Showcasing Climate Smart Agriculture in Nairobi
Nairobi – In Africa, most agricultural systems south of the Sahara are climate dependent, with more than 95 percent of farmed land growing crops from rainfed agriculture. The countries in this region are already suffering from food insecurity due to low productivity because of degraded soils, droughts, floods and a lack of effective water management, among other factors.
Albert Waweru’s farm in Nairobi
On the other hand, efforts on the continent are underway to encourage and upscale climate smart agriculture. Participants from the recently ended 2nd Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, visited two farms that are using climate smart agricultural techniques and are yielding positive results.
Albert Waweru, a retiree from the police force, is an urban farmer from Kasalani sub-county in Nairobi, whose farm employs climate smart measures and sees him rewarded with a sustainable income from the proceeds of his 1,75 acre plot.
Waweru practices mixed farming on his modest land upon which he has vegetable greenhouses and livestock. He has invested in a rain water harvesting system and has a number of storage tanks that have been installed underground in order to save on space. Waweru’s cows produce an impressive 290 litres of milk per day which he sells to schools and hospitals. The milk sales have been very successful to the extent that he is now not able to meet all the demands.
At the back of his plot, Waweru makes manure from his animal’s dung and bio-waste that is covered while being processed in order to reduce on gas emissions. This too is a lucrative business as he is never short of customers for the manure.
The other animals on his farm are goats and chickens which also add to his income. Waweru informed the visitors from the forum that he would like to embark on biogas generation that he also wishes to sell to his neighbours for their daily power needs.
Participants from the Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance Forum also visited a state farm on the outskirts of Nairobi that hatches fingerlings for sale to fish farmers. The Samaki Tu farm, whose Swahili name means ‘Fish Only’ produces catfish and tilapia fingerlings. The catfish hatcheries use artificial propagation in greenhouses that are not climate dependent. Moreover, when temperatures rise, the fish breed even faster.
Greenhouse hatchery at Samaki Tu on the outskirts of Nairobi
Samaki Tu farm is one of the Kenyan government initiatives set up to meet the high demand for fish, most of which used to come from Lake Victoria which has been overfished. With fish stocks around the world having gone down in the last decade, aquaculture is the smart route to take.
Source: NEPAD