How smart farmers in Kenya are coping with climate change

NAIROBI: Farmers have realised that effects of climate change are brutal and to survive, they have to think smart and fast.

That is why they are coming up with simple, practical and even innovative ways to cope with the harsh impact of changing weather patterns. From maize to fish to tomato wheat and dairy farmers, they have all realised they must do things differently to cope with this new and harsh reality called climate change.

Farmers from various parts of the country share their coping strategies that guarantees them of higher agricultural yields.

To cope, two farmers from Yatta Sub County in Machakos County — John Mbithi and Francisca Kitheka — have embraced ecological farming to cope with climate change.

Ecological farming is a mode of farming that takes into account sustainable use of land and other resources.

“Where we come from, there is a big water problem, but we have managed to grow healthy crops because of embracing smart farming methods,” Mbithi says.

The duo tells Smart Harvest that they discovered that there was a problem with the climate patterns when harvests started dwindling. Mbithi reveals at some point, they started experiencing long dry spells which led to poor crop harvest.

“That time, I worked hard preparing my farm, bought seeds and fertilisers and did the needful. Unfortunately, most of the crops dried up. This was discouraging. I had no idea climate change was happening. Now we are aware that cropping calendar is no longer effective and rainfall patterns unpredictable,” Mbithi opens up.

SEED VARIETIES

Luckily, a friend linked him to Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) that was equipping farmers with ways to adapt. Here, he was trained in ecological farming for instance how to make and use animal and crop wastes as manure, planting in pits, use of mulches, and collecting rain water and storing for use during drought seasons. Mbithi says managing water involved digging a reservoir and lining it with plastic material to prevent water from seeping away.

He explains, “When it rained next, l had already dug two water reservoirs and started planting immediately.”

Five years down the line, Mbithi is now established as a livestock and horticulture farmer who focuses on pumpkin, maize, beans, cow peas, melon, tomatoes and onions.

“The harvest is now good, and l have plenty of foods at my disposal. Meanwhile, l am still digging more water reservoirs and want to expand farming activities,” says Mbithi.

Just like Mbithi, Kitheka has also adopted new modes of farming to cope with climate change.

She says that radical shift in how she does her farming is what helped her survive as a farmer as climate change hit hard.

“Everyone in the area had lost hope in farming because of the dry weather patterns. We didn’t know that things had changed and we needed to adapt to these changes to stay afloat,” she says.

Now some of the mechanisms she employs to beat climate change are when it rains, she harvests water and stores it for later use.

“This way, I am able to conserve the little I can get then use it on dry days. Previously, when it rained, we used to just let the water go to waste,” she says.

To add on, Mbithi and Kitheka no longer use chemical fertilisers and pesticides on their farms. Not only does that save them on money, but it also guarantees them healthy crops.

Another strategy to beat climate change that they have embraced is use of indigenous seeds which are resistant to drought. She says, “I have a seed bank with a variety of indigenous seeds. I also tell my fellow farmers to keep their own seeds. This exotic variety in most instances cannot stand the vulgarities of climate change.”

Like Kitheka and Mbithi, farmers in other parts of Kenya are also feeling the heat of climate change and are employing smart strategies.

John Obuom from Lower Nyando, in Kisumu County who keeps livestock and grows crops has had to think out of the box to survive.

“In the recent past, we have experienced dry spells and heavy flooding which do not support crop growing. As farmers, we are learning the importance of water conservation, water harvesting so practices like mulching and water harvesting are now common because rain water is scarce thanks to climate change,” he says.

Obuom says his turning point in farming came when he got chance to train by Greenpeace and Vi Agroforestry Centre how to use of mulches, harvesting and storing water in pans and use of high value plants like mango trees.

Obuom who grows paw paw, mangoes, bananas, cassava, maize, tomatoes and keeps goats, irrigates his farm using a water pump.

He says ecological farming has saved him from high costs of purchasing chemical fertilisers and pests for controlling pests. Instead, he gets manure from animal waste and crop remains. He also uses mulches which helps conserves moisture and prevents weeds like striga.

Also in Kisumu County, Karen Onyango from Nyakach who focuses on horticulture, tree nurseries and livestock, admits that nowadays it is difficult to predict rain patterns.

To conserve water, she has water pans and reservoirs in her farm.

“They are lined with plastic material on the floors and the sides to prevent water from seeping into the ground,” she says.

Ms Onyango inter-crops maize alongside beans and green grams. She was trained in managing horticulture goats by Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation.

She says, “I make enough foods and income that l use to pay school fees for my children.”

She says when you inter-crop green grams and cowpeas you reduce the striga weeds on the fields. It also adds fertility to the soil.

CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE

After harvesting she stores remains of maize, cow peace, millet and beans as animal feeds for use during dry season. Though these farmers have learnt to cope on their own or through the help of NGO that deal with conservation agriculture, they note that there is a challenge accessing extension services.

“We need support for agro-forestry, water harvesting and management and training on agriculture. Long time ago these extension officers used to move around in farms telling farmers how to deal with various challenges. But nowadays they rarely do that, yet farmers continue to face serious problems brought about by climate change,” Kitheka points out.

They urge governments, donors, philanthropies to consider small holder farmers at the centre of their agriculture vision.

This can be achieved by shifting public funds from a failing industrial agriculture model to ecological agriculture that is healthy and economically viable for everyone.

Organic mulches can suppress annual weeds and offer other important benefits, such as organic matter, nutrients, moisture conservation, soil protection, and moderation of soil temperature.

The Institute of Culture and Ecology Programme Officer Food Sovereignty and Community Livelihoods Elijah Kamau says climate change has come with prolonged droughts leading to drying of rivers resulting in severe crop failure.

“This is leading to hunger and malnutrition,” he said.

 He explains that this affects economically for those relying on farming. To help farming continue with gainful farming, they initiated capacity building and sensitisation to enhance adoptive farming. Terming ecological as ‘farming in harmony with nature’ Kamau advises there’s need for people not to compromise environment.

“People should avoid chemical farming because it increases more harm to environment,” he says.

He says they need to go back to traditional and indigenous farming. Kamau says, “Most of drought resistance indigenous seeds have been lost, but we are trying to find them.”

Grace Mureithi, a scientist, communication expert and lecturer says climate change affects different ecological zones in different ways, and in different levels.

“While people are suffering increased temperatures others are facing lower temperatures, and the intensity also differs. Ecological zones are advised to adjust differently,” she says. She says for instance, open pans work well in some areas, but not areas with speed winds.  She says effects of climate change are still fluid, and being discovered day by day. It not fully analysed.

She explains, “You are trying to get a solution to something that is not rigid. It is a fluid. It is changing day by day, and we still discovering the effects. People are trying to find different ways of coping-in one way it is working, and in another it is not. And have to find other way of modification that is likely to work better.” She says they recommend indigenous seeds-not gone through the process of scientific improvement. Farmers should choose local indigenous seed because they have a higher viability, are able to grow vigorously, and can stand a various challenges shortage of rain and heavy winds.