How irrigation changed the fortunes of Kinango farmers

But looking at the healthy maize, tomatoes and vegetables, it seems hunger and malnutrition will no longer be a crisis. It is a green city in a desert.

It is harvesting season and farmers are counting on huge profits following the booming business. The customers are mostly from urban areas and a few locals.

Farming is done throughout the year with the support of irrigation, so food production is guaranteed. With or without rain, the stomachs and pockets will be full.

The farmers practise crop rotation and in a year, they have at least two harvesting seasons.

From a distance, we see Mlongo Mwazuma selecting tomatoes and grouping them in terms of their level of ripeness. This while singing beautiful Duruma songs as one way of appreciating God for the good harvest.

The 68-year-old looks determined and jovial. The harvests mean a lot to her as she depends on crop farming for everything.  

“Wanangu hapa nimepata mavuno si mchezo, njaa hamna tena,” she says.

Crops such as maize are fundamental to Kinango people because they constitute their daily meals. The locals grow crops for consumption and sell the remaining harvests.

The mother of 12 children said the community has come a long way. She said relief supplies have constantly been the hope for them.  

Hunger is now miles away from them because food is in plenty, no more struggling to put food on the table, she said.

Farming has been the backbone of their livelihoods. It has strengthened families and brought development.

“I took two children to university with the money generated from farming and never a day have they missed pocket money or been sent home because of school fees,” she said.

Moreveor, Mwazuma can join other women across the county for table banking and women empowerment groups.

IRRIGATION INITIATIVE

Nyalani food security programme, which is under the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project implemented through the county government, was named after Nyalani dam in Vigurungani.

The dam was built to address perennial water shortages and improve food production, livelihoods and sanitation for residents.

It was first established by the British colony in 1952 and later in 2014 renovated by the M-Pesa Foundation in partnership with the county government and Red Cross, costing more than sh230 million.

It has a water storage capacity of more than 500 million litres for irrigation, domestic use and livestock.

The water is supplied to people’s homes and farms through the assistance of solar-powered pumps. Initially, the farmers used a generator but quit because of the high cost of fuel.

Puma ward agriculture officer Joseph Kibera said the food security programme began in 2015 and involved around 417 farmers on 105 acres of land, but those actively involved in the project are 67 farmers.

Kibera said the programme has improved food security and nutrition as well as changing the lives of residents.

“Previously, most Kwale areas, especially Kinango, were severely affected by drought, but Nyalani people had food as others suffered,” he said.

The Nyalani food programme has turned out to be one of the largest and most successful food basket programmes for Kinango and the entire county.

Cases of malnourishment are rare as both mothers and babies can easily access balanced diet foods and clean drinking water.

The residents near the project are healthier than those from the surrounding villages.

This season, the farmers planted tomatoes on 40 acres, onions and watermelon on 17 acres each and the rest cabbage, sukumawiki and maize.

Nyalani marketing officer Ndoro Jilo Nyondo said the project has been of great use to the farmers.

He said farmers can produce food all the time, enhancing resilience and improving socioeconomically.

Nyondo said he sold 15 tons of tomatoes last harvesting season, earning himself Sh300, 000.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

Before the project, Nyondo and other farmers relied on charcoal burning for livelihood since farming was impossible because of erratic rains.

The locals engaged in excessive tree cutting, worsening the drought situatioN.

The malnutrition rate was at an alarming level and thousands of livestock died from dry weather.

The food security programme empowered farmers to adopt smart farming that promoted conservation and food security.

Nyondo said the locals started planting trees as well as farming using modern techniques to sustain their families.

“We had no other business but to fell trees for charcoal and timber,” he said.

“So the project gave us an alternative way of surviving and it has been a successful journey in terms of food production and the environmental conservation.”

He said at the moment, if charcoal is needed, residents do pruning and only go for the oldest trees.

Nyalani irrigation scheme chairperson Pili Omar said farmers are trained on better farming practices that are harmless to the environment.

She said for 15 years, residents used to do destructive farming that polluted the environment and contributed to low food production.

Today, locals can produce a lot of food in just a quarter of an acre, compared to before, when they produced very little.

She said through the Narigp project, they receive certified seeds, pesticides and manure that are good for farming.

“Everyone gets quality seeds for better yields, and it has been very helpful,” she said.

The county also provides free ploughing services to the residents as part of the commitment to support the project.

TRANSFORMING LIVES

Before the project, Omar said residents, especially women, used to carry water on their heads and backs for irrigation and domestic use.

She said it was a tiresome process since many had huge acres of land and the distance covered was a lot.

Omar said they can now access water through piping from the dam and have huge water storage tanks.

The water is channelled through a water treatment facility before being released to the public for use via water kiosks.

The residents pay a small fee of sh5 for a 20-litre water bucket to support maintenance in case of minor breakdowns.

Nyondo has built several modern houses, some of which he has hired for business.

He said it is a great transformation, adding that before, he used to sleep in small, dilapidated makuti-thatched and mud-thatched houses.

Farming has enabled him to sustain the family and provide food and shelter without failing.

Nyondo said he bought a television and radio for his children, electronic gadgets that are rare to find in most interior parts of the Kinango subcounty.

Another farmer, Timothy Mwaniki, said the project has reduced poverty.

Residents could not afford to have three meals a day, but that has changed.

Mwaniki said women and children are always cheerful compared to before, when the distress of hunger and malnutrition entangled them.

He said their socioeconomic activities have improved because of agribusiness that has awakened the once sleepy and dry Nyalani.

He said the farmers have formed a cooperative that helps in market connection.

LOSSES INCURRED

The farmers complain that despite efforts by the county to assist farmers in looking for market, some food, especially tomatoes and vegetables, goes to waste.

The county offers free transport and targets Diani and Ibiza markets in Msambweni and Lunga-Lunga.

In the evening, farmers are given back their sales money, but sometimes, the tomatoes go unsold, hence more losses.

Omar and Mwamuzi said since the farmers are many, the county ensures everyone gets something and cannot take all the produce from one individual.

“We appreciate what they are doing but it is not effective because we are many and all can’t be sold at once,” they said.

The farmers said the situation results in dozens of tomatoes piling at the collection centre with no one to buy.

They said customers only go with a few crates or buckets, and many tomatoes remain unsold.

Mwamuzi said they are forced to sell at throwaway prices. A 20-litre bucket of tomatoes goes for Sh350, and the full crate for Sh800 or less, depending on the customer and bargaining.

“It is better something small than nothing. After all, if you refuse to sell, who else will buy them?” he said.

However, Kibera said they are working on coming up with affirmative interventions to reduce the post-harvest losses.

Farmers are identifying fruit processing firms within and outside the county for value addition.

“Tomatoes can be made into sauces and jams, and that will help curb the losses,” he said.