” she says.

Mathilu says that before the training, her farm was not as productive. But after she started applying the knowledge, she had gained from a training sponsored by the project in 2019, the yields began to improve.

New Farming Skills

“I learnt that with conservation Agriculture, crops can survive even with minimal rain. I focus on drought resistant crops that are tolerant to diseases and high yielding, while applying manure that I get from my poultry and cows,” Mathilu shares.

Now a practitioner of conservation Agriculture who also doubles up as a service provider, she has properly spaced her crops and intercropped maize and sorghum with cowpeas and pigeon peas due to the symbiotic nature of the crops. In addition to crop farming, she is also rearing poultry and cows for commercial purposes. Mathilu says that her pigeon peas harvest earns her between Ksh 800-1000 per day. She is very hopeful of doubling the returns in the next season. The 37-year-old mother of two is greatly earning from her farming which she says is a complete ecosystem.

From her poultry and cows, she obtains manure for her farm while getting food for her family, her poultry, and her animals from the farm. “Nowadays, I do not have a problem putting food on the table. I can also comfortably pay school fees for my children without a problem,” she declares. She doesn’t spend any money purchasing farm inputs or fertilisers because hers is a complete ecosystem.

Mathilu has not kept the Conservation Agriculture farming knowledge she has gained from the KCEP-CRAL to herself. Her farm serves as a model CA venture, and she willingly shares knowledge with other farmers in the area. The objective is to create a ripple effect so that deliberate CA becomes a trend in the village and beyond. “In the year 2020, I trained 100 farmers in basin planting, I was also contracted to do ripping for about 60 acres of land using the walking tractor in a span of three weeks.”

Training Fellow Farmers

So far Mathilu has trained 300 farmers under organised groups and 100 individual farmers from the year 2019. The farmers are happy with the CA initiative and have all adopted it. “Initially, CA appeared to be difficult, but with the consistent trainings, we adopted it and are now enjoying the yields, “she says.

Mathilu’s dream in the next five years is to own a pick-up van that she will use to supply her produce. She says currently she spends Kes.5000 per month on hiring vehicles for supplies.

A few metres away is another demo farm one - acre in size, and whose owner, Catherine Nthenya Mbili, is successfully growing sorghum, green grams, pigeon peas and green amaranth following similar support of the KCEP-CRAL.

From February 2021 when through the project gave her fertilisers, fungicides, high-yielding seedlings, in addition to facilitating several trainings in conservation Agriculture, Mbili continues to experience better yield. “In CA the yields are high because water is retained in the soil which is good for this area because its semi-arid” she says. “Initially, we used to experience lots of challenges with CA, but we went through consistent trainings and with experience it gets more easier and proves better than the conventional way.”

Just like Mathilu, she too demonstrates to other farmers and trains them on CA and the farmers are responding positively by replicating the same on their farms. The support from the KCEP-CRAL, which has involved supply of improved seeds and agro-chemicals, post-harvest materials as well as training workshops on good agricultural practices has provided farmers such as Mathilu and Mbilu with seedlings, which they have planted in their farms. Mbilu says from her CA proceeds she was able to purchase an additional 2 acres of land in 2021.

She is a proud beneficiary of KCEP-CRAL, and brags of an opportunity accorded to her by FAO in 2017 under the women empowerment programme to attend a training on Business Sustainability in India while also benchmarking for CA. “The training was an eye opener and from it, aside from being a farmer, I also opened a baking business where I bake cakes for commercial purposes”

FAO Support to Farmers in Makueni

Under the KCEP-CRAL, Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) introduced the concept of individuals offering Conservation Agriculture Service Providers (CASPs), previously engaged in a sister project funded by the EU.

The FAO KCEP- CRAL Project Officer Jimmy Mweri says, “Over 1500 (272 women) CASPs in the eight implementing counties were trained on CA tools and equipment use, safe use of pesticides, entrepreneurship and business planning, instructions on the use of herbicides, among others,” adding that “In 2021 CASPs were linked to financial institutions and motorized equipment dealers so as to facilitate acquisition of farm machinery for their work. As at now, CASPs have invested over Ksh 3million on motorized equipment.”

Under this project, IFAD provided a grant to FAO to sustainably build the capacity of newly set up county agricultural structures, and specifically to manage the implementation of the KCEP-CRAL at county level in line with the County Integrated Development Plans which include adoption of climate smart agriculture technologies.

The overall development goal of the KCEP-CRAL is to contribute to the reduction of rural poverty and food insecurity of smallholders in the ASALs by developing their economic potential while improving their natural resources management capacity and resilience to climate change in an increasingly fragile ecosystem.

About KCEP-CRAL

The KCEP-CRAL is an expansion to the ASALs of the Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme (KCEP) which became effective in April 2014 through a partnership between the Government of Kenya, the European Union, and IFAD. The Programme follows a value chain approach to support ASAL smallholder farmer graduation to market-oriented/commercial farming, addressing key constraints in production, post-harvest management, processing, and marketing in target commodity value chains.

For More Information contact:

Pauline Akolo

Communication Specialist FAO-Kenya

email; [email protected]

Over the last two decades, the world has faced recurrent health crises due to emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic and infectious diseases, affecting both animals and humans. The Eastern African region has not been spared. In the past ten years , the region has faced outbreaks of diseases including Rift Valley fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever and rabies, among others. In addition, the misuse and abuse of antimicrobials in animals, humans and crops has been the leading cause of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Preparedness, prevention and control of health threats occurring at human-animal-ecosystem interface require a One Health approach. This provides synergistic and effective responses at national, regional and global levels aimed at reducing the negative impact of these threats on ecosystems, animal and human health and on the socio-economic development and livelihoods of communities.

In November 2012, a high-level regional One Health meeting was held in Libreville, Gabon. The objective was to set a future agenda relating to the implementation of One Health in Africa. The meeting, spearheaded by the World Health Organisation (WHO), concluded with a set of recommendations to Member States, sub-regional organizations, technical and financial partners.

Over the last decades, African countries have made progress on One Health. To assess the implementation of these recommendations in the Eastern Africa region, a workshop was held in Nairobi on 10 and 11 May 2022. The workshop was supported by FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Disease Control (ECTAD), under the “Sustainable Operationalization of One Health in Africa” project, funded by the United States Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). A total of 36 participants drawn from Kenya, Rwanda, South-Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the United Nations Environmental Programme, the WHO and the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) attended the workshop.

Despite differences in milestones reached among Member States, participants noted that great progress has been made in the implementation of recommendations in Eastern Africa. Kenya, Tanzania and Liberia, which was the guest country from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), shared their experiences on the contribution of the One Health platform to improve capacities and capabilities for preparedness, prevention, detection and response to health emergencies. Furthermore, the added value and countries 'efforts to adopt the One Health approach were highlighted.

Despite achievements such as the launch of three One Health strategies that integrate human, animal and environmental health management for improved health security in Kenya, the establishment of the One Health Coordination Desk (OHCD) in Tanzania and the existence of a national One Health Strategic Plan and a Communication Strategy to strengthen engagement across sectors and stakeholders in Uganda, among others, some persistent challenges have been observed. Participants particularly noted weak and non-institutionalized One Health governance and coordination mechanisms, lack of inclusion of some key stakeholders, inadequate monitoring and evaluation processes, and insufficient budgeting and financing of One Health action plans.

What is One Health?

One Health is a relatively new approach. It is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. One Health recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and environment are closely linked and inter-dependent. The approach mobilizes multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society to work together to foster well-being and tackle threats to health and ecosystems. While addressing the collective need for clean water, energy and air, safe and nutritious food, taking action on climate change, and contributing to sustainable development.

The institutionalization and operationalization of the One Health approach is supported by the Quadripartite formed by FAO, OIE, UNEP and WHO.

What is FAO doing?

FAO particularly promotes One Health in the areas of food security, sustainable agriculture, food safety, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), nutrition, animal and plant health, fisheries, and livelihoods. Ensuring a One Health approach is essential to anticipate, prevent, detect and control diseases that spread between animals and humans, to tackle AMR, to ensure food safety and to prevent environment-related human and animal health threats.

Further information on the One Health approach https://www.fao.org/3/cb7869en/cb7869en.pdf

For Additional Information or to Request Interviews, please contact:

Dr. Joseph Othieno

Communications Specialist FAO Kenya

 Email: [email protected]

Or

Yanira Santana Regional Communications and Outreach Bureau

FAO ECTAD Africa

Email : [email protected]

Suspected cases of rabies had escalated in Kitui County. Health facilities were reporting an increasing number of dog bites. This was baptism by fire for Dr. Rayford Murangiri, who had just taken an In Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) course funded by USAID and implemented by FAO and Directorate of Veterinary Services. He needed to convert his newly acquired theoretical knowledge into practical actions to contain the situation at hand.

“Alarmed by the high number of reported bites, mostly from stray dogs and a few from unknown wild animals, I was reminded of the power of the One Health approach, that recognizes the interconnection between people, animals and their shared environment, because the human dog bites were reported by both, farmers and health facilities in the county.” Said Dr. Murangiri.

It all began in the late 2021, when a 20-year-old man in Kauwi ward, in Kitui West, was suspected to have died from dog bite mediated rabies. He displayed typical rabies symptoms after suffering a dog bite. However, this could not be empirically confirmed, more so in a county where people still hold traditional beliefs about disease. This passed just as one of such cases, but Dr. Murangiri knew that it was rabies, a disease with equally scary signs.

In December 2021 in Kitui East, Voo Kyamatu ward, a donkey in a bizarre event bit 13 donkeys, 18 goats, four cows and ten dogs. All these bites occurred at a watering point, where different animals congregated to quench their thirst.

It was clear that the rabies risk perception index by the community was very low; otherwise this abnormal incident could have been reported earlier and would not have resulted in such a large number of causalities. This case was reported, the donkey was killed and the head harvested for a test at the Washington State University Laboratory in Nairobi. When it turned positive, it was clear that action was needed.

Disturbed by the poor management of suspected rabies and armed with skills from ISAVET training Dr. Murangiri and Dr. Augusta Kivunnzya quickly approached a Global Information System (GIS) - a CDC program supporting One Health approach and presented a proposal. They sought to carry out a survey to establish the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) among Kitui residents and human and animal health experts related to rabies. The survey would provide them with the evidence needed for an effective intervention and it would also include all stakeholders involved. Questionnaires, key informant interviews and retrospective review of dog bites in health centres across the county were used in the survey.

Key Findings

Among the key findings from the survey was the low awareness level of the zoonotic nature of rabies in Kitui County, especially among the lay public and the human health workers. On the awareness scale, life-saving post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) scored poorly. These were actually the missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle: low awareness among the at-risk populations – local communities- meant late or no reporting of suspected cases and hence no timely treatment and the occurrence of preventable human deaths, as the risk perception index about the disease was at its lowest. Among human health workers, low awareness levels translated to an equally low disease suspicion index. With these two findings, this sad scenario, in which many cases of rabies occurred, was to be expected.

What did they do with the findings?

Armed with these findings, the two vet doctors, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, used two vernacular radio stations namely Wikwatyo FM and Thome FM, to disseminate the results and create awareness on rabies. They also developed brochures which were distributed to health care workers. Dog owners were advised on annual vaccination, responsible dog ownership and timely reporting of dog bites to veterinary and human health authorities. Among human health workers, they popularized the power of PEP as a life-saving intervention after suspected exposure to rabies. The radio campaign ran for six months.

Fruits of the intervention

Following this continued work with the ministries involved in raising awareness, Dr. Murangiri confirms evidence of positive change. The population is aware of rabies and reporting has significantly increased. We have community rabies champions who quickly report any suspected cases. At the Kauwi health centre we met Mr. Paul Nzomo, the Kitui West sub county public health officer. He is quick to praise the One Health approach that Dr. Murangiri and Augusta injected into the county. “Working together, we have been able to raise awareness on rabies and have come to appreciate the power of the One Health approach in zoonotic disease management.” Said Nzomo. The team is optimistic that the disease can be easily eradicated from the county if rabies vaccines are available, which is one of the current challenges. Dr. Murangiri wishes to increase the rabies vaccination coverage in the county, but the current lack of rabies vaccines has hampered the realization of this dream. In the meantime, his efforts will be place on the sensitization on rabies, which has also been hindered by inadequate funds.

ISAVET: a shot-in-arm in disease prevention and control

Dr. Murangiri graduated from the vet school in 2009. He worked in the private sector shortly before joining public service in 2011 as a district veterinary officer in a newly formed Katulani district. He had to set up the office and it realized that most of the work done out here are never covered in the university curriculum. With the devolved system coming into place Dr. Murangiri was absorbed by the Kitui County and deployed to Kitui South, where rabies cases were at their peak. “When I saw the advertisement for ISAVET trainees and when I read the course outline, I saw in this veterinary epidemiology training programme an answer to the challenges that have followed me like a shadow throughout my career life. I presented a tight case in my application and I was confident that the reviewers would consider my application positively.” Dr. Murangiri joined the 2021 ISAVET cohort. “As expected, training was enlightening, we were taken through theoretical and practical trainings and after successful completion of the course, I felt empowered as a frontline veterinary soldier in the diseases prevention and control arena. The rabies survey we carried out together with Dr. Augusta was inspired by the ISAVET program. I also learned the art of disease reporting and recording through various online platforms significantly improving the response time.”

For Additional Information or to Request Interviews, please contact:

Dr. Joseph Othieno Communications Officer,

FAO Kenya Mobile: +254 721 448 462

e-mail: [email protected]

  Armed with her farm tools of trade on site Felistus Mutuku, tends to her farm in Ndumbuli village of Mwala Sub-County, Machakos County. She is planting maize seeds as an intercrop with cowpeas after the onset of rains for the season.

The farm occupies four acres of land, from which one acre was supported by KCEP-CRAL. It looks well prepared with deep rip-lines and great spacing between the lines to allow for moisture conservation. The cowpeas crop looks healthy, deep green and well-spaced out for a maize intercrop, forming an admirable canopy. Neighbours who are also farmers come to the farm to get a few tips, she says. “This farm is my office. It’s my main source of income, I wake up early to come and work here, while also taking care of my cows,” says Felistus as she wipes out beads of sweat from her face.

This season, she is expecting to reap more bags of maize, compared to the previous seasons when she would harvest only a few sacks. She attributes the increasing yield to conservation Agriculture and Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) after a series of trainings facilitated by the KCEP-CRAL; an expansion to the ASALs of the Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme (KCEP) which became effective in April 2014 through a partnership between the Government of Kenya, the European Union, and IFAD and partly Implemented by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The Programme follows a value chain approach to support ASAL smallholder farmer graduation to market-oriented/commercial farming, addressing key constraints in production, post-harvest management, processing, and marketing in target commodity value chains.

Through the project Felistus says her farm yields have greatly improved. ‘Initially, I used to harvest like 20 bags of maize from my 4 acres land but after the successful implantation of Conservation Agriculture (CA) and GAPs, I harvested 56 bags of maize in 2019 and 30 bags of maize in 2021” she says. The reduction in yields last year she says was due to poor climatic conditions which affected many farmers. Regardless, she still managed to harvest something unlike other farmers who did not harvest anything. From her improved yields, the 49-year-old mother of three children made Kes.100,000/= in profits, which she used to expand her retail shop business that she runs alongside farming.

Felistus, who is a graduate of the KCEP-CRAL program, also uses her farm as a demo. She demonstrates to other farmers, the lessons she picked from the CA training to improve yields. She has intercropped early maturing and high-yielding maize varieties with cowpeas which she says she plants together because they act as nitrogen fixers for the maize.

From 2019 when the project gave her fertilisers, fungicides, high-yielding seedlings, in addition to facilitating several trainings on CA, Felistus is continuing to experience higher yields, higher income and more food for her family “My crops are flourishing and my harvest is more, unlike before when some would wither midway, causing me to get poor yields. I’m now able to comfortably feed my family and pay my children’s school fees,” she enthuses.

Felistus’s joy is that she has not kept the knowledge learnt to herself but demonstrates to other farmers how best to grow maize by applying GAPs and CA principles, and the farmers are responding positively by replicating the same on their farms. She also prides in her additional 15 bags of post-harvest hermetic bags that she has acquired so far to top up on the ten bags she received from the project. “These bags have really helped me in the storage of my harvest, no moisture or insects penetrates them thus preserving my harvest for longer periods,” she concludes.

Support by FAO to farmers

The support from the KCEP-CRAL, which has involved supply of improved seeds and agro-chemicals, and training workshops on good agricultural practices, combines two of the project’s key initiatives: graduation of smallholder farmers to commercially-oriented through debit card system where farmers contribute towards production costs for one acre of cereals and pulses;10% in year 1, 40% year 2, and 60% in year 3 and graduate into commercial farming onwards, climate-resilient agricultural practices through improvements in productivity, post-production management practices and market linkages for targeted value chains; and empowerment of county governments and communities to sustainably and consensually manage their natural resources and to build their resilience to climate change.

The KCEP-CRAL has supported food-insecure smallholder farmers such as Felistus to graduate from recurring food insecurity and climate vulnerability to a level of food security and to further market oriented commercial farming.

About Conservation Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a farming system that prevents losses of arable land while regenerating degraded lands. It promotes maintenance of a permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance, and diversification of plant species. It also enhances biodiversity and natural biological processes above and below the ground surface, which contribute to increased water and nutrient use efficiency and to improved and sustained crop production.

CA principles involve soil interventions such as mechanical soil disturbance reduced to an absolute minimum or avoided, and external inputs such as agrochemicals and plant nutrients of mineral or organic origin applied optimally and in ways and quantities that do not interfere with, or disrupt, the biological processes.

About KCEP-CRAL Project

The KCEP-CRAL is an expansion to the ASALs of the Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme (KCEP) which became effective in April 2014 through a partnership between the Government of Kenya, the European Union, and IFAD. The Programme follows a value chain approach to support ASAL smallholder farmer graduation to market-oriented/commercial farming, addressing key constraints in production, post-harvest management, processing, and marketing in target commodity value chains.

For further requests contact 

Pauline Akolo

Communication Specialist 

+254 790219954

email: [email protected] 

At exactly 0600hrs, the sun begins to peak from the east, its yellow rays reflected over the 30,000 cubic meters water pan. Riziki Sinzobakwira walks with a determined gait, holding two watering cans. She has several plots of land to water before it gets uncomfortably hot.

Riziki, born of Burundian and Congolese parents, fled from war-torn Congo and settled in Kalobeyei, Turkana in 2016. In 2017, she became one of the 150 refugee community who started farming in small plots of land near the water pan. This was a trial project executed in partnership with World Food Programme (WFP), with funds from the European Union. WFP engineers designed the water pan, which receives water from Esikiriayit - a seasonal stream.

An additional 150 host community members were trained alongside the refugees, and each one given four plots of 200x100 to farm different types of crops that they could eat to supplement the traditional foods of milk and eggs as well as the food rations given respectively. 

Initially, the 300 members planted onions, tomatoes, cowpeas and pumpkin. Traditionally, Turkana community are not farmers. But when we trained them, and with everyday interaction with the refugee community from different countries, more crops were introduced. Now they also grow okra, sorghum, collard greens, sweet potatoes, water melon, amaranth, egg plant, spinach, as well as capsicum.

Riziki has become a proficient farmer, making Ksh 3,500 per week from selling her vegetable surplus. Three quarter of the total 300 plot owners are women, and Riziki has become the go to ‘farmhand’ when one has just had a baby.

“Before I was uprooted from my country by the unfortunate turn of events in my country, I was a farmer. Now I feel very comfortable here. My five children and husband have access to good organic food and I make decent money to live by. I like it here,” said Riziki.

Everyday, the gates to the water pan and the vegetable plots is opened at 0600-1000hrs, and 1600-1800hrs. The community have learned how to manage themselves, and handle emerging disputes amicably.

This joint farming initiative has also fostered understanding and peaceful co-existence between the refugee and host community. The vegetables grown are fully organic and they use organic pesticides like neem leaves, ash, as well as intercropping to keep pests at bay.

Before this trial, it was believed that Turkana could not produce any food due to inadequate rainfall. The success has triggered action towards activating the second phase; to set up green houses. This will not only ensure access to food security and nutrition for the host and refugee community, it will also guarantee a source of income for them and subsequently improve their livelihoods.

It’s 1545hrs at Pokotom Primary School, Turkana. The pupils are sitting in the assembly, and as soon as it ends, the members of the Junior Farmer Field and Livestock Schools (JFFLS) run to the school garden. The cowpeas, amaranth, pumpkin and collard greens are looking very healthy despite the intense sun.

The pupils get busy weeding. On this particular occasion, there’s no need to water the crops because Turkana has just received two days of substantial rainfall. To keep the produce from being dried out by the scorching sun, a section of the crops are grown under shade nets, while the other under the shade of the neem trees.

This is part of the training that the Junior Farmer Field School received from FAO, in partnership with The Reuben Center, and funding from the European Union. Under the patronage of Madam Sarah Terigim, JFFLS’s goal is to make agriculture attractive to young people, promote better nutrition as well as to change the attitude that it is impossible to grow food in Turkana. This was an uphill task, considering that the Turkana people are traditionally pastoralists.

“After a one week training by FAO, I sensitized the teachers and parents on the importance to start a Junior Farmer Field and Livestock School club. I then registered 66 students from class four, five and six,” said Madam Sarah.

Turkana is hot and dry, and access to water for irrigation is a huge challenge. To navigate this problem, Pokotom Primary uses run-off water from the central hand-washing area, which is piped and directed to the school garden.

Since inception in 2018, the school garden has not only imparted on the pupils Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) such as mulching, irrigation, crop rotation and crop diversification, it has also succeeded in creating a new mindset on how important if not profitable farming is.  

“I started in class four, and this club has taught me so much about farming. Before joining JFFLS, I used to think that farming is a lost venture. But after seeing how much vegetable we have been able to grow, how much money we have been able to make from the sale of vegetables, I am now convinced that farming is good,” said Godfrey Lekiru, the prefect of the JFFLS club.

Each member has a plot of land in the school garden where they grow assorted vegetables. Since they started, they have cowpeas, spinach, amaranth, okra, mrenda, moringa, tomatoes, onions and pumpkins.

Part of this training included chicken rearing. FAO introduced improved local breed, and taught JFFS members how best to care for them. From the initial 140 chics, which were a mixture of hens and cocks. 30 of them were issued to the JFFLS members for the improvement of their chicken breed at home.  

The eggs laid were shared among the members who took them home either for consumption or for to add onto their brooder to increase their home chicken flock. Because chicken rearing is a lot of work that starts at as early as 0600hrs, the school hired two farm hands to help the students with this work and allow them to fully participate in their academics.

The community around the school has since gotten wind of the organic produce being grown in the school, and regularly come to purchase. From the last vegetable harvest, each member made Ksh 2000 each from the sale of vegetables. Part of this income that is used to buy seeds for the next planting season.

“We used part of the proceeds from this school garden to help the needy pupils in the boarding section who may be short on school amenities like stationary, school uniform, as well as personal effects. Even I got to repair my uniform,” added the JFFLS club prefect.

However, the JFFLS are grappling with pests on their farm, with caterpillars eating their collard greens as the biggest challenge.

“Everything we grow here is organic, and we use natural methods to keep pests away like using neem leaves and planting marigold. But every so often our Sukuma wiki (Swahili for collard greens) are attacked by caterpillars, and we are yet to find an efficient organic way to deal with these pests,” adds Madam Sarah.

From the success of Pokotom Primary School garden, the teachers have also started a kitchen garden in their staff quarters – complete with a solar dryer for when there’s a vegetable surplus.

This ripple effect can also be felt in the homes of the JFFLS members, and the community at large, who are now beginning to embrace kitchen gardens and chicken rearing around their homesteads. 

Janet Chuma, Austin Vita Mzee and Peter Kahui have two things in common. They are all farmers who were introduced to the concept of Conservation Agriculture (CA) that was funded by the European Union and taught by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). They quickly moved in to fill the gap of tools needed for this type of farming, which are not readily available in Kenya.

Janet Chuma, her name Chuma coincidentally similar to the Swahili word chuma to mean metal, saw the need to fabricate the tools that she would need to continue training the three groups she was teaching.

In 2016 she made her maiden trip to Nairobi to source for materials, and in partnership with a metal workshop in Kambuu, Makueni County, she got busy trying to figure out how to put together a planter and a shallow weeder, with no prior experience or knowledge in metalwork.

‘When I started, I borrowed the first ox-driven ripper that was used by FAO to teach us, which had been left with the Makueni County extension officer for our collective use. After buying the raw materials from Nairobi, the blacksmith and I went to work, trying to figure out the appropriate measurements and how to join it all together. To date, I still use the original ripper I made in my farm,’ said Janet when the FAO team visited her farm.

Last year, Janet sold 8 pieces of the ox-driven ripper to farmers. Having made 3 planters in 2016 and 2017, she was confident enough that the tools she made are working, and opened herself up for business. She sells each ox-driven ripper at Ksh4,500, which is cheaper than store bought ones (Ksh 6,500), allowing her a profit margin of between Ksh 800-1000 per planter.

Janet is a constant learner. On 4 June 2019 when the FAO team visited her at the workshop, we found her learning how to solder metal pieces together, while working on the 5 orders she had received in a span of 7 days. In addition to the planter, Janet has also made two shallow weeders, which she uses in her 4 acre farm that is fully cultivated under the concept of Conservation Agriculture.

On her farm she grows mangoes, okra, water melon, eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin (different types), black beans (Njahe), sunflower and sorghum, pigeon  peas, as well as feed  for cattle. In addition to this, Janet sells hematic bags to farmers. In 2017 she sold 50 pieces. Last year she sold 1600 pieces making a total profit of Ksh 112,000.

Peter Kahui on the other hand, saw the possibility of mechanizing the Conservation Agriculture tools when he adopted the method of farming in his shamba. Having farmed in Laikipia County for many years before, he already owned an ox-driven harrow.

So when he was first introduced to Conservation Agriculture farming concept in 2005, it was not until 2015 that he fully adopted this method and saw the need to modify the ox-driven planter that FAO had brought in for demonstration to fit into a hand tractor.

‘An ox-driven planter is very expensive to maintain. First, you have to use two bulls. Secondly, one has to feed them, and allow them to rest, making it time consuming and expensive to plant per acre. After the planting season is over, the cows still have to be fed and treated for diseases while waiting for the next season. A tractor is way cheaper to maintain,’ said Peter.

In addition to being a farmer who has adopted CA on his 10 acre farm, Peter says that to use an ox-driven ripper and planter, which he modified to be two in one, will need two animals and will take two days per acre.

However, with the hand tractor, Peter now plants an acre in two hours and is able to do up to 6 acres per day at Ksh 1500 per acre. The seed and fertilizer is provided for by the farmer.

During the just concluded March-April-May rains of 2019, this service provider covered 70 acres, giving him an income of 105,000/- . This is not even half the demand. Peter is well on his way to break even on his hand tractor investment of Ksh 200,000, which he says he is confident he will meet by the end of the October-November-December rainy season.

Meanwhile, Austin Vita Mzee from Taita Taveta County, who is relatively new to the farming concept of CA, was quick to see the gap and realized he is able to fill it.

‘We were first taught about CA last year November, and there are not enough tools to go around. I watched the teaching videos, and looked at the tools drawn on the manuals, and thought that perhaps they were simple enough to make, ‘said Austin.

Austin went in search of old vehicle springs and old jembes, and made a ripper, which he tried on his farm to first verify how it works as well as the tools that they had used during demonstration.

He has since sold rippers to 20 farmers, which he sells at Ksh 350, a piece. The old vehicle springs are sold to him at Ksh 200, and from one he can make two to three rippers.

Just like Janet and Peter, Austin has his 2 acre farm under CA, and their motivation is ensure that the farmers fully adopt this methodology and increase their farm’s output per acre, which will ultimately increase their income and ultimately quality of life.