Wairimu, just like her other 40 colleagues under the Aberdare Uphill Cooperative, exports their produce following training on value addition. The training was facilitated by the Micro Enterprise Support Trust (MESPT), a development organisation established in 2002 by the Kenyan government and the European Union (EU) and later by the Royal Danish Embassy in Kenya. Feed Agriculture is the backbone of Nyandarua’s economy due to the fertile soils and favourable climate. Nyandarua is considered Kenya’s food basket due to its high production of horticulture, poultry, and dairy for the local and global markets. How Mt Kenya horticulture farmers incurred losses for a long time But when TUKO.co.ke recently visited the region, it established that for a long time, farmers like Wairimu found a raw deal from brokers who offered meagre payments for their goods, especially during peak seasons. Following the training, MESPT introduced the farmers to Keitt Exporters Limited, one of the country’s leading fruit and vegetable exporters. “I ventured into snap peas farming in July 2022. But before we partnered with Keitt through MESPT, we used to sell our produce to middlemen who used to steal from us, thus incurring massive losses,” Wairimu said. Wairimu, a resident of Njambini on the slopes of Nyandarua Hills, told TUKO.co.ke that Keitt buys a kilogramme of her snap peas for KSh 100, while middlemen would buy the same for KSh 30. A snap peas farm in Timau on the slopes of Mt Kenya. Photo: Dennis Lubanga/ TUKO.co.ke. Source: Original TUKO.co.ke understands that Keitt Exporters is a fully-fledged exporter with in-house consignment handling systems ranging from packaging, transportation, warehousing, documentation, forwarding, and shipping. “MESPT has trained us, among other things, on food safety, and we continue to benefit a lot from their support. We are now earning good returns,” Wairimu explained. Wairimu recalled that in November 2022, when she and other farmers had the challenge of purchasing farm chemicals like pesticides, MESPT came through for them. What European horticulture clients consider in Kenyan produce When reached for comment, Stanley Munene Karata, an agronomist in charge of Nyandarua county under Keitt, told TUKO.co.ke that previously, their biggest challenge was that most of their farmers could not use the proper pesticides. “In Europe, our biggest market, they look at the Maximum Residue Level (MRL). In these farm produce, some aspects have to be considered first before being cleared for the market,” Karata explained. Karata revealed that the European market has a lot of restrictions. For instance, some chemicals have been blacklisted by their clients. “This is where MESPT came in and helped us train our farmers who understood well on the proper pesticides they need to use instead of walking into agro vets and purchasing all sorts of pesticides including those that have been banned thus affecting our markets,” Karata further said. Stanley Munene Karata, an agronomist, is in charge of Nyandarua county under Keitt Exporters. Photo: Dennis Lubanga/ TUKO.co.ke. Source: Original Karata, who gave their export produce a clean bill of health, said they are safe for consumption. “Europe has today become a global village, when you take your produce to a particular country it circulates across the entire Europe. We ship our produce mostly through the Netherlands but it moves across the entire Europe, Australia and Asia,” he added. At their collection centre, it is a requirement that the produce passes all the required standards, one more reason why MESPT had to build a grading shade where the farmers and Keitt Exporters do the sorting. “We also work closely with our inspectors from Kephis, who take random samples for quality assessment. Random sampling is also done at the port of entry like in the Netherlands. When it gets to the client, he also takes the samples for assessment,” he explained. How Samson Githinji has benefited from MESPT, Keitt partnership Samson Githinji, another contracted farmer from Kiambogo in Timau within Meru county who has ventured into snap peas and garden peas production, disclosed through the partnership with MESPT and Keitt Exporters he gets good pay that sustains his farming and livelihood. Githinji, who owns a 20-acre piece of horticulture farm on the slopes of Mt Kenya said that he started working with Keitt Exporters six years ago. “The earnings depend on the market. If you provide all that is needed to grow a crop like snap peas a single kilogram can produce 200 to 300 at the end of the day,” he explained. Githinji told TUKO.co.ke that through horticulture farming he has been able to tap water from the source, transform his home from timber to stone buildings, and educate his children in good schools. “The benefit of a contracted farmer is that you have an assurance that whatever you grow would be taken to the market by the company. All you need to do is sit down and sign a contract with them through a lawyer so that they can capacity-build you,” Githinji added. He said that from the training he acquired, he could use the right farm chemicals that didn’t interfere with the environment. “The stackings we use to support our plants we buy them from the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), so we are very careful when it comes to environmental conservation,” said Githinji who has contracted 14 workers. He lamented that when most farmers harvest, and there is a lot of produce, the market goes down because what is needed by the clients is little. “But we agree with the contracted company on what to do because we can’t throw the produce away,” Githinji said adding that he plans to dig a borehole and construct a dam so that he can have a steady water supply that will enable him to sustain the horticulture market. How climate change has affected Mt Kenya horticulture farmers Meanwhile, John Madadi, in charge of the mangoes and vegetable division at Keitt, told TUKO.co.ke that climate change had greatly affected their contracted farmers across the Mt Kenya region. “Previously, the mountain had rich vegetation and when the snow melted it came down forming springs which in turn benefitted the farmers downstream but in recent days we have been witnessing the amount of snow decrease due to the hot weather. This has affected our farmers,” Madadi lamented. He disclosed that, for instance, a farmer who could produce five tonnes of produce now manages only three tonnes because his crop didn’t get enough water. “In this kind of farming, a crop can only absorb pesticides and other farm chemicals through water. When there is little water, it is challenging for the crops to flourish. So I can attest that climate change has affected us,” Madadi said. According to Madadi, this is the reason why the company is working with farmers to ensure that they keep conserving the environment by planting more trees. Samson Githinji is a contracted farmer from Timau on the slopes of Mt Kenya. 50 contracted farmers in the entire Timau area of the Buuri constituency in Meru county. “Food security has remained a thorny issue in this industry and for us as much as we talk about the export market we have kept advising our farmers to ensure that charity begins at home and we advise them on crop protection because there are products that are organic, less harmful, and if they are to use products that are a bit stronger it has to come early into the season because we know how long it takes for the crops to mature,” said Madadi. MESPT’s partnership and fundraising coordinator, Margaret Miano, told TUKO.co.ke that as an organisation, they are at the forefront of ensuring that smallholder farmers are supported to increase their agricultural productivity. “At MESPT, we link our farmers to viable markets for their produce and offer appropriate capacity development services,” Miano said. What’s the objective of MESPT services to Kenyan farmers Miano further disclosed that the objective of their services is to achieve the desired socio-economic impact among the end users. “The financial solutions and services are geared towards increased financial inclusion, enhanced productivity, and the acceleration of the development and growth of MSMEs for job creation,” Miano explained. Back in Njambini, Joseph Mbuthia, chairman of the Kiambariki Horticulture Cooperative Society, said that they place a lot of emphasis on the use of pesticides and food safety. “We started working with MESPT in 2019 and we have been able to do a lot of training, especially on food safety. They have linked us with Keitt and also the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) among other stakeholders in the food value chain,” he said. Among the challenges they are facing is global warming but Mbuthia says MESPT has trained the farmers on how to mitigate the effects of climate change for instance by planting more trees. On a single day, Mbuthia disclosed that they can pick even two tonnes of horticulture produce making four tonnes a week since they harvest twice per week. “MESPT is the first organisation that has empowered us. My farmers now know the right pesticides to use on their farms. Farmers now understand that this is not any kind of farming but rather a lucrative business,” he added. Mbuthia also said that at the cooperative, they engage young people who do the spraying in the farms and through this they have been able to create employment for them. James Kariuki Mwangi sprays a farm with pesticides in Njambini, Nyandarua county. Photo: Dennis Lubanga/ TUKO.co.ke. Source: Original TUKO.co.ke established that MESPT has trained 500 spay service providers in collaboration with PCPB to spur responsible pesticide use and one of them is 19-year-old James Kariuki Mwangi a resident of Kinangop. What’s required before the spraying of a farm with pesticides Before stepping onto the farm, Mwangi has to put on special gear as per the instructions from the training he acquired. The protective gear prevents the chemicals from getting in contact with his body. “I have been doing this for the past year and this has supported my livelihood. On a single day, I can spray even 10 acres and get paid well. Per acre, I am paid between KSh 70 and KSh 100. In a week I can spray almost 70 acres,” Mwangi explained. TUKO.co.ke previously reported that a revolutionary programme is set to be launched in November 2023 that is designed to support farmers, herders, and agriculture businesses to safeguard food production while protecting critical ecosystems, water supplies, and wildlife habitats. The programme’s activities will help people and environments adapt to and mitigate climate change. The programme is called the Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape (CHEF). A Foodscape is a large area on land or in the sea where food is produced and new ideas are implemented; critical to tackling the need to sustain and increase food production while protecting the environment.
BY Dennis Lubanga