By Lenah Bosibori
Over 260,000 farmers across East Africa have been equipped with climate-smart agriculture technologies that enable them adapt to unpredictable weather patterns.
Speaking in Nairobi during the regional learning event of the Climate Resilient Agribusiness for Tomorrow (CRAFT)’ Dr Paul Ronoh Principal Secretary, State Department for Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development through a speech said climate change is one of the major impediments and global challenges facing agriculture and agribusiness today.
“The impacts of Climate change affect the productivity and the overall cost of managing the value chains, smallholder farmers are most vulnerable with little coping capacities,” said Ronoh.
Through support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, this innovative approach is helping farmers overcome challenges such as erratic rainfall and declining soil productivity by taking regular soil tests to understand the soil and the fertilizer to use.
The Project dubbed ‘Private Sector-oriented Climate-Smart Agriculture for Smallholder Farmer Resilience’ brought together stakeholders in the agriculture value chain focusing on climate-smart agricultural practices and the private sector’s contribution.
Laurine Mwikali the general manager of Stalyte Farmers Cooperative shared how she is leading a transformative effort to the farmers in Nakuru County whom they have trained on Climate Resilience and empowered with loans at an affordable rate to access the technologies.
“Our initiative focuses on empowering farmers to adopt climate-smart agriculture practices, and safeguard their crops against the growing impacts of climate change, particularly within the potato value chain,” said Mwikali.
The CRAFT project that started in 2018 aimed to ensure farmers have access to affordable seeds by bringing them right to their doorsteps. “Since its inception, the project has trained farmers on sustainable techniques, from land identification and preparation to soil testing and the use of crop-based fertilizers,” added Mwikali.
In addition, the project also focused on training farmers on integrated pest management, promoting the use of safe pesticides and herbicides, as well as natural pest control methods according to Mwikali.
“The CRAFT initiative employs a hands-on approach, guiding farmers through the entire value chain. Participants have adopted practices such as soil testing, irrigation, water harvesting, and surface planting, which minimizes soil disturbance,” noted Mwikali. “By avoiding tilling after harvest, farmers can maintain soil health and enhance productivity, we have also encouraged them to do mulching to protect further and nourish the soil.”
Further Mwikali noted that the impact has been profound since they started training farmers in 2020. “Farmers’ potato production has increased from an average of 3 tons per acre to 10-12 tons per acre, demonstrating the effectiveness of adopting these climate-smart techniques,” added Mwikali.
Challenges experienced
As the technologies look good and adaptive to farmers, financing remains a hindrance for many farmers looking to adapt to the new methods.
Douglas Kangi, Director of Crop Resources Management in the State Department for Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that the ministry has over 200 scheduled crops but cannot support all of them due to financial challenges.
“Financing remains a significant hurdle for many farmers looking to adapt to climate change. To address this, the cooperative has established a savings and credit cooperative (Sacco) that offers low-interest loans and credit for agricultural inputs. This financial support helps farmers access the technologies that can enhance their productivity,” said Kangi.
Through the CRAFT project, farmers can collaborate on implementing climate-smart practices. “Climate change poses a major challenge to agriculture worldwide, impacting productivity and increasing costs of inputs, particularly for smallholder farmers who often lack the resources to adapt,” reiterated Kangi.
Bashir Kasekende, the Agri-Food Sector Lead at SNV Uganda, in his remarks, emphasized the use of the technology they have been training farmers adding that they can access loans at an affordable rate from the Saccos that has trained them.
“We encourage farmers to use innovative technologies to effectively tackle climate change, adapt and mitigate require the application of disruptive innovations grouped under climate-smart agriculture,” he noted.
Since its launch in 2018, the CRAFT project has reached over 266,000 farmers and more than 56 agribusinesses and cooperatives across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Climate change threatens food security, with many farmers experiencing crop losses and declining soil productivity. The CRAFT project focuses on building resilience by enhancing farmers’ absorptive capacity to manage shocks, adaptive capacity to cope with extreme conditions, and transformative capacity to embrace new agricultural norms.
While the project has made significant strides, challenges remain. Many technologies are still expensive and not easily accessible for rural farmers, as most providers are located in urban centers. “The CRAFT initiative is committed to bridging this gap, ensuring that small-scale farmers are empowered with the knowledge and resources they need to thrive in a changing climate,” reiterated Kasekende.