Farming with Conservation Agriculture in Kenya

Since the start of the FAO program in 2015 in Kenya, more than 26,000 farmers adopted conservation agriculture in the eight counties; 3,500 of them have now market linkages with contracts and are developing cottage industries.

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Conventional farming is so tiresome,

it needs a lot of labor,

a lot of work has to be done in the farm

unlike conservation agriculture.

I started conservation agriculture
after training

where we were trained by master

trainers who were trained by FAO.

I had 56 farmers; all started

their conservation agriculture
in their farms.

The jab planter is so good.
It is very quick.

I normally adjust it to the point where,

if I need two seeds,
two seeds are released

and 0.5 grams of fertilizer

is released at the same time.

I use the shallow weeder
because it disturbs

the soil less and it shaves all

the small weeds which are growing.

In minimum tillage, the matter
is to conserve moisture in the soil.

I planted three kilograms
of Makueni beans.

It's a local breed.
I was able to get two bags.

Conservation agriculture
has a very big impact to me.

We are able to have food
throughout the year,

I'm able to pay school fees
for my children,

and I'm also able to pay that land.

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Using conservation agriculture,

the yields have more than
quadrupled over time

and we expect this to rise

as the mulch level
is continuously built up,

because it's only
with the build-up of mulch

and the minimum tillage that we'll be able

to utilize adequately well

the minimal moisture available.

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Our grandfathers used to farm here,

same land, and they would clear
everything that remained.

We would harvest

and let the animals graze
on the same land,

and they would clear
everything that remained.

The soil would then become infertile.

If I don't maintain
conservation agriculture

and restore the soil's fertility,
I'll get nothing from the farm.

I learned that a hard pan had formed.

Once the hard pan was broken,

my farm improved.

I used animal manure and when I planted,

the produce was much better too.

People in the village began to appreciate

conservation agriculture.

We sell our cowpeas
at the aggregation store as a group.

The market prices are much better

when the produce is aggregated.

It is important to combine our produce.

We've been taught by FAO

that here in Makueni,

we have to use our intelligence,

and our intelligence
is conservation agriculture.

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A while back farmers were farming

using the old method

and the harvest was quite low.

Using conservation agriculture,
the farmers were taught how to farm

using conservation agriculture

and were brought hybrid soya
and sunflower seeds.

We have a few products.

At the factory we make roasted soya drink.

It is fast-moving because people love it.

We also have another product of soya.

Soya cake is a by-product
of pressing the oil.

Then we have another product of soya,
which is soya oil.

We also have sunflower oil,

cold-pressed sunflower oil.

We produce it without using any chemicals

unlike the commercial ones.

Once the oil is pressed,

there is a by-product

known as the sunflower cake.

That sunflower cake is in such high demand

that we can't even meet it.

In that regard I'd say

it has really helped my business,

as well as gaining a lot of knowledge
in regards to farming.

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