A group of youth in Kwale County in Kenya have teamed up and launched a program dubbed ‘elimu shamba’ to train local farmers on modern farming methods to fight perennial hunger.
Elimu Shamba Program Coordinator, Omar Jundani said the initiative by the young university graduates is to make the county food secure. They aim to address the problem of shortage of food that has constantly hit the coastal county.
Farmers in the county are still subscribing to traditional techniques of farming, a factor that has been blamed for the perennial food shortages over the years. The region receives insufficient rainfall that cannot support maize crop farming hence the need to agitate for a change.
Elimu Shamba Program programme
“We must educate our people on proper farming. Climate change has affected our county and the rains we receive are insufficient. We must change the culture of maize crop farming and adopt another culture. We must find an alternative option for our community,” he said.
According to the youth-led group, the region has fertile soil that could support sorghum, peas and green beans that are drought resistant. Jundani said if relevant authorities in the field of agriculture could have been educating the locals on proper farming then the county could have been secure during drought seasons. Commercial farming can reduce poverty levels in the county.
“Every year the county reports cases of malnutrition and this is attributed to poor farming techniques. It’s time we change that for the better,” he said during an interview in Kwale town.
The group, which comprises over 20 youths seeks to inculcate among local farmers on the need to take agriculture like any other business venture.
The program coordinator also noted that farmers in the county do not have access to modern food storage systems. He said the traditional granaries do not offer protection to seeds and grains resulting in losses.
“The traditional granaries have been turned into feedlots for weevils. We encourage and educate our people on the use of modern technology such as improved storage sacks. Elimu shamba program will enlighten the farmers on important steps in farming such as soil preparation, spacing, and use of fertilizers to increase their productivity,” ‘Jundani said.
Local farmers in the county are not familiar with key farming techniques such as soil preparation, crop spacing, and seeds selection. Jundani affirmed that the education seminars will be held across Kinango, Msambweni, Matuga, and Lunga- Lunga sub counties where close to 20 farmers from each ward will be engaged. The farmers will be taken through a series of demonstrations from experts in different agricultural sectors.
