Regenerative Agriculture for improved food security
With the adverse effects of climate change, especially in Ukambani, many farmers are glaring at looming food insecurity.
However, this is not the case for 180 farmers drawn from various wards in Makueni County, who have adopted Regenerative Agriculture (RA), through , ‘ Strengthening Regenerative Agriculture in Kenya’, an ongoing program that is being spearheaded by the County Government of Makueni through the department of Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock Fisheries and Cooperative Development in partnership with Alliance for Green Revolution Africa (AGRA) and Cereal Growers Association ( CGA).
Regenerative Agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that seeks to rehabilitate and enhance the entire ecosystem of the farm by placing a heavy premium on soil health with attention also paid to water management, fertilizer use, and more.
The 180 farmers who are also the Village Based Advisors( VBA)have been capacity built through training, peer to peer activities and farm demonstrations on RA principles.
Some of the principles include conservation tillage, minimum soil disturbance, rotation and crop covers, and diversity.
The VBAs are in turn cascading the RA knowledge to other farmers at the village levels, with an aim of enhancing food security at household levels.
The program is targeting to reach out to 30, 000 farmers directly through the VBA extension model.