Madina Muhammed at her farm in Lapusu, Isiolo.. [Kennedy Gachuhi, Standard]
The Borana people of Isiolo County are well known for their pastoralism as their main economic activity which also doubles as a cultural practice. With livestock farming deeply rooted in their culture, people in the community say farming is associated with poverty and livestock are considered symbols of wealth. However, a group of them overcame the challenges of engaging in agriculture due to climate change and the need for economic empowerment. In 1971, the National Irrigation Board (NIB) constructed a main canal in Lapusu, Kinna, the county's largest agricultural and pastoral area.
Agriculture has proven difficult, especially due to the deterioration of security that has led to displacement and an over-reliance on livestock farming at the expense of farming. But gradually, the community came to appreciate agriculture. “Climate change often leads to loss of livestock, unlike soil that remains intact,” says farmer Madina Mohammed.
As a community health advocate, Mohammed, 30, recognizes the importance of diversifying both diet and income sources. Before she started farming, her children ate almost exclusively ugali (corn flour) and milk. However, production was significantly reduced, especially when livestock died during the dry season, and her family often did not have enough milk.
“I decided to engage in farming as a way to generate income and diversify food sources, rather than relying solely on my husband,” says the mother of four. She is a mixed farmer who grows food crops such as pawpaw, bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes and cowpeas. Most of the produce is consumed at home, but Mohammed sells the surplus and saves most of her income.
madina muhammad. [Kennedy Gachuhi, Standard]
Mohammed earned Sh6,000 from his first pawpaw harvest, which he saved in the bank. “I never had a bank account, but I needed the same thing to farm,” she says, adding, “A woman should not be solely dependent on her husband; We should be engaged,” he added.
Mahad Guyo, 31, grows an acre of onions on his farm and is hoping for a bumper harvest, especially at this time of year when produce commands high prices in the market.
Guyo was dependent on his parents until five years ago when he decided to start farming to support his own family. He hopes to harvest 10 tons of onions from one acre of land and sell them at the current market price of Sh200 per kilogram.
“I also grow tomatoes and vegetables like collard greens and spinach,” Guyo added. “I would like to one day form a youth group so that young people can inspire each other to try communal farming instead of farming.”The idea of white-collar work. ” The two are among 186 farmers who benefited from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) in lining irrigation scheme water canals with European Union (EU) support under the Lapus Irrigation Scheme. Initially, farmers used six kilometers of open furrows, which they divided into seven blocks.
“In 2018 and 2020, the Authority supported the first and second phases covering 2.8 km through the Food for Assets project funded by the World Food Programme. The third phase covering 3.04 km and the fourth phase was implemented with financial support from the EU in 2022-2023,” said Mary Wangui, NDMA Isiolo Assistant Director for Drought Recovery.
She added that before the NDMA assistance, farmers were digging trenches on their farms. This system was highly inefficient, taking an entire day to water one block and unable to keep the entire land irrigated. Previously, 30% to 50% of irrigation water from canals was lost due to seepage. Concrete-lined water channels prevent weed growth and flooding of low-lying areas of the canal.
“It takes five hours to irrigate one acre, but now it only takes one hour after the canal is lined, leaving farmers with more time for other chores.” , said Ali, who is also the chairman of Lapus Farmers. “Cooperative”. Improvements in irrigation systems have encouraged more people to engage in agriculture, leading to increased production. However, challenges arise, such as post-harvest losses, especially for perishable produce. To meet this challenge, farmers formed cooperatives. In this way, synergies can be built in addressing challenges by pursuing joint markets, value addition, aggregation, etc.
But Ali says cooperative leaders need management training. Through a project implemented by a consortium of partners and funded by the EU, the Lapusu irrigation scheme is one of the areas supported with fodder production from 2019 to 2023, Wangi noted. The project provided seeds and helped build hay sheds. At the height of the 2022 drought, the scheme sold over 600 bales of hay for a total of Sh600,000. They already have about 1,000 bales in the store and keep them in reserve to sell when demand is high.
