Farmer strives to increase agricultural productivity

By Bob Aston

Agriculture continues to be the backbone of Kenya’s economy as more farmers embrace agribusiness. In Wangwachi area of Ol-Moran ward, Laikipia County, a seventy two (72) year old farmer still has big plans for his farm.

George Wachira Njoori started farming in 1988 when he bought a five (5) acre piece of land in Wangwachi. Since then he has been able to educate his four children through the farm proceeds.

He has planted fruits like oranges, mangoes, pineapples, tree tomatoes, custard apple, bananas, apples, pawpaw, avocado, grapes, strawberry, tangerine, lemon and loquat.

Wachira feeding his dairy goats

He has also planted other types of crops that include; cassava, tomatoes, stevia, beans, pumpkins, lemon grass and fennel herb. He has also kept dairy goats as well as being involved in apiculture.

He said that he only started enjoying the fruits of his work in 2012 after he had installed an electric fence. Since then he has been able to improve his farm by adopting good agricultural practices.

“Farmers in this area usually have to contend with destruction caused by elephants. I used to experience a lot of losses as most of my crops were being destroyed by elephants. I eventually decided to install an electric fence to protect my crops,” said Wachira.

He has been particularly keen on fruit farming and more than half of his farm is under fruit cultivation. The duration that it takes for fruits to mature does not bother him and he knows that once he starts harvesting he will be able to enjoy good returns while fruits also do not require a lot of nurturing.

He has employed two casual laborers to assist in the management of the farm. He noted that last year he managed to get Ksh 230,000 from sale of oranges alone.

“I have attended many field days and farmer exchange visits in many parts of the Country. This has enabled me to learn a lot from my fellow farmers and I am now practicing what I usually learn during such events,” said Wachira.

Wachira admiring his orange trees

This year he said the returns from oranges will be lower than last year due to the prevailing dry condition experienced in the area although this will be compensated through tomato farming which he expects will realize a profit of more than Ksh 500,000. He is planning to invest in a drip irrigation kit once he harvests the tomato.

This he expects will enable him to reduce the time spent irrigating his produce through basin irrigation and the cost of fuel used in pumping water. He has dug two (2) water pans which have reduced dependence on rain fed agriculture.

“I want to practice Climate Smart Agriculture. I have heard about the project that Arid Lands Information Network is implementing in Matwiku area and I think adopting what the group is doing will really help me,” said Wachira.

Some of the farm produce he said are only meant for family consumption particularly strawberries, grapes, cassava, yams, apples, lemon grass and kennel herb.

He has also started doing value addition by coming up with dehydrated farm produce. Wachira has urged youths to venture into agriculture as they will not only be self employed but they will be able to make more money through agriculture than by doing white collar jobs.

FARMIS plays host to visiting USAID team

By Martin Murangiri

The Farm Records Management Information System (FARMIS) on January 14, 2015 played host to a team from United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The team was led by Irene Andanyi a communication officer with USAID. She was accompanied by Susan Nkirote and Victor Mirori both of them Meru-based field staff of the Kenya Feed the Future Innovation Engine (KFIE).

The team was particularly interested in learning how FARMIS has assisted farmers grow economically as well as enabling them access credit services from the financial institutions.  They met Sokopepe officials and a few beneficiaries who were interviewed. Two farmers, Hilda Gitobu and Joseph Munyua received the visitors on their farms.

The farmers explained that keeping records is a thing they have never done before but appreciated the efforts made by Sokopepe to help them keep records.

”Sijawahi kuwa na vitabu vya ukulima wala kuweka mahesabu ya shamba langu hapo mbeleni,lakini kwa sasa naeza jua ni mmeagani unaleta faida Zaidi ya mwingine(I have never kept farm records  before. Thanks to Sokopepe since I can now tell which crop is doing well than the other from the records),” explained Lucy Gatobu a farmer from Kainginyo.

About 2,000 farmers in five sub-counties in Meru namely: Buuri, Central Imenti, North Imenti, South Imenti and Tigania West are applying the FARMIS innovation.

The KFIE has supported various agricultural innovations funded by USAID, one of them being FARMIS, which is rolled out by a social enterprise company called Sokopepe affiliated to Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN).

Laikipia Produce and Marketing Cooperative Society recruits a manager

By Bob Aston

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society finally has a Manager. The Netherlands Development Organizations (SNVs) has supported the cooperative in the appointment of the manager for a period of six (6) months. It is expected that after this period the cooperative will be self sustaining. The manager has already been issued with a laptop and a printer to help him in performing his responsibilities.

Nahashon Waciuru Mwangi, Manager Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society believes that 2015 will be a good year for the cooperative. Nahashon who has joined the cooperative this year has a Bachelor of Business Management from Mount Kenya University and a Diploma in Human Resource Management also from Mount Kenya University.

He has urged the members to increase their share contribution in order for the cooperative to have enough funds to undertake various activities.

He is particularly eager to ensure that the cooperative succeeds as a Grain Business Hub (GBH). The cooperative was appointed to become a GBH, under the SNVs Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP). He said that he is ready to link the cooperative to HGSFP and other structured markets in order to ensure that the cooperative is profitable.

The coop manager during the interview

“Depending on the resources available i want to start implementing the GBH. This is a great opportunity that will ensure the cooperative becomes profitable,” said Nahashon.

A GBH is a business characterised by amalgamation of supportive businesses/services linked to grain business that enables an organisation to trade in grains efficiently, effectively and sustainably; and ensures grain suppliers (farmers) access goods and services through check-off system.

Nahashon plans to continue cultivating relationships with other partners like ALIN, SNV, Eastern African Grain Council (EAGC), MEA Ltd, Kilimo Biashara Profilers, Kenya Seed Company Ltd and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock. He said that the cooperative is planning to increase their membership from the current 400 to 1,000 members.

“We are planning to start membership recruitment. We have already set up a program for areas that we plan to recruit members. We expect to open branches in areas where we have a high number of members,” said Nahashon.

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing cooperative society that emerged from the work undertaken by ALIN with the support of the Ford Foundation’s Expanding Livelihoods for Poor Households Initiative (ELOPHI) serves farmers in Laikipia. It is a vehicle for bulking, marketing and trading in farm commodities and other products and services.

The International Year of Soils

By Bob Aston

Healthy soils are critical for global food production and provide a range of environmental services. In recognition of the importance of soil, the United Nations (UN) declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils. The launch of the International Year of Soils took place in December 5, 2014 during the celebration of the first official UN World Soil Day.

The International Year of Soils (IYS) aims to be a platform for raising awareness and understanding of the importance of soils for food security and essential eco-system functions. It is hoped that enough momentum can be generated to bring soils on as many agendas as possible thus promoting the sustainable management of this essentially non-renewable resource.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been nominated to implement the IYS within the framework of the Global Soil Partnership and in collaboration with Governments and the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

Some of the objectives of the IYS include; To achieve full recognition of the prominent contributions of soils to food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, essential ecosystem services, poverty alleviation and sustainable development and to promote effective policies and actions for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources.

An agriculture officer collecting a sample of soil for analysis

Other objectives include; to sensitize decision makers about the need for robust investment in sustainable soil management activities aiming at healthy soils for different land users and population groups and to advocate rapid enhancement of capacities and systems for soil information collection and monitoring at all levels.

According to FAO, healthy soils are the foundation for food, fuel, fibre and even medicine. FAO approximates that 33 percent of the global soil resources are degraded due to erosion, compaction, soil sealing, salinization, soil organic matter and nutrient depletion, acidification and pollution.

Soil is the largest pool of organic carbon, which is essential for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Despite this there appears to be an alarming gap between recognition of the importance of soils and their appreciation and protection.

In Kenya, the yields of food crops per acre are on the decline partly due to continuous farming without adequate soil nutrients replenishment. This indicates the need for better soil management practices.

Soil is the most valuable and widespread natural resource which supports agricultural based livelihoods. However, there is a general decline in land productivity due to declining soil fertility.

In February 2014, the National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Programme (NAAIAP) in collaboration with Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) released a report on soil suitability evaluation for maize production in Kenya. The report indicated that Kenya has 25 major soil groups based on soil properties which are as a result of the interaction between climate, topography, parent material, organisms and time.

NAAIAP undertook to carry out soil sampling, analysis and interpretation of 9,600 samples spread over 164 sub counties in an exercise funded through the Enhancing Agricultural Productivity Project (EAPP) financed by European Union through World Bank.

The report indicated that some of the factors affecting soil in Kenya included; Continuous mining of soil nutrients by crops without adequate replenishment, inappropriate farming practices such as lack of crop rotation and cultivation down the slope, soil compaction due to mechanization, land degradation due to erosion of fertile top soils, continuous use of acidifying fertilizers by farmers, inadequate knowledge on crop requirements and soil characteristics, inadequate use of farm inputs and blanket fertilizer recommendations.

Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) through Laikipia Rural Voices, Joto Afrika and Baobab publications will take an active role in promoting the cause of soils in 2015. This is an important year for paving the road towards a real sustainable development for all.

Community Based Organisation strives to preserve Ewaso Narok sub catchment

By Bob Aston

The Ewaso Narok sub catchment area and forest reserve of Laikipia West has experienced massive forest destruction from illegal logging, charcoal burning, fuel wood vendors and wildlife poaching within the South Marmanet and Rumuruti forests reserve.

These activities have reduced the biodiversity of the Ol Bolosat (Ma Nguu Wetlands), Thompson Falls and Ewaso Narok Sub catchment. They have also significantly reduced the ecological functions performed by these ecosystems, which has implications in the entire Ewaso Nyiro basin.

Ewaso Narok sub catchment covers a total area of 540 square kilometres from Lake Ol-Bolosat to its confluence with the Ewaso Nyiro River in the Laikipia Plateau. The catchment traverses through Laikipia and Nyandarua counties.

Part of a forest where the CBO has planted indigenous trees

In response, some community members came together in February 2010 to form Upper Ewaso Narok Water Resource Users Association (WRUA). In collaboration with the Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA), the Community Based Organization (CBO) was mandated to manage and to conserve water resources within the Ewaso Narok sub-catchment area.

Upper Ewaso Narok WRUA is now focusing on promoting sustainable management of the water resources within Ewaso Narok sub catchment. This is being done in collaboration with other stakeholders for enhanced livelihoods for the communities living within the sub catchment.

Upper Ewaso Narok WRUA realized that the reduced ecosystem goods resulting from catchment destruction had started causing communities to shift their focus from agricultural and livestock production to unsustainable livelihoods. This prompted the CBO to start promoting Sustainable Land Management (SLM) for increased crop production as well as rehabilitation of Ewaso Narok sub catchment through reforestation.

The CBO has 76 active members: 52 male and 24 females. It has been actively advocating for environmental conservation and promotion of sustainable agricultural and nature based livelihoods. Taking cognizance of the fact that many tributaries of Ewaso Nyiro River are drying up while farmers are also cultivating next to the river banks, Upper Ewaso Narok WRUA has been carrying out community trainings on environmental matters and also involving/mobilizing communities in planning and tree planting activities.

To date, Upper Ewaso Narok WRUA has planted nearly 40,000 indigenous trees. The CBO plans to plant an extra 500 indigenous trees as well as 10,000 mango, avocado and tea tree seedlings within the riparian and forest reserve. It has also supported communities to establish woodlots at the household level to increase vegetation cover at the farm level. Members work in turns and in the group to manage a 5,000 seedlings tree nursery located in Nyahururu. They are now planning to start another tree nursery at Gatundia area of Rumuruti.

In order to ease access when travelling around the catchment area, the United Nations Development Project UNDP GEF SGP supported the group to buy a motorbike in July, 2014. The group also received tree nursery equipment.

Source: Laikipia Mali Asili Newsletter

Celebrating the work of Laikipia Rural Voices

By Bob Aston
The Laikipia Rural Voices (LRV) has just surpassed 200 blog posts this year. This is an achievement that LRV is tremendously proud of. It has certainly been a productive and busy year. It is worth noting that in 2013 a total of 91 articles were posted on the blog. This indicates that this year the various Citizen Reporters who have been writing articles for LRV have not only written twice as many articles as next year but they have set a mark that will be hard to break in 2015.

LRV has also seen an increase in number of visitors in the blog. The blog has already registered more than 58,000 visitors.

ALIN representative receiving Yobloco Award

 The LRV was started by Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) in 2011. This was an initiative aimed at promoting citizen journalism by training young people in basic Journalism skills such as photojournalism, news writing, creative writing, feature writing, Interviewing, blogging and media laws and ethics.

Blogging on agriculture and particularly on successes and issues faced by youths engaged in agriculture, highlighting the role and importance of family farming as well as issues pertaining to climate change, environment conservation and NRM enabled ALIN through LRV to emerge the best in East Africa region in the Institution category of Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloco Awards).

The aim of the competition was to put into limelight successes and issues faced by youths engaged in agriculture, in urban and rural areas; and to encourage the production of information and the use of new information and communication technologies by young farmers groups and organizations interested in the youth in agriculture question.

Yobloco Award winners

“LRV brings information to the people even without really understanding the fact you get the information faster whether you are far from Laikipia or you are close. The agricultural information shared by LRV usually helps farmers to know the best type of crops to plant and as well as on agronomical practices,” said Elvis Nderitu, one of the avid LRV readers.

LRV looks forward to an even greater community involvement in its activities in 2015. LRV would love for you to join them. Jump on in, tell your story and see how it connects with someone on the other side of the world.

Please encourage your friends and colleagues to also start reading the blog. Sharing the different blog posts through the social media will go a long way in increasing LRVs audience.

This being the last blog post in 2014, LRV would like to wish all their readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May this year’s Christmas end the present year on a cheerful note and make way for a fresh and bright new year. God bless you.

Enhancing knowledge sharing through Laikipia Rural Voices

By Bob Aston

The Laikipia Rural Voices (LRV) was started by Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) in 2011. This was an initiative aimed at promoting citizen journalism by training young people in basic Journalism skills such as photojournalism, news writing, creative writing, feature writing, Interviewing, blogging and media laws and ethics.

ALIN’s initiative of training local communities on citizen journalism and blogging has also led the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) grantees from Laikipia County to adopt the initiative as a way of sharing their project experiences.

This is expected to not only enhance their online visibility but also help in closing knowledge gaps, improving accessibility of indigenous knowledge as well as ensuring that communities are better informed about Sustainable Land Management (SLM).

3 members of Upper Ewaso Narok WRUA being trained on blogging

Improving communities’ access to knowledge and skills is one of the activities that ALIN has carried out for years with a strong focus on small-scale sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, natural resources management (NRM) and other livelihood issues.

ALIN has been involved in knowledge sharing for more than 22 years now using various platforms that include use of videos documentation, exchange visits, open learning days and articles aimed at farmers and pastoralists. The organization has also been using two publications namely Baobab which features small scale sustainable agriculture and Joto Africa, a climate change briefing highlighting case studies on adaptation.

Many youths have been encouraged to join farming through the various LRV blog posts. They have been able to learn from what their peers are doing as well as gathering information about different crops and farming practices.

James Mwangi, 20, had his story featured in LRV and since then many youths were encouraged with his passion for farming and some even decided to start farming.

“Many youths read the article and some who had never thought about farming were encouraged to venture into farming. I was told that I am an inspiration to them,” said James.

On his part, James Mwai, 26, resigned from his teaching job to start farming after reading a lot of information about farming through LRV.

“I had gathered a lot of information about farming from ALIN and through the various blog posts that I read from LRV. This contributed to the reason why I decided to start farming,” said Mwai.

LRV has been at the forefront of promoting SOKO+ which is a digital commodity trading and information system linking small scale farmers to end retailers and Farm Records Management Information System (FARMIS-Kenya) which is a farm management and diagnostic tool based on the use of farm records.

The two products are dear to LRV as they help to empower farmers. Seeing farmers improve their livelihood is an issue that ALIN has always been keen on.

Blogging capacity building training by ALIN

LRV has now gone a step further and is now documenting ALIN’s project which seeks to strengthen community resilience to impacts of climate change and stewardship of natural resources in Baringo, Kajiado and Laikipia counties. The project which is being supported by Act! Change! Transform! (ACT) seeks to promote Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA).

Blogging on agriculture and particularly on successes and issues faced by youths engaged in agriculture, highlighting the role and importance of family farming as well as issues pertaining to climate change, environment conservation and NRM enabled ALIN through LRV to emerge the best in East Africa region in the Institution category of Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloco Awards).

The award enabled ALIN to be represented at the Fin4Ag Conference: revolutionising finance for agri-value chains that had brought together decision makers from both public and private sectors with an aim of building a modern and high performing agricultural financing system. The conference provided an opportunity for ALIN representatives to learn more about the increasing importance of agricultural value chain finance, create new partnership and improve current project on working with farmers.

The knowledge gathered during the conference has now enabled LRV to document and disseminate information about agricultural value chain finance. Prior and during the conference ALIN representative who also volunteered as a social reporter managed to write a total of 8 articles that were shared in CTA blogs.

To date, ALIN has trained 188 community members on basic journalism skills and blogging and also helped community members to start their own blogs. LRV has so far registered more than 68,000 visitors while number of articles posted now stands at 401.

Other partners have also started using articles from the blog in disseminating information about farming. The work of LRV has also been replicated by ALIN across its Maarifa centres.

LRV has also been increasing awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by smallholders as well as raising their profile by focusing attention on its role in alleviating hunger, poverty, providing food security and improving livelihoods, while protecting the environment and biodiversity.

Laikipia Co-operative holds meeting to take stock of its activities

By Bob Aston

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing (LP&M) co-operative society on December 17, 2014 held a meeting at Sipili Catholic Church Hall, Ol-Moran Ward to update the cooperative members about the various activities that they have undertaken during the year and the activities that they intend to undertake in 2015. The meeting which was supported by Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) was also attended by Kilimo Biashara Profilers (KBP).

The members were informed that the cooperative was appointed to become a Grain Business Hub (GBH), under the Netherlands Development Organizations (SNVs) Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP).

Mr. Waweru Kanja, Chairman, Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society informed the members that as a GBH, the co-operative will now be able to supply grains to schools throughout the year in Laikipia County. This he said will increase access to Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) market by members of the cooperative.

Mr. Kanja addressing the cooperative members

He noted that as a result of engagement with other partners like ALIN, SNV, Eastern African Grain Council (EAGC), MEA Ltd, Kilimo Biashara Profilers, Kenya Seed Company Ltd and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock the cooperative has been able to reach out to its members with a variety of services and also has increased its membership, sales and community good will.

The members were also informed that the cooperative has created a close link with schools under HGSFP courtesy of SNV and ALIN through match making meetings with schools food committees and head teachers.

They were informed that SNV committed itself in provision of office equipment (a laptop computer and a printer) to facilitate efficient running of the cooperative’s work and to support for other allied capacity building needs for the co-operative through training, linkages with markets and input service providers as well as hands on coaching on sound business management.
The members were also informed that SNV will support the cooperative to appoint a full time manager for six months. Mr. Kanja said that they conducted the interviews for the Co-operative Manager on December 16, 2014 and the selected candidate will be presented to the members in January 2014.

The Cooperative banner

“We now have a company personal identification number from the Kenya Revenue Authority. We are in the process of acquiring cooperative agency and mobile money transfer services,” said Mr. Kanja.

The members were informed that during the year, ALIN supported the cooperative in branding: design and production of a company logo, banners and acquiring a company seal for the cooperative.

ALIN has also has committed itself to supporting the cooperative by availing Information and communication technology (ICT) services through the Ng’arua Maarifa Centre, supporting farmers to keep accurate farm records and where possible, support the cooperative to implement prioritised capacity building areas.

Mrs. Veronica Kemunto, Secretary Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society informed the members that the membership of the cooperative increased from 176 in 2013 to 400 in 2014. She said that the cooperative has sold 60 tonnes of fertilizer worth Ksh 3,300,000 and 26 tonnes of seeds worth Ksh 3,900,000.

She said that member’s shares contribution has increased from 689,900 in 2013 to over 700,000 in 2014. She urged the members to buy more shares in order for the cooperative to have enough funds that they can invest in supplying cereals through HGSFP. She also noted that the membership fee collection increased from 60,400 to 120,500 due to new members joining the cooperative.

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing cooperative society that emerged from the work undertaken by ALIN with the support of the Ford Foundation’s Expanding Livelihoods for Poor Households Initiative (ELOPHI) serves farmers in Laikipia. It is a vehicle for bulking, marketing and trading in farm commodities and other products and services.