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Agriculture
Our threefold objective in agriculture is to utilize available agricultural resources to supplement our annual budget, to showcase modern technics to our client families as we support them, and to model modern farming to the communities we serve. The majority of the community members we serve are small scale farmers, so it is needful to leverage on their agricultural practices to build their capacities in order to guarantee food security as well as profitability among the households. We collaborate with likeminded groups to achieve this important feat.
Conservation Agriculture
We adopted conservation agriculture (CA) approach since it leads to high crop yields on decreased production costs, enriches and sustains soil health, and conserves moisture and water, besides being ideal for our small-scale farmers’ situations and a sure way to achieve sustainable agriculture and improve livelihoods.
The first value of CA approach is advocacy for minimum soil disturbance, which implies planting directly into the soil, without hoeing or ploughing. The only minimum tillage allowed is ripping planting lines or making holes for planting with a hoe.
Next, CA keeps the soil covered as much as possible, which is achieved by mulching using special cover crops and/or crop residues left on the field to protect the soil from erosion and further limit growth of weeds throughout the year. This is radically different from conventional farming practices whereby farmers remove, burn crop residues or mix them into the soil with a plough or hoe – which leaves the soil bare, to easily get washed away by rain, or blown away by the winds.
More, CA leverages on crop mixing and rotating. Again, conventional farming of planting the same crop each season is minimized by planting the right mix of crops in the same field, and rotating the crops from season to season. This results in the breakdown of survival cycles and multiplication of pests, diseases and weeds leading to increased yields as well as sustenance of soil fertility.
Finally, CA includes training for farmers to prepare their own fertilizers, compost and natural pesticides thus reducing the cost of production and ensuring the safety of the biodiversity.
Miscellaneous Engagements
We sensitize families to establish nutritional kitchen gardens to promote healthy nutrition within the households.
We also promote bee keeping amongst families to supplement family income. So, we train families in this venture and support them with modern beehives to engage in bee keeping. The proceeds from the sale of honey and other bee products supplements the family income.
Pyrethrum Farming
The recent discovery that pyrethrum farming is viable in parts of Western Kenya is proof that there is more to discover and achieve. For although pyrethrum farming is new to Western Kenya, yet it has thrived in the rift valley region for many years and boasts of a rich history that dates back to the early 20th century. Kenya is among the leading producers of pyrethrum worldwide, so the crop supports the economy. Pyrethrum farming is gaining popularity locally because it is a lucrative cash crop, which can fetch substantial income for farmers.
Our venture into pyrethrum farming was mooted in 2022, after fruitful consultations with key partners and experts of the cash crop farming. Our main objective is to empower families within the areas of our influence. Most of our small-scale farmers conventionally grow maize and beans mainly for subsistence, and we want them to attempt something new and lucrative like pyrethrum farming, which can also diversify their income. We started out in 2023 by establishing two demonstration plots for pyrethrum farming in Cherangany and Kitale to test the viability of the crop in these climatic zones. The demo plots measured approximately 0.025 acres each. We considered the best practices from nursery development, transplanting, field management, harvesting and post-harvesting practices. And the outcome was impressive – the altitude, temperature, rainfall patterns, and humidity of the regions supported pyrethrum farming. The lab tests and analysis run on our pyrethrum flowers confirmed that they contained sufficient amounts of pyrethrin. According to our expert partners, we now only need to work out the best pyrethrum variety adaptable to our regions, and proceed to spread its farming to our communities.
Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide that is derived from the dried flowers of the pyrethrum plant, also known as Chrysanthemum. Its demand is high to produce insecticides for use in agriculture, household pest control, and public health. Manufacturers extract the insecticide from the flowers and sell it to global markets. Pyrethrum is lucrative since the flowers can be harvested all year round depending on availability of rains.
For a long time, pyrethrum farming in Kenya is concentrated in the Rift Valley highlands which boast of the ideal climate and soil conditions for its cultivation. The specific regions include Nakuru, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Meru, and Kiambu.
