How conflict, degraded land became productive and income-generating farms

Farmers replace an old drip irrigation system at a 52-acre aggregated farm in North Nyakach Ward, Nyakach Sub-County, Kisumu County. [Nanjinia Wamuswa, Standard]

At 7am, a group of farmers is busy replacing an old drip irrigation system. This method delivers water slowly and directly to plant roots through a network of pipes, tubes and emitters, reducing waste from evaporation and runoff.

During a prolonged drought, the outdated system failed to distribute water effectively, negatively affecting production across various sections of the aggregated farm.

The 52-acre farm, located in North Nyakach Ward in Nyakach Sub-County, Kisumu County, comprises multiple sections growing onions, African leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, assorted vegetables, maize, beans, watermelon and fodder.

It also supports banana plantations, dairy development, poultry, aquaculture, black soldier fly production and a variety of fruit trees, including oranges, pawpaws and mangoes.

In 2022, a decision was made to aggregate the farms, marking the beginning of renewed hope for the farmers. The initiative was formally registered as a Marketing Cooperative Society.

Philip Okinyo, chairman of the Agoro East Aggregated Farm, explains that the land originally belonged to their forefathers and was mainly used for grazing livestock.

Cultivation was rare, except in the lower areas near the river where households planted crops such as potatoes, cassava and beans.

However, due to its location along county borders, the land became a source of persistent conflict between neighbouring Kericho and Kisumu counties.

“Residents often got injured and lost livestock during these clashes. Although the establishment of an anti-stock theft police unit later restored security, the land remained idle and largely unused,” he says.

Okinyo recalls the difficult process of engaging and convincing farmers to combine their individual parcels into a single aggregated farm. This was not easy because many farmers did not remember their plot boundaries, which had originally been demarcated in 1972.

The initiative began with support from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT through the Multifunctional Landscapes Program. With the involvement of government surveyors from Kisumu County, the land was surveyed, enabling each farmer to identify their plots.

Since the area also experiences prolonged dry spells, now intensified by climate change, the project received support from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), which drilled a borehole and installed a 20,000-litre elevated water tank for irrigation.

To manage flooding during rainy seasons, the organisation also excavated two water pans and constructed additional drainage channels to divert excess water away from the farm.

Farming activities began in earnest after farmers received training in agroecological systems.

“Everything done here follows organic agricultural practices. Beyond producing healthy crops and conserving the environment, the system also improves soil fertility and structure, increases resistance to erosion, and retains nutrients for longer periods compared to chemical farming,” he says.

Evalyne Adhiambo, one of the farmers, says they prefer indigenous or traditional seeds because they are readily available, stored in the community seed bank, exist in diverse varieties and are better adapted to the local climate.

Dr Carlo Fadda, the research lead on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, explains that aggregation was proposed as a way to support nature-positive solutions that could make agriculture more sustainable.

At the time, multiple challenges were emerging, including population growth, increasing land fragmentation and climate change, which were making farming more difficult and undermining livelihoods.

Initially, the team explored conventional approaches such as coordinated farming, cooperative formation and collective marketing. However, what was missing was the pooling of land.

“Instead of one or two acres per household, we could manage larger areas as a single farm. This scale enables economies of scale, healthier ecosystems and better use of biodiversity, which is a key pillar of nature-positive sustainability,” Dr Fadda says.

He acknowledges that introducing the concept was complex. “Land is a sensitive issue in Kenya, and convincing farmers to share decision-making and manage land collectively required many workshops and long conversations.”

Yet, he explains that the ultimate goal was to establish a large agroecological farm in western Kenya that could serve as a model for both the county and the country.

Eventually, the farmers embraced the idea and began developing facilities to diversify value chains and income streams.

Dr Fadda explains: “We identified areas for planting trees and forages, making biodiversity central to the design. More trees attract birds and wildlife, support pollinators and improve ecosystem health.”

The farm includes demonstration plots for African leafy vegetables and potatoes managed by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro).

More than 108 farmers whose small plots were consolidated are now reaping significant benefits. The organic farm produces safe, healthy food without harmful chemicals and also adds value to its products, such as producing flour.

Some of the crops are consumed at the household level, while others are sold, with the income deposited into the cooperative’s account. Surplus revenue is distributed to members as dividends.

Several animal- and plant-based value chains are under development. Goats, for instance, provide bio-inputs used to fertilise the land.

Farmers reflect that when they started, the land was in very poor condition—dry, overgrazed and difficult to regenerate.

Today, fodder is intentionally planted and grasses are intercropped with legumes, improving soil health, livestock feed availability, milk production and overall livestock growth.

Okinyo discloses that the initiative has encouraged many farmers to adopt zero-grazing, which is more productive than free-range livestock keeping.

Historically, locals in this area relied mainly on fishing and practised subsistence farming.

Adhiambo says the project is reorienting the community towards modern agriculture.

“Through the many trainings we have received, we apply this knowledge both on the farm and at home through small kitchen gardens,” she says, describing it as the beginning of a cultural shift towards commercial agriculture.

Farmers are organised into specialised groups, some managing vegetables and others poultry, each with its own bank account, ensuring transparent tracking of benefits.

They say production costs are reduced through circular farming practices, where waste is reused to produce bio-inputs.

However, water remains a major challenge. To achieve two productive seasons per year and ensure economic viability, the farmers say they need additional water sources.