Kisii, Kenya, Nov 5 – In a bid to tackle climate change and food insecurity through organic farming, 50-year-old Sabina Nyasuguta has embraced agroecology in her piece of land located in Kisii county after realizing that it had been largely degraded and there was an increase of acidic content in the soil.
Unstable weather patterns in the area over the past 20 years had caused an erratic crop yield forcing her to adopt agroecology which focuses on food production that makes the best use of nature’s resources.
Nyasuguta says part of the process entails “making compost by mixing soil and organic manure which is left for a week and thereafter she plants seedlings of African nightshade (Managu) spider flower (Saga) kales and spinach.
She says it’s easy to maintain her vegetables with no chemical pesticides but she uses locally made pesticides made from fermented rabbit urine, molasses, plant nutrients and water.
“I include several farming techniques like crop rotation, intercropping, use of plant manure, rainwater for my crops,” she added.
Anthony Muhongo, a field officer at Biovision Africa Trust urged farmers to adopt the new method which he said helps environmental conservation by reducing climate change which is affecting food production.
“We are educating farmers on the importance of soil conservation methods such as agroforestry and forestation, crop covers and mulching,” Muhongo said.
He notes that reclaiming soil content will result in high yield and this give an assurance of food security.
“We encourage farmers in swampy areas to practice forestation and use of cover crops to reduce global warming and carbon sequence, “he says.
However, to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture, he said win-win approaches will be required.
Organic farming is the application of agroecological principles to agricultural systems by integrating environmental, economic, ethical, and social aspects.
Organic farming can be considered as the main driver of the agroecological approach to sustainable farming, aiming at diversifying food systems, reducing external inputs, and enhancing ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, soil functional biodiversity, pest and disease control, soil conservation, and carbon sequestration.
Kenya is among the largest producer of agricultural products in Africa, however it is threatened by the effects of climate change as at 2018, 30900 were internally displaced, Droughts and floods left millions of Kenyans food insecure.
