When Reuben Andere was growing up, crops like cassava, sweet potatoes, millet, and sorghum were common in his Esabalu village deep inside Vihiga county.
The 40-year-old public health officer turned farmer says that maize production in the village was excellent and that farmers could harvest enough not just to feed their families but also sell.
Toxic Soils
But the increased and continued use of synthetic fertilizers changed fortunes for farmers.
“Currently the soil in this village cannot sustain the growth of crops like cassava and sweet potatoes because of the high acidity. Maize production has also been greatly affected,” said Andere.
Ernest Wedome, a Vihiga county agricultural extension officer says that as much as use of synthetic fertilizers enhance crop production, continued and uncontrolled use has a negative impact on the soil structure and fertility.
“The craze of using synthetic fertilizers without even testing the soil acidity levels ended up ruining our farms”
“Our farms are so acidic that whenever the rains are not enough everything planted withers and dies,” he said.
Solution
However, in Esabalu village, small holder farmers are finding a solution to the high soil acidity by resorting back to the use of organic fertilizers.
Andere, who spent 15 years in the United States of America, is leading the crusade of shifting the village from use of synthetic fertilizers to organic ones.
“The only way to get our farms back to productivity is by reducing the soil acidity and this can only be done by easing on the use of chemical-based fertilizers,”
“We are encouraging our farmers to apply natural manure on their farms, and we are training them on how to make their own fertilizers on the farm,” equipped Andere.
He says that since the programme started in 2015, the village has seen what he describes as “real green transformation”
His own farm, which also acts as a model training center on organic agriculture, is a clear testimony of how organic farming can transform food production.
The farm has bananas, pumpkins, beans, kales, different kinds of African vegetables ,pawpaw, and maize all planted organically.
He also keeps rabbits, chicken and pig whose pellets are key in making the on farm organic manure.
The father of three who has since undergone a training in organic agriculture says that his initiative to transform his village into an organic farming village was informed by the need to make the village food secure
“I was disturbed because we have land, but people were struggling to feed their families since the farms could only produce so little,”
With support from an American organization, Andere began the programme of teaching farmers in his village and across Vihiga County the importance of organic farming .He initially targeted women who form the majority of small holder farmers in his village.
“ I did a lot of online research on organic farming and its benefits. I even went back to school to study agriculture with focus on organic agriculture,”
“I then started putting it into practice on my farm and within two years things had changed and that’s when I began to bring the community on board and yes its working”
Less rainfall
According to Agneta Semo, a maize farmer in Vihiga, organic farming is likely to withstand the effects of limited rainfall unlike when using chemical-based fertilizers.
“Before there were seasons when we harvested absolutely nothing because our crops would dry due to lack of rainfall. When the rains delayed or disappeared prematurely, the chemical fertilizers would burn our crops “
“With organic farming, things are different even if the rains are less, I can be assured of harvesting something because the soil is able to retain some water for a longer period”.
Agneta says that things were rosy when she started using chemical-based fertilizers and the harvest went over the roof but years down the line things changed and her farm became unproductive.
She discovered the problem when Andere together with soil texting experts visited her farm for soil testing. They discovered that the soil acidity of her farm was alarming and advised her to go slow on synthetic fertilizers.
Results
For Thomas Omboko, organic farming has helped him turn his farming into a business
“In three years, I have transformed my farming into an income generating venture. The same farm that could barely produce enough food for my family is now sustaining me economically”
“ I can now comfortably plant fast growing crops like vegetables and long-lasting crops like cassava and bananas,”
Andere says that from experience ,organic farming is less expensive compared to synthetic farming .
Nelly Otieno, a soil testing expert based in Kisumu notes that overuse of chemical-based fertilizers is likely to have an effect on the soil structure and greatly alters the chemical composition of the soil
“ If not properly applied they can end up ruining your soil and that is why we encourage farmers to carry out periodic testing of their soil,”
So far Andere has trained 137 small holder farmers on organic farming in his Esabalu village who are slowly helping transform the village into an organic farming model village.
The county government of Vihiga has since identified Esabalu village as a model training village on organic farming in Luanda sub-county.
