Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Kenya

Former pastoralists in Northern Kenya gain good yields farming

By Fatuma Jimale

As communities across the arid northern Kenya gear up for the possibility of drought and worry about the effects it might have on their lives, one group in the outskirts of Isiolo Town is counting its blessings. The Mawazo Bora self-help group is about to complete harvesting tomatoes, which they grew in part of their two-acre group farm.

“We have so far sold 35 crates of tomatoes, and by the end of this harvest period, we will have sold 40 crates. Each crate of 100 kilograms goes for about KES 3500 (USD 41) – that’s over Ksh 120,000 ($1,350),” says Aliou Adan, 67, one of the leaders of the group.

The group of 20 Borana and Somali pastoralists switched to agribusiness in 2012, after losing their livestock to the 2011 drought and when their livestock trade ventures were no longer profitable.

“When we first visited the group, they had one acre under cultivation and were doing subsistence farming,” says Fatuma Jimale, Adeso program officer, Isiolo. “Their income was minimal and their working capital just KES 28,000 (USD 329),” she adds. “Today we have over KES 200,000 (USD 2300) cash in our bank account, and more is still coming in from our harvests,” boasts Aliou Adan.

The group was formed in May 2012 with the initial aim to raise money to engage in agriculture for domestic consumption. They started off with maize and beans on their one-acre farm in the Kambi Garba area in the outskirts of Isiolo town. Their initial harvest of three bags of beans and six bags of maize was not sufficient to meet their needs.

The USAID-funded Resilience and Economic Growth in the Arid lands – Improving Resilience (REGAL-IR) started engaging with Mawazo Bora in March 2013. They were selected mainly because they held proper records, had some savings and showed a commitment to developing the group further. The group was mentored, received trainings on good agricultural practices, farming calendars, and how to market their produce, and was linked with the Ministry of Agriculture. By the middle of this year, the group received KES 60,000 (USD 705) from REGAL-IR’s community resilience fund, to boost the quality of their farm productivity and to expand their farm.

As a result of the trainings, mentoring and seed capital support, the group diversified to more profitable crops: onions and tomatoes. They also doubled the size of their farm and are planning to expand it further.

“I have benefitted greatly from being a member of this group. I can now afford food, school fees and to buy household items,” says Abdia Abdi, the group’s treasurer.

“We take the education we get through this group back to our individual farms and I think that is as important as the financial support we have received,” says Medina Wario, chairlady of the group. The group has also, on their own initiative, done exchange visits to other farming groups in the neighboring county of Meru to learn more from the traditional farming communities.