ENDING POVERTY BY EMPOWRING WOMEN
IN AFRICA
BY LUKE KAPCHANGA
BUNGOMA/KENYA.
Most of the women in farmers field
schools in Kenya are now food secure.
They say, by being members of Farmers
field schools, yields from their small farms has increased
significantly. The case in point is that of Margret Wanyonyi 62, of
Ngwelo village in Bungoma county.
Ms. Wanyonyi a widow, proudly proclaims
that, “ I can not buy food anymore, however scarce it may be.”.
She went on, “ for the past two years
since I joined the field school , crop yields on my farm has almost
tripled”.
Farm productivity has increased , due
to trainings she had underwent through farm demonstrations by the
fields schools.
She stressed the importance of training
on farm management , which has made it possible for her to take keen
interest in the crops and animal farming.
'”Last year my harvest from a ¼ acre
was double I normally get from an acre in my usual farming practice,
I released I had wasted my land for a very long time.” she stated.
In FFS, farmers carry out experiential
learning activities that help them understand the ecology of their
fields.
These activities involve simple
experiments, regular field observations and group analysis.
The knowledge gained from these
activities enables participants to make their own locally specific
decisions about crop management practices.
Facilitation is by extension workers
or skilled farmers, who employ non-formal education methods, the
field is used as the primary resource for discovery-based learning.
The FFS Trainers play a crucial role in
ensuring that the environment and all resources contribute to the
farmers’ learning experiences.
Ngwelo farmers field school is within
the Nzoia sugar cane growing zone. Here , due to over concentration
and reliance on sugar cane, people are food insecure , with small
plots of land.
More than five million people directly
or indirectly depend on sugarcane farming in Kenya.
Most farming is in western Kenya,
eighty eight per cent of area under sugarcane , is under out growers
the majorities being small-scale growers.
Food scarcity is instigated by soil
degradation due to high acidity caused by over-use of fertilizers .
The field school increases
collaboration by different actors , who work towards benefiting
farmers , be it government ministries, international agencies and
Non- Governmental Organizations.
According to Japheth Wekesa the trainer
at the field school, the collaboration has resulted to mostly women
to get provided with seeds and fertilizers, while on their part
provide land and labor.
The initiative makes it possible for
farmers to prepare early for the planting season, knowing in advance
that they have farm inputs in place.
“The challenge of turning the
majority of the population to practice soil conservation
agriculture is enormous”, he said.
A research paper , published in Future Agricultures in 2010,
titled Performance of the ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development in Nyeri South district of Kenya, constraints were noted
mostly in the provision of extension services.Extension services were noted as vital with farm visits providing practical help on issues such as soil erosion, manure making , fertilizer and chemical use.
Agriculture it has to be noted contributes one – quarter to one – third of Africa s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but employs 65 – 75 % of the labor force.
The gap in labor productivity between the non – farming and farming sector on the order of two to one ordinarily draws people out of agriculture and into other sectors.
The world bank projects the increase of value for food on domestic markets in Africa from US Dollars 313billion in 2010 to US Dollars I trillion in 2030.
In Nyeri south district , youth were said to have a negative attitude towards agriculture.
The complain was widespread, by farmers in the findings , about the young people mostly women who get educated , for being interested in white collar jobs only.
The example was given of Kazi Kwa Vijana ( jobs for youth ) programme by the government during 2009, as part of the Economic Stimulus Package, failing to get the youth to engage in agricultural activities.
The youth at most watch their parents toiling on the farms and dying poor, at the same time parents being unwilling to give farms to children for fear that they will sell them.
Access to to capital and credit for small holder farmers is a perennial problem which is magnified by the young people .
The report Employment in Agriculture says, farming risks and costs remain high despite innovations to overcome the barriers and achieve sustainable out reach to small holders.
As estimates put nearly 1 billion people world wide , who are affected by severe hunger and poverty , many relying on small plots for their food and income.
Most of the poor families barely get by as they struggle with unproductive soils, plant diseases , pests and drought.
Their livestock are weak or sick, no reliable markets for their produce and good information about pricing, with government policies rarely serving them.
Helping the farming families to produce more food and increase their income, they also have to bulk their produce to access urban markets or for processing industry.
“Collective action by farmers is very much needed, especially when farms are too small to be attractive for trading partners ”, wrote Giel Tom in Farmers and Markets in June 2012.
He stated that , bulking has a strong logistical component and requires working capital and a cost effective organization that controls transactions.
Tom, who is a senior researcher at Agricultural Research Institute in the Netherlands , notes that successful collective marketing built organizational assets that make life easier for farmers.
By increasing productivity in a sustainable way, and sell more crops is most effective to reduce hunger and poverty in the long term.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on agriculture, says that farmers growing more food and earn more income, they are better able to feed their families , send children to school, provide for their families health and invest in the farm.
Their Agricultural Development Initiative states, “ Helping farmers improve their yields, requires a comprehensive approach that includes the use of seeds that are more resistant to diseases , drought and flooding”.
It adds, “ Information from trusted local sources about more productive farming technologies, greater access to markets and government policies that serve the interests of farming families, have to be in place”.
