A Kenya Agricultural Research Institute & McGill University

ProjectFunded by IDRC/CIDA

Enhancing ecologically resilient food security through Innovative farming systems in the semi-arid

midlands of Kenya

Esther Njuguna, Lutta Muhammad, Gordon Hickey, Leigh Brownhill, Bernard Pelletier, Festus Murithi, John Wambua, Josiah Gitari

Key Messages

• PPATE – SPATE model has allowed the project to demonstrate technologies and approaches that enhance resilience in the farming systems to many farmers within a short time

• Traditional crops demonstrated to have the potential of becoming cash crops for farmers in semi arid areas

• Farmers and traders in the semi arid areas have opportunities to grow business deals if they talk to each other

• There are opportunities for the private sector to make business providing certified seeds of neglected crops to the small scale farmers: some lessons from Freshco Seeds Company.

Definitions

• The project is innovating by adapting the existing technologies and making sure that farmers use them, working across institutions

• Resilience is the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth (USAID 2012)

The four elements of a resilience framework

DFID, 2012

Rationale for the project

Lower midlands 4 and 5: The project focus region in Kenya

• 10% of Kenya’s land resources– Climatic shocks (rainfall, amounts,

distribution, reliability)– Natural shocks (degraded soils)– Production shocks (low yields)– Market shocks (access, prices) – Demographic shocks (population

increase, migration of labour, health)

• Many years of research and development interventions

• But low adoption rates, low impacts

Food security resilience: Conceptual framework

Food security Resilience

Particip

atory

evaluati

ons

of agri

c tech

nologies

Group dynamics

(PPATES, S

PATES)

Health

and n

utriti

on

Socia

l and

nat

ural

reso

urce

sPa

rticip

ator

y

Ente

rpris

es d

evelo

pmen

tCr

op st

orag

e,

valu

e ad

ditio

n

Stra

tegi

c res

earc

h

ques

tions

Equitable access

Policies and institutions

Participatory evaluations and service provision

modelFarmer groups

SPATE

SPATE

SPATE

• Primary participatory agric technology evaluations

• Secondary participatory agric technology evaluations

54 PPATE groups - 1253 farmers (498 male, 755 female)

216 SPATE groups in 7 districts in 3 counties, 5400 Households

Sorghum, Cowpeas, Green grams, Millet, Maize, Pigeon peas, Beans, Dolichos Lablab, Cassava, Forages, Natural Pastures improvement

All the 54 farmer groups prioritized indigenous chicken 67 service provides trained on improved management; vaccinating against new castle diseases.

Participatory evaluations and service provision model

•Attitude•Perception•Preferences•Assessment of the performance of technologies

•Adoption of subsets

- 716 men and 1007 women farmers trained on participatory market identification in the local area, assessment and planning

- 18 Market opportunity groups formed to facilitate sets of 3 farmer groups (FRDAs) in market planning

- Indigenous chicken, green-grams and cowpeas identified as priority products for marketing

Traditional crops as cash cropsEnterprise Scores

Indigenous chicken 16Green grams 19Beans 2Millets 4Sorghums 1

Cowpeas 10Pigeons peas 6Dolichos 2Maize 2Cassava 1

- There are Institutions and private traders willing to buy from farmers e.g.,

- 1 FRDA in Yatta planned for the market and collectively sold green grams to traders worth KSh 850,000 (USD 10,000); Saw price of green grams increase from KSh 40/kg for an individual to KSh 55/kg when traders collected the produce from a group

- Produce sold to local traders identified in the PMSD exercise

- Chicken sold every 2 months to highest bidder, prices raised from 3.75USD to 6.80USD per bird

Market Access in the semi arids

Business opportunity for the private sector

Jan to April 2011 Sept to Nov 2011 Jan to Apr 20120

50

100

150

200

250

6 10.5

33

1 0 5

42

100

210

The amounts of certified seeds sold by Freshco Seeds for 3 seasons in the 7 districts where the project is implemented

Cowpeas Green Grams Pigeon peas Dolichos LablabSorghum Beans Maize

Amou

nt o

f cer

tified

see

ds s

old

in M

etri

c To

ns

- Farmers pooled Ksh 72000

to buy fertilizers

- Farmers raised over 100000

to buy certified seeds from KARI katumani

- Opportunities to use the PPATE groups are seedDistribution agents being considered

• Building and sustaining up-scaling strategies through farmer to farmer learning in the PPATE/SPATE Model

• Small scale farmers participation in markets: aggregation, standards and storage

• Stakeholder coordination around identified compelling agendas for food security resilience

• Sustaining resilience in scale and over time for vulnerable households

• Priority policy interventions in collaboration with local county gov’ts

Priorities for further action

Key Messages

• PPATE – SPATE model has allowed the project to demonstrate technologies and approaches that enhance resilience in the farming systems to many farmers within a short time

• Traditional crops demonstrated to have the potential of becoming cash crops for farmers in semi arid areas

• Farmers and traders in the semi arid areas have opportunities to grow business deals if they talk to each other

• There are opportunities for the private sector to make business providing certified seeds of neglected crops to the small scale farmers: some lessons from Freshco Seeds Company.

Acknowledgements

• CIFSRF through IDRC/CIDA• GOK• Partners (KEMRI, MOA, CASCADE Freshco Seeds Company, KSU)• Farming communities in Tharaka, Makueni and Machakos

counties of Kenya• Dedicated researchers in KARI Katumani and KARI Embu• Research assistants in the field

• FARA audience today• Thank you