Tech-enabled agriculture project launched for Garissa school children

Learners at Yathrib Primary School in Garissa take part in a tech-enabled agricultural project.

Garissa faces food security challenges due to limited access to sustainable agricultural practices and digital literacy.

Traditional farming methods struggle against climate change, intensifying food insecurity and economic hardship.

The community lacks opportunities to learn and adopt modern agricultural techniques.

Two organisations, 4BM (4gotten Bottom Millions) and M-lugha, have initiated a tech-enabled agricultural project for Garissa school children, funded by UK International Development.

4BM aims to provide young people in Africa with access to various opportunities through digital technology, while M-lugha is an offline/online multilingual app that helps learners in rural areas acquire basic literacy and numeracy in their indigenous languages.

The project will establish school gardens at Yathrib Primary School in Galbeet Ward, Garissa Township.

These gardens will serve as a hub for sustainable agriculture, merging traditional farming with digital tools and positioning the school as a centre for agricultural innovation.

"One of the key challenges in adopting climate-smart agriculture is demonstrating its value to smallholder farmers," said Mohammed Omar, Garissa County Chief Officer for Agriculture.

He welcomed the initiative, praising the partners for selecting a school in the area.

By making the school a focal point for agricultural learning, the project aims to promote community-wide adoption of sustainable techniques to mitigate drought.

The integration of technology will enhance digital literacy among students and community members, enabling them to use tools for crop monitoring, market research and entrepreneurship.

Mohamed Dure, Headmaster at Yathrib Primary School, noted, "This project is a valuable initiative, providing learners with hands-on experience in cone garden farming."

A total of 126 children will each manage a different cone, with awards for the best-performing cone at the project's conclusion.

Sheila Kidenda, project manager for 4BM, said the partnership would create a platform for training smallholder farmers and educating children in smart agricultural practices.

"The partnership between 4BM and M-lugha will help extend the project's reach, allowing access to broader networks and communities that might otherwise be difficult to engage," she said.

The project will last for three months, allowing learners from different schools across the county to visit and learn about smart agricultural practices, incorporating tablets and a dedicated curriculum.

It will serve as a living tool for students and the wider community, providing continuous learning opportunities beyond the project's completion.

Abdinoor Alimahdi, founder of M-lugha, said, "This collaboration is a starting point for agricultural innovation and learning, embedding digital literacy into the agricultural curriculum and utilising tablets and the M-lugha app to enhance agricultural knowledge and technology skills."