Objectives

The objectives of the project are: 

• To increase the food and nutritional security of small-scale tea farmers in Kiambu and Muranga through agroecological practices, diversified on–farm enterprises, and established market outlets; 
• To promote conservation, rehabilitation and protection of the riparian areas and sustainable watershed management within the target project area; 
• To advocate for the implementation of policies, legislations, and programs that strengthen the protection and management of watersheds and ecosystems. 

Type of farms: Organic green and black tea plantations. 

Why was the consortium created? 

• To enhance linkage among partners; 
• To leverage expertise of different partners (e.g. some have strengths in water management, some others on bio-inputs, etc.);   
• To have more impact on advocacy work;  
• To build on the different strengths among partners. 

Activities

The project’s activities focused on several key Agroecology Principles / Elements including:  

• Economic diversification: some farmers use the profits of tea production to buy food, so the objective was to incentivize them to produce food and raise animals by themselves (e.g. rabbits, cows, beekeeping, agroforestry, crops such as sweet potatoes and manure). 
• Input reduction: most of the tea farmers added a lot of external inputs such as fertilizers, so this project encourages them to produce natural bio-inputs themselves (such as Biokashi or fertilizers made from eggshells, rock dust and cow dung). 
• Biodiversity and Climate Action: they partnered with school to plant trees (through COSDEP and OACK) and set up beehives. This effort led to a noteworthy increase in tree cover, involving the planting of nearly 100,000 indigenous trees, giant bamboo seedlings and hass avocado fruit trees in riparian areas. Moreover, the organization provided her with cover crops, such as vetiphas grass, specifically designed to mitigate soil erosion. Vetiphas grass proved to be an effective solution, firmly holding the soil together and preventing it from being washed away by rain. They also trained women to cook while saving energy costs (e.g. better management of wood). They also supported farmers to set up water pans to harvest water for the plantation. 
• Circular and Solidarity Economy: After COVID, they started local organic farmers markets to re-localize  consumption (jn Githumu, Kirwara and other counties), allowing farmers to sell in different markets and have shorter value chains. They also focused on growing indigenous food recognized by the local community. 
• Co-creation of knowledge/ Cultural and Food Traditions: PELUM does a lot of capacity building activities, through peer-to-peer learning exchanges and farms visits. They also organized some cooking training because they realized that farmers were not cooking what they were producing.  
• Responsible Governance: Muranga County is the first county in Kenya to have developed a policy on agroecology. They also invited one representative from the Ministry of Agriculture to plant a tree during an event held in the Aberdares forest. They organized farms visits between farmers and Muranga County decision-makers to GBIACK. They created training manuals as well as a curriculum on ecological agriculture. 

Effects and Impacts

Evaluation methods

The evaluation undertaken included focused group discussions, field visits to observe the changes, and a survey disseminated among project beneficiaries. 

Lessons learned and results

• Having a Joint-Programme implementation enhances synergy and builds on strengths of various organizations; 
• Farmers learn best through their peers. Supporting farmer-to-farmer learning and experience/knowledge exchange has proved to increase adoptability of the initiatives, through activities held jointly by FOSELI partners such as exposure learning visit, training on small livestock and marketing as well as exhibitions.  
• The involvement of various stakeholders and duty bearers is a key driver for successful advocacy work. It was hard to convince them at first, but now that they can see the first results of the project, it fostered a dynamic and a driver to elaborate the Agroecology Act and Policy. 
• Knowledge dissemination on agroecological farming practices positively impacted nutrition, health, and the environment.  
• Adoption of organic fertilizers minimized reliance on chemical inputs, improved soil fertility, leading to higher yields and increased incomes.  
• Ecosystem conservation, particularly watershed management, resulted in less intensive farming along riparian areas, reducing soil erosion and pollution. 
• The project facilitated the creation of organic markets, contributing to increased household income through the sale of surplus diversified crops. Farmers, supported in income-generating enterprises like beekeeping and poultry farming, achieved product quality and consistency to meet market demands. 
• The project strengthened communities’ capacity for lobbying and advocacy. 

Integrated Watershed Management for Diverse Farming Enterprises (IWAMA-DIFE) Programme, Project Evaluation Report, 2022

FOSELI, Project Report, 2017-2019

Contact: Rosinah Mbenya, Country Director, PELUM Kenya, rosinah@pelumkenya.net  

Picture credits: PELUM Kenya