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Saturday 31 October 2015

To save forests, Kenyan tea factory brews new way to dry tea

By Anthony Langat
THIKA, Kenya, August 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The first thing that strikes you as you enter the Makomboki Tea Factory is the air. It's clear, absent of the dark smoke that billows from the boilers of Kenya's other tea factories.
Of the 66 tea factories under the management of the Kenya Tea Development Authority, Makomboki is the only one that doesn't use firewood in the processing of its tea.
Instead, the factory has switched to a greener, cheaper fuel: briquettes made of biomass byproducts that would otherwise be treated as waste.
Deep in central Kenya's hilly and fertile tea-growing Muranga county, Makomboki employees feed the factory's boilers with briquettes of macadamia, cashew and rice husks mixed with sawdust.
"We have not used a single cubic meter of firewood in the last six months and we are excited about that," said factory manager John Gitau.
In 2010, the International Trade Centre started a training project aimed at teaching Kenya's tea producers climate change mitigation techniques.
Factory worker delivers factory waste. TRF/Anthony Langat
Inspired by what they learned, Makomboki's board of directors decided to shift their fuel source from firewood to briquettes. Since then, the factory has scaled up its use of alternative fuels and weaned itself of its dependence on firewood.
Makomboki makes its briquettes thanks to a project designed by Living Earth Foundation, a UK-based charity working to tackle the energy challenge facing Kenyan tea producers. Funding for the Makomboki briquette production plant was provided by the European Commission and British retailer Marks & Spencer, which buys tea from the factory.
The husks for the briquettes come from other factories within Muranga and Kiambu counties and the sawdust from mills near Makomboki.
"Saw millers actually have a problem finding ways to dispose of their sawdust," said Gitau. "We are helping them get rid of their waste."
According to Gitau, in the six months that it takes the factory to produce around 2.5 million kilograms (5.5 million pounds) of tea, their boilers used to consume up to 10,000 cubic meters of wood - the equivalent of 30,000 trees.
By swapping firewood for sawdust and briquettes, he said, Makomboki alone will have saved 60,000 trees in the course of a year.
"If the same practice is replicated by all the factories in Kenya, we will have saved a lot of trees and contributed to a better environment," said Gitau.

Friday 30 October 2015

Sand dams quench the thirst of water-short Kenyans

By Sophie Mbugua, BRACED
LEMISHAMI, Kenya - On a busy market day in Lemishami village, Letilia Lekula herds his goats to a dry, sandy riverbed with a stonewall built across it. The animals wait patiently as he pulls a wooden trough from a nearby thicket and then starts digging in the sand.
After about five minutes, Lekula hears a splash. The sound is now so familiar to his goats that they circle around him as he scoops water from the hole in the sand into a trough for them to drink.
For the pastoralists of Lemishami in Ol Donyiro ward, which lies 115 kilometres (71 miles) from the town of Isiolo in Kenya's arid eastern region, the sand dam is a lifesaver.
Built across the Raap River, the simple wall catches water and silt that flows down from a nearby mountain range. As sand accumulates at the wall, it traps water and holds it through much of the dry season.
Months after natural ponds and rivers have dried up, the sand dam remains a reliable source of water.

Letilia Lekula waters his goats at the Lemeshami sand dam. TRF/Sophie Mbugua
Only a few years ago, villagers could rely on the year-round flow of the Ewaso Ng'iro River. Now, however, with upriver communities using more water for farming, the river has all but disappeared between March and August. The area's rainfall is too sporadic to keep the river topped up.
"It's been dry for the better part of the year," Lekula said. "The rain is unpredictable. Nowadays it's both very heavy and only lasts a few days."
Lekula's village got the sand dam as part of the Isiolo County Adaptation Fund (ICAF), a project funded by the U.K. Department for International Development through the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development.
Set up in 2012, the fund worked with communities in Ol Donyiro, which is classified as a water-stressed region, to understand the challenges they face.
After Isiolo communities proposed sand dams as a solution to their water shortage problems, the fund constructed and rehabilitated a dozen sand dams across the parched county at a cost of 5.1 million Kenyan shillings ($50,000).
The sand dam in Lemishami is so effective that the pastoralists no longer feel the need to move their households, or manyattas, every year in search of water. Children can stay in school and women don't have to walk 30 kilometres to find water for their families, residents say.
While the sand dam doesn't provide enough water for all of the community's cows, which have been moved to more remote grazing fields, the villagers can keep a few goats at home for milk and meat.

Thursday 29 October 2015

Tree tomato farmers pride value addition field day

By Simon Munyeki
Tree tomato production is one of the profitable venture farmers in arid and low potential regions can greatly benefit from. This is because tree tomato does well in this kind of regions and less prone to diseases as well as pest infestation and attains quick maturity within six months.
A single tree tomato can yield as much as 20 kg of fruits in a single season if well maintained; a tree tomato farmer can harvest as much as 20 metric tonnes per acre making more returns as compared to a maize farmer working on the same size of land in a year.
Mr. Moses Lokwawi from MOALF training farmers on crop agronomics
In order to promote the value chain, the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) through Ng’arua Maarifa Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, and Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society held a farmer field day on tree tomato at Peter Wamugi’s farm at Kahuruko area in Ol-Moran Ward, Laikipia West Sub County on October 22, 2015.
Farmers who attended the field day learned different means on how to maximize their profit margins through value addition. 

Farmers learned how to prepare chemical free tree tomato juice , tree tomato jam as well as tree tomato vegetables  which will be highly welcomed in the market  to replace the current inorganic products with organic which would be healthy  for  the consumers.
The field day attracted exhibitors from different fields, which highly benefited members of the community who turned up in high numbers.
 According to Mr. Kariuki Muigai, such field days need to occur frequently, as information from different fields is available during such events. This enables community members to easily share information and learn from each other.
He said training on proper use and safe handling of farm chemicals was a vital lesson as he managed to learn how to take care of his tree tomato. He is particularly happy that he is now more educated on how to control fruit flies, nematodes, tree tomato worm, powdery mildew, and tree tomato mosaic virus.
“I am particularly happy that I learned about pests and diseases. This is an issue that has been troubling me for quite some time,” said Mr. Kariuki.
Farmers learning about solar cookers
On her part, Mrs. Mercy Muthoni noted that training on making organic tree tomato jam, juice, and vegetables made her day. She said that the nutritional value and the importance of the fruit would now make her to ensure it is part of her daily diet.
She managed to visit the Household Economic Empowerment Programme (HEEP), an initiative of Laikipia County Government aimed at reducing poverty level in the county. At the stand, she learned that kitchen garden is a simple method of farming that produce fresh fruit and vegetables for delicious, healthy meals.
“I will ensure that my household is food and nutrition secure by adopting kitchen garden model. I now know that having a kitchen garden will ensure that I have constant supply of vegetables throughout the year,” said Mrs. Muthoni.
Laikipia produce and marketing cooperative society used the opportunity provided by the field day to train farmers on use of hermetic bags. The Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) attracted the attention of many farmers who thronged their exhibition stand to learn about the storage bags.
Mr. Julius Kariuki noted that use of hermetic bags is a great step in promoting healthy storage practices to the farmers who are cautious on their health. He said that he learned that the bag is a viable management tool for preventing aflatoxin accumulation in storage.
“I learned that the hermetic bag minimizes post-harvest losses, they are insecticide free, and the quality of stored grains does not decline,” said Mr. Kariuki.
He said that once his grains have dried to the required moisture content he will procure some of the bags from the cooperative store.

Mrs. Elcy Kigano,MOALF giving tree tomato jam sample to participants
Similarly, Mr. Daniel Maina praised the organizers of the field day. He noted that he got an opportunity to learn advancements in the solar technology. 

He learned about solar cookers and solar lamps, which he said would benefit many people and help on reduction of environmental pollution. He urged communities to embrace solar cookers instead of using wood as fuel.
“I have learned that solar cookers are the simplest, safest, and most convenient way of cooking without consuming fuel or polluting the environment. We need to embrace solar technology as one of the initiatives of attaining zero environmental pollution,” said Mr. Maina.
He requested for ALIN and other agriculture stakeholders to organize more field days and workshops for farmers in order to empower them with technology and knowledge that can ensure they practice agribusiness.
ALIN and partners are keen in addressing constraints in tree tomato value chain during production, marketing, processing, and consumption. The organizations organized the field day to allow farmers to bring their unique skills and perspectives together to address various challenges that they face.

Wednesday 28 October 2015

African University Day: Internationalisation of higher education

By Bob Aston
The Association of African Universities (AAU) in collaboration with other stakeholders will celebrate the 2015 African University Day at the Ashesi University, Berekuso, in the Eastern Region of Ghana on November 12, 2015. The theme of African University Day 2015 is “Internationalisation of Higher Education.”
This year’s theme, amplifies the discussions at the recent Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors, and Presidents of African Higher Education Institutions (COREVIP) held in Kigali, Rwanda, in June this year. Internationalisation is now an integral part of higher education in all parts of the world and in many instances; it is a major driving force for change in universities.
Kenyatta University in Kenya

AAU will bring together all universities, including private universities, other tertiary education institutions, non-higher education institutions, and other higher education stakeholders to discuss the theme through a public lecture at Ashesi University.
Past celebrations have been in the form of exhibitions, seminars, workshops, or panel discussions involving policy-makers and major stakeholders. During the celebrations, institutions are encouraged to adopt innovative strategies to improve educational outcomes on the continent.
The objectives of African University Day include creating awareness on the importance of higher education in Africa, Promoting dialogue on how to improve higher education in Africa and celebrating the success stories of higher education in Africa.
This year’s celebration aims at creating the platform for intellectual discussions and debates on the key issues African universities should focus on, as they internationalise to ensure that institutions and students derive the full benefits of such collaborations.
African University Day celebrations usually encourage Higher Education Institutions to run programs that are relevant to their county’ needs. Institutions are also encouraged to provide the necessary skills to their students to facilitate their eventual employment.
AAU is the apex organization and forum for consultation, exchange of information and co-operation among institutions of Higher Education in Africa.
University of Nairobi in Kenya
It represents the voice of higher education in Africa on Regional and International bodies and supports networking by institutions of higher education in teaching, research, information exchange, and dissemination.
In a world that is, inevitably globalized, working and collaborating with institutions in all parts of the world, on clear agreed terms, can only be enriching for universities and students in Africa.
With an objective of presenting a unique platform to promote critical dialogue among stakeholders on how to improve higher education in Africa, higher education institutions since 2006 have celebrated the Day. It is also set aside to celebrate success stories of higher education across the continent.
Media coverage and social media reporting will communicate broadly about the African University Day celebrations. Follow the event live at #AUDAY2015.

Saturday 24 October 2015

Weather stations for Africa could help achieve new global goals

By Nick van Giesen, Delft University of Technology, BRACED
World leaders agreed on Friday the U.N. global goals that will provide the blueprint for the world’s development up until 2030. These ambitions rightly include ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water for all, and achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture.
The new global development blueprint is one that is supported by Delft University of Technology and Oregon State University, and the ambitious project they are leading called the Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO), which seeks to install 20,000 automatic weather stations across sub-Sahelian Africa.
Recognising that global food production needs to be increased by some 30 percent to 80 percent to meet the demands of rising populations, and the problems of the continent's erratic weather, the scheme is pioneering a cost-effective network of hydro-meteorological measuring stations to provide better maps of water and weather in Africa.
This scheme is genuinely ‘game-changing’ because the current African meteorological observation network is very limited. As a result, national governments and regional planners do not have the data to make proper decisions regarding investments in water resources infrastructure to boost food production.
Patrick Kasamu from Chikuni in the South of Zambia. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
TAHMO has already started installing hundreds of stations in Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria.
The stations are entirely self-powered by a match-box sized solar panel, use GSM cell-phone to call in 5-minute readings each hour, reporting rainfall, solar radiation, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, GPS location, lightning location and intensity, soil moisture, and depth to groundwater.
The stations have no moving parts: wind is measure via ultrasonic time-of-flight, and rainfall by counting drips emerging from the gauge.
The potential of the scheme is highlighted by the fact that TAHMO was selected from nearly 500 applications as one of eight winning teams in the Global Resilience Challenge organised by the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

Climate negotiators gear up for war of words at Bonn talks

By Megan Rowling, BRACED
"It does not inspire," Prakash Javadekar, India's minister for environment, forests and climate change, said cuttingly of the chopped-down version of the draft text for a new U.N. deal to tackle climate change, released last week.
"We should certainly have a different text for the Paris (climate conference) to become (a) success," he told the Times of India in a recent interview.
Negotiators from India and the other 190 or so nations involved in cooking up a global agreement due in December will be submitting their suggestions to improve that text fast and furiously in Bonn from Oct. 19-23, at the final round of official negotiations before the Paris summit starts on Nov. 30.
As climate talks experts point out, the new text will annoy everyone in some way. Yet in spite its brevity, it still includes the major components countries had wanted to see, with the exception perhaps of forest protection and carbon markets.
"It's a solid foundation to work from," said Liz Gallagher, leader of the climate diplomacy programme at London-based consultancy E3G. "It's quite likely that all countries will both love it and hate it, in equal measure."
Environmental activists stage a tug-of-war. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Javadekar did not specify what India didn't like about the current draft, which was distilled by the co-chairs of the talks from around 85 pages down to 20 - or put on the "Atkins Diet", as Gallagher quipped.
But India has been vocal in the past about the need for adequate financial and technical support for developing countries to cope with climate change and move to lower-carbon economies. 
And New Delhi often reminds the international community that richer countries must cut down on their consumption and not expect poorer nations to put emissions cuts before economic development.
What is missing?
The chair of the least developed countries group at the climate talks tweeted his disappointment that a proposal by 134 developing countries on tackling loss and damage from climate change - the negative impacts of extreme weather and rising seas that are already happening - had been "ignored" in the new text.
The proposal called for an international mechanism on loss and damage to be included in the legally binding part of the Paris outcome and for the creation of "a climate change displacement coordination facility", to help those forced to leave their homes by climate impacts, among other things.
Others were relieved to see loss and damage get a section of its own in the proposed draft agreement, but concerned that all the detail had been removed. The text notes that progress is being made on the controversial concept, but more discussion is needed on "content and placement".  
That and other discussions will kick off on Monday, with experts expecting countries to react to the new text at the beginning of the session and then get down to work on it line by line.

Friday 23 October 2015

Tree tomato field day: Knowledge sharing at its best

By Simon Munyeki

The Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) through Ng’arua Maarifa Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MOALF), and Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society held a farmer field day on tree tomato at Peter Wamugi’s farm at Kahuruko area in Ol-Moran Ward on October 22, 2015.
Exhibitors included Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Household Economic Empowerment Programme (HEEP), Tree Is Life Trust (TILT), Syngenta Kenya, ALIN, Laikipia Produce and Marketing Cooperative Society and individual farmers.
Community members visiting various exhibition stands
The field day enabled farmers to learn good agronomics practices, value addition, production practices, agribusiness, soil management, marketing, integrated pests and disease management, value addition, Farm Records Management Information System (FARMIS), SOKO+ sms platform and harvesting and post-harvest management.
Mr. Bob Aston, ALIN ICT Trainer, and Community Facilitator said that the organization is keen in implementing strategic measures of competitiveness along the tree tomato value chain in order to empower farmers. He said that the tree tomato field day complements the earlier tree tomato workshop organized by the organization.
“ALIN is keen in addressing constraints during production, marketing, processing, and consumption. Strengthening the value chain and laying more emphasis on value addition will not only increase the shelf life of tree tomato but farmers will also be able to get better returns,” said Mr. Aston.
Mr. James Kamau, Ol-Moran Ward Agriculture officer noted that the field day provided farmers with an opportunity to enhance their production skills and learn from each other best agricultural practices.
He urged farmers to diversify in order to improve their income. He stressed on the importance of crop rotation in maintaining soil fertility, soil organic matter levels, soil structure and controlling pests and diseases.
He said that soil analysis helps in assessing soil fertility and plant nutrients. He noted that soil analysis ensures application of enough fertilizer to meet the requirements of the crop while taking advantage of the nutrients already present in the soil.
“The goal of soil testing is to provide an accurate assessment of the soil’s fertility status that can be used to make fertilizer recommendations,” said Mr. Kamau.
Mrs kigano addressing partisipants
He said that achieving and maintaining appropriate levels of soil fertility, especially plant nutrient availability, is of paramount importance if agricultural land is to remain capable of sustaining crop production at an acceptable level.
Mrs. Elcy Kigano, Ol-Moran Ward Agribusiness officer, noted that value addition of smallholder farmer’s tree tomatoes is essential in increasing their productivity, quality, and earnings. She showed farmers how to make tree tomato jam, juice, and vegetables.
She noted the increased production of tree tomato in the ward and said that farmers are able to realize better returns when they put into practice the knowledge gained during the field day. She said such avenues are vital in embracing and practicing agribusiness.
Some of the exhibited products included tree tomato juice, tree tomato jam, tree tomato vegetables, solar lamps, solar cookers, moisture meter, hermetic bags, certified hybrid seeds, fruits, and various tree tomato chemicals.
Farmer knowledge sharing is essential to the successful adoption of good agricultural practices. Opportunities provided by field days and other forums play an important role in allowing farmers to bring their unique skills and perspectives together to address various challenges that they face.

Wednesday 21 October 2015

Agrifood Forum: Innovative solutions for Caribbean-Pacific region

By Bob Aston
An opportunity worth attending takes place in Bridgetown, Barbados from November 2-6, 2015. Some 250 leaders, decision-makers, and agrifood actors will be gathering for the first Caribbean-Pacific Agri-Food Forum. A key event for both regions, the action packed week will be devoted to exploring how an agribusiness approach can drive rural development in small island states.
Agriculture is at a crossroads in the Caribbean region. The end of preferential conditions for exports of traditional commodities to the European Union has affected an estimated 500,000 small-scale farmers. The Pacific region shares many of the same challenges, including high food import bills, diseases linked to diet and vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change.
 
Declining service provision plus challenges related to natural resource degradation, climate change, limited financing, heavy food import dependency, and rising nutrition-related diseases, all compound to a heavy negative impact in agriculture’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and partners are organizing a series of work sessions to allow Caribbean and Pacific agrifood players to exchange experiences and learn from each other in addressing these challenges.
The five-day event, with a strong focus on action-oriented approaches and people-centered solutions, will bring together a range of actors from the agrifood system to engage in collective action that can help to spur innovative agricultural and rural development – not just in the Caribbean, but also in Pacific small island development states (SIDS).
The forum will consist of 12 workshops and meetings to run in parallel sessions during the first three days. The workshops and meetings will cover areas that include building a successful agribusiness company, youth entrepreneurship and social media, inclusive value chain development, ICTs for fisheries, policy advocacy for Caribbean and Pacific farmers' leaders, access to finance, strengthening the link between agriculture and nutrition and successful initiatives to counter climate change.
The last two days, the 2nd Agribusiness forum on strengthening the agrifood sector and expanding markets will take place in plenary. Learning journeys, business networking and side events on specific topics, will also take place before, during and after the sessions.
The Agribusiness Forum will highlight main drivers of agribusiness development and looking at business successes in a range of areas affecting the local agrifood. Private sector players, policy-makers, financial institutions, chefs, decision-makers, and agri-business actors will mark the way forward. Participants will be able to learn from successes, and explore new market opportunities with a special focus on tourism-related markets.
A rich array of side events planned throughout the week will showcase innovations in ICTs for value chains, offer training in social media and Web 2.0 tools and examine information, knowledge, and knowledge management resources to support youth entrepreneurship and agribusiness start-up.
Immediately after the Agribusiness Forum, A three-day learning journey of Pacific and Caribbean experts will take place in Trinidad and Tobago with a focus on food processing, branding, and standards. Key institutions and experts with experience with significant capacity and experience in agro-enterprise development from various centres of excellence will host the various visits.
Knowledge exchange will be a central feature of all activities planned during and after the Caribbean-Pacific Agri-Food Forum. Media coverage and social media reporting will communicate broadly about the events. Follow the event live at  #CPAF15 and #Intra_APP.

Monday 19 October 2015

World Food Day celebrations reiterate importance of social protection

By Bob Aston
Laikipia County led by Governor, Hon Joshua Irungu joined the rest of the world in marking World Food Day at Mr. Philip Kariuki’s farm at Ol-Jabet, Marmanet Ward on October 16, 2015. The theme for this year’s event was “Social protection and Agriculture: Breaking the cycle of rural poverty.”
The day is marked worldwide to heighten public awareness of world food security and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. On this, day countries take stock and celebrate the strides made towards eradication of these scourges as well as strengthen the resolve to address them.
Governor Irungu in sky blue coat at one of the exhibition stands

This year’s theme highlights the importance of social protection in tackling vulnerabilities faced by rural households and its role in improving food and nutrition security as well as educing rural poverty.

Among the exhibitors included Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries, Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP), Syngenta Kenya, Tree Is Life Trust (TILT), Cimbria East Africa Ltd, Department of Fisheries Development, Nyandarua Institute of Science and Technology, Elgon Kenya Ltd, Bayer CropScience, Pionner Hi-Bred Kenya Ltd and Laikipia Produce and Marketing Cooperative Society.
Speaking during the celebrations, Hon Irungu said that Investing in agriculture remains the most effective way to lift people out of poverty in rural areas.
“Today we are sharing our successes, challenges and our plans going forward. 2015 World Food Day relies on strength of social protection on agriculture,” said Hon. Irungu.
He noted that access to adequate, safe, and nutritious food is a universal and fundamental human right thus created and reinforced in a number of binding international protocol such as the 1996 World Food Summit Plan of Action, and the Millennium Development Goal.
Students learning about maize production
In 2014-2015 and the current financial year the agriculture sector implemented projects in Laikipia County are worth 40 million. 
Through the projects, the County Government intends to cushion farmers against extreme circumstances and unfavorable environment situation.in
He noted that although the assistance was mainly in kind, the main intention is to give farmers support in their effort to build social protection. 
Some of the support included distribution of drought tolerant crops like beans, dolichos, and chickpeas totaling 1.5 tonnes.
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared 16th October of every year as World Food Day (WFD) to honor the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1945.
He urged farmers to diversify and plant drought tolerant crops and adopt conservation agriculture. The County has also provided high value fruit trees like mangoes, avocadoes, oranges, and macadamia.
He said that the County Government has promoted 30 conservation agriculture groups in Laikipia County by supporting them with 5kgs of seeds, 135 bags of fertilizer, 180 litres of herbicides and sprayers.
The County Government has also subsidized fertilizer. Farmers have been able to benefit through disbursement of more than 23,000 bags of fertilizer.
Governor Irungu at the Pionner Hi-Bred Kenya Ltd exhibition stand
Mr. Martin Mwangi, Chief Officer, Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries Development noted that the ministry has embraced demand driven service and they are eager to listen to farmers. 
He said that they have embarked on a four-year plan targeting 10,000 households to ensure improved food security in the county.
“We are now promoting dry land crops because of climate change. We are targeting youth farmers as they are the future leaders and we have formed Laikipia Youth Agriculture Farmer Platform to champion the interest of youth farmers,” said Mr. Mwangi.
Social protection is a blend of policies, programmes, and interventions that aim at protecting poor and food-insecure people by lifting them out of poverty and hunger.
Through a variety of programmes that provide financial or in-kind support to poor and vulnerable people, social protection enhances their income, capacities, and rights. They can be social assistance, social insurance, or labour market programmes.