A delegation from Makueni visited Murang’a County to benchmark on development of an agroecology policy as well as its implementation.
The team led by Makueni Chief Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Agriculture Joyce Mutua included members of the County Assembly, representatives from the office of the county attorney, farmers and other stakeholders in the agriculture sector.
Ms. Mutua, noted that Makueni County, which is known for production of fruits and vegetables wants to embrace the practice of producing them without the use of chemicals and was engaging their Murang’a counterparts on the process of making the agroecology policy and its implementation.
She noted that preparations for developing their own policy as a county necessitated the benchmarking visit to Murang’a which is the first county in the country to have such a policy.
“In Makueni we grow a lot of fruits and vegetables and now we would like to grow them without using chemicals,” Mutua said.
“We intend to increase our produce and also ensure it is safe for both the local and international consumers,” she added.
The group toured several model farms in Murang’a and Mutua lauded the county for the concerted efforts towards implementation of natural farming practices.
The CEC stated that the team from Makueni will work in consultation with that from Murang’a throughout the process from drafting of the policy to its implementation.
In Mugumo Village, Ithanga sub-county, the delegation met Juliana Wanjiku, an elderly woman, in her three-acre piece of land where she has been growing fruits for over three decades.
Wanjiku’s farm, filled with the lavish green fruit trees, is a beacon of hope in an area otherwise known for inadequate rainfall.
She took the delegates on a tour of her farm and narrated her experience since the transition from farming with chemicals to organic farming about five years ago.
“I planted a few banana suckers and some oranges that did very well, this encouraged me to embrace mixed farming that now includes mangoes, melons and lemons,” she said,
Wanjiku said her farm was able to support her household even after her husband passed away, leaving her as the sole breadwinner.
She said that she made the decision to give organic farming a chance in 2019 after she attended a training forum organized by Youth Action for Rural Development (YARD) who had pitched camp in the area to train farmers on agroecology practices that involve organic farming, sustainable use of biodiversity and conservation agriculture.
“With water scarcity being a persistent challenge, we learnt how to use mulching to reduce the high levels of evaporation, allowing our crops to thrive even during the dry season,” she said,
She further described how she is also able to use locally available materials to produce her own manure, and pest repellents, eradicating the need for the costly chemicals and restoring vitality to her soil in the process.
“As a result, I have seen my harvests drastically increase and my fruits now taste better. People come from far to buy my produce,” she said.
YARD, which is one of the partners supporting agroecology in Murang’a, has been targeting women in its efforts to lobby for more farmers to transition to agroecology since most women are the breadwinners in their families.
The organization has benefited over 900 households in the county by providing them with 15,000-litre water tanks and training them to conserve soil moisture.
One of the delegates, Salome Ndunge, who is a champion farmer from Makueni, said she was impressed that Wanjiku had managed to plant various fruits trees in a small piece of land, maximizing her harvests.
She noted that most farmers in her county struggle to practice agri-business due to unfavourable weather and that they practice conventional farming that has left many susceptible to diseases.
“Chronic illnesses are rampant among productive age groups which is weakening the economy of our county,” Ndunge said.
“This is why we are benchmarking in Murang’a so that we can show our people how to practice organic farming and therefore reduce diseases,” she added.
Ndunge said that as a farmer champion, she will aim to encourage as many young people as possible to take up agroecology and use it to boost their living standards.
On his part, Murang’a CEC in charge of Devolution, Partnerships and External Linkages, Kiringai Kamau, said that agroecology focuses on food safety and that Murang’a county continues to work with farmers, partners and research organizations to promote the practice.
He noted that while making the policy is an important thing, implementing it to benefit the community and partners is also important.
“Murang’a benefits from partners and other counties who come to benchmark” he said adding that the county is committed to working with other counties and partners to increase the numbers of farmers producing organic food in the country.
The CEC underscored the importance of working with partners in the journey of promoting agroecology saying that Murang’a continues to work with Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA Kenya), Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) and Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) among others.
Kamau noted that the county has also worked with Vihiga, West Pokot, Kakamega and Nyeri counties as well as other Central Region Economic Block (CEREB) counties who have come to Murang’a to benchmark on agroecology practices.
“We work well with the stakeholders through our Multi Stakeholder Platform (MSP) and partners have been part of the journey from the start,” he spoke.
“The partners have helped us through the various stages of policy making and we have seen other regions also work well with the various partners,” he added.
Kamau further stated that the county is partnering with Murang’a University of Technology for development of short courses that are tailored to train the youth and farmers on agroecological practices.
“These partnerships are vital during implementation as they support various aspects of the process which would otherwise be impossible,” he noted.
The CEC affirmed the county’s commitment to promoting agroecology noting they have started talks on how they can help Makueni County in the policy making process and walk with them every step of the way,” he stated.
The national coordinator at BIBA Kenya, Anne Maina, said the organization is at the forefront in supporting the practice of agroecology noting that they have partnered with Makueni County in the process of developing an agroecology policy.
“We have signed a memorandum of understanding with Makueni County to work on promoting agroecology and have started the process of policy development,” she said.
“We have sponsored teams from Makueni and West Pokot counties to bench mark in Murang’a on matters of agroecology,” she added.
She underscored the importance of benchmarking so that the delegates can witness the practicality of agroecology and understand the practice.
Maina divulged that BIBA Kenya is part of the stakeholders developing the national agroecology policy through the ministry of agriculture in order to promote the practice throughout Kenya.
By Purity Mugo
