How Yala swamp farmers are adapting to climate change

Charles Ombere, a farmer practicing climate-smart agriculture in Yimbo, Siaya County. [Caroline Chebet, Standard]

In Kenya, the project is being implemented by Nature Kenya, a conservation organisation.

And now farmers living around Yala are part of those drawn from delicate ecosystems, currently facing different pressures.

While the swamp is the largest papyrus wetland, which is a lifeline to Lake Victoria, by acting as a filter for rivers flowing into it, it is also an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) for birds and species restricted to papyrus swamps. Yet large swathes of the Yala swamp have undergone reclamation for unsustainable agricultural activities.

According to Emily Mateche, a Policy and advocacy manager at Nature Kenya, the Yala swamp is a delicate ecosystem that is facing pressures from reclamation for unsustainable agriculture activities.

"There is a need to protect Yala swamp from the current threats. Through enabling farmers living around and within access to the latest innovations and technologies to improve farming, part of the pressures will have been solved," Mateche said.

And just like in Kanyibok where greenery in the field still thrives with the little rains, in Ndhiha village in East Gem Sub-county, a mix of crops too, thrives even when rain turns to drizzles.

Here, the farmers have also learnt the art of wading through the already existing impacts of climate change by using homemade manure from locally available materials.

Ahead of planting season, farmers in Ndhiha come together to make their manure in bulk, manure they share for use in their farms.

"We realized that crops were no longer doing well here because of the soils, but agricultural extension officers have been taking us through climate-smart agriculture trainings, and now we can make our compost manure that helps the soil," Samson Ogenga, a member of Olalo Self-help group.

Ogenga is part of the farmers who have learnt the art of making compost manure using available materials like twigs, cow dung, ashes, maize stalks and other available materials. The farmers have mastered the art of checking temperatures to know when compost is ready and when it is ready for use on the farm.

"When we make our manure, we cut on costs. Unlike before, the soils were becoming less productive, but there has since been a great improvement," Ogenga said.

According to Yala ecosystem liaison officer, Moses Nyawasa, the initiative currently brings together bee-keepers, small-scale farmers, fish farmers and poultry farmers across Busia and Siaya Counties.

"Through the initiative, experts are linked to farmers, and exchange visits are facilitated so that farmers learn from how other farmers are adapting to the changes," Nyawasa said.

David Okinda, an agricultural extension officer from East Gem sub-county, said impacts of climate change have resulted in low productivity and also affected the health of the soils in the region. Coupled with the overuse of chemical fertilizers by farmers, he said the challenge has further impacted the soil.

"The big problem across many areas lies in the soil. They are highly degraded, and something has to be done to reverse the trends. Through the adoption of climate-smart agriculture techniques where farmers practice mulching, crop rotation and also making their compost manure is what we are advocating for," Mr Okinda says.

Climate-smart agriculture initiatives, Okinda says, are part of climate adaptation initiatives that enable farmers to adapt and be productive even in unpredictable
seasons.

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