EYE OPENING CROSS LEARNING VISIT TO KENYA

The cross learning visit to Kenya of the FOWODE women farmers from Amuru, Amuria and Napak in the last week of August was one to reckon.  Their expectations were high as they set off to visit small-scale farmers in Kenya in partnership with Diakonia under the flow project. 

Kezia Wangechi Kamangu’s farm in Kikuyu sub-county was their very first stop, from the outer look, the farm was not that impressive because she had used only materials in her environment to build shelter for the chicken, when Kezia revealed to the farmers that she actually earned 7000 ksh every month from her ½ acre farm, the farmers were blown away, their minds started thinking of how they can use their vast land back at home to generate more income. She also revealed to them that the government of Kenya through Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) bred poultry that are resistant to disease and rough climatic changes and most importantly, the Kenyan women farmers are not looking to the government for handouts but rather use innovative means to thrive such was the case of Grace Ndundu of Mugoma-ini, in the same sub county that uses a turkey to hatch eggs because it is big enough and Jane that had adopted the conservation farming method also known as "God's Way of farming" - This method of farming helps the farmers in Kikuyu county to have food all year long even when dry spells strike. 

A farmer from Kikuyu County demonstrates how she practices God's Way of farming

When day one was over, the farmers had a lot of pondering to do but were yet to learn more in Gatundu Sub county that was their next destination, the farmers in Gatundu, have mastered the art of value addition and processing food for the dry spells. The Ugandan women farmers were hosted by the Gatundu Mwirutiri Women Initiative- this amazing group of women triple as caretakers of the vulnerable in the community, taken on leadership positions but above all know how to preserve food during the cruel dry spells that literary burns every green leaf in their community- they turn bananas into flour, make banana crisps- notably, they make chapati from the banana flour. Vegetables such as spinach, kales and stinging nettle are ground to be eaten later when vegetables are scarce. That way they have vitamin C on their diet all year long. The farmers in Njagu in Gatundu subcounty  have specialized in making soya milk from soya beans a highly nutritious product that doctors recommended for preventing colon and breast cancer. 

Milk that has been made from Soya beans

The one valuable lesson that the Ugandan Women farmers learned from day three of their visit to Gitui county a semi arid area of Kenya, was that when the going gets tough, the tough get going: Gitui was dry, the sun had spared no green plant in the area but the farmers of Kitui county in Kenya have adopted the Zai pit technology that has enabled them flourish amidst cruel weather conditions. Zai pits are land rehabilitation innovations that address land degradation. Through these Zai pits, degraded and hard-panned soils that are impossible to plough can still be productive rather than being abandoned. 

Zai Pits

Lazarus Mbithi, a farmer in Kitui explaining to the Farmers how the Zai pit technology works

"I am excited about the Zai pit technology, because it reserves moisture during dry spells; before, I used to dig shallow holes which could not contain moisture and my seeds would dry off now I know better." says Maruk Veronica a woman farmer from Napak district.

For farmers in Napak, this study was timely as they experience horrible droughts in their area.

When the journey was finally over, the farmers realized that one doesn’t need to have all conditions right in order to start a project on their farm. 

By: Prudence Nyamishana