An NGO in Kilifi county has set up a model farm in Kilifi county to boost food security and create employment, with the harvest donated as charity to the neighbouring vulnerable community.
Karibuni Onlus identified Langobaya in Malindi constituency, one of the areas worst hit by food insecurity, to implement the project, and it is proving to be a success.
ROTATIONAL PLANTING
Using expert agronomists, the NGO has proven that despite the drought and famine that has rocked the county, it is possible to produce food throughout the year using the existing resources, and not only for consumption but also for commercial purposes.
The idea was to produce food to supply to their sponsored children in schools, then sell the rest to help end overreliance on donors.
They plan to challenge the notion that NGOs rely only on donors to sustain their charity by creating an avenue for income generation that also helps the vulnerable community members.
First the NGO, through their manager, agronomist Jackson Kanai, leased 60 acres near River Galana in Langobaya, which is about 500m from the main river source.
Through irrigation, they managed to plant maize and other horticultural products, which did well.
When journalists toured the farm, there were different sizes of maize crops, all in good state.
“We decided to do rotational planting, so we could harvest every month,” he said.
Kanai said they now never miss food for the 600 children under their sponsorship programme.
Every day, the children have a lunch programme and the NGO does not buy food again, as they have plenty for them.
“The rest of the food is sold to help in running and operational costs. We want this project to sustain the NGO,’’ he said.
The manager said nowadays, donors are scarce sometimes, and without doing income-generating activities, it may be difficult to carry on with the project.
“We now have enough money to pay ourselves salary and handle logistics. Even without donors we can survive,’’ he said.
They recently bought a tractor, and half of the money was from the farm and the rest from donors.
In another farm, the NGO bought 10 acres and put up greenhouses. They intend to do drip irrigation after successfully drilling a borehole.
HIGH YIELD
During harvesting time, they sell 400kg a day, which is sold to the market and helps in improving the farming.
Since the other farms are far from the river, the NGO drilled a 160m borehole, which is complete, and they intend to use the water for irrigation.
At the farm, there are also orange trees, pineapples and passion fruits, which shall be planted in large scale using the borehole.
To add on that, Karibuni Onlus set up a farm for broilers, goats and rabbits, which are doing well throughout the year.
The animals are being taken care of by experts to ensure they grow well and produce crossbreeds that can survive in the area.
Karibuni Onlus president John Franco said the NGO, which has been in existence for 10 years, thought of coming up with an alternative way of income-generating activities to create employment and fight food insecurity.
He said their education project covers seven schools and has sponsored 4,000 children. Franco said they still need more land so as to increase their capacity of farming through irrigation, and asked the county government for help.
“In future we expect to have employed over 40 workers in the farm and double the number of beneficiaries from 600 to 1,200,’’ he said.
The Karibuni Onlus president said they also want to increase the farm from 60 acres to 100 acres.