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Kenya: Farming with Conservation Agriculture

Since the start of the FAO program in 2015 in Kenya, more than 26,000 farmers adopted conservation agriculture in the eight counties; 3,500 of them have now market linkages with contracts and are developing cottage industries.

Duration 7m56s

Edit Version International

Video Type Video News Release (VNR)

Date 11/08/2017 2:49 PM

File size 459.94 MB

Unique ID UF2T4G

All editorial uses permitted

Production details and shotlist

UNFAO Source FAO Video

Shotlist LOCATIONS: Kilungu, Makueni County; Kambu, Mtito Andei, Makueni County; Turima Tweru, Ngondi, Tharaka Nithi County; Magumoni, Chuka, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.

SHOT: July 2017

SOUND: Natural, English, Kishwahili

1. Wide shot of Caroline’s home in Kilungu, Makueni County, Kenya.

2. Caroline walking down to her farm

3. Caroline looking at her farm

4. SOT Caroline Masimbi, Farmer - Kilungu, Makueni County, Kenya. (English): Conventional farming is so tiresome, it needs a lot of labour. / A lot of work has to be done in the farm, / unlike conservation agriculture. / I started conservation agriculture after training, / where we were trained by master trainers / I had 56 farmers, they all started conservation agriculture in their farms.

5. Wide shot of Caroline sorting out black beans

6. Close up of Caroline sorting out black beans

7. Caroline walking down to her farm carrying the Jab planter

8. Various of Caroline preparing the Jab planter

9. Caroline using the Jab planter to plant

10. Various close up of Caroline using the Jab planter to plant

11. Wide shot of Caroline using the Jab planter to plant

12. 14. SOT Caroline Masimbi: The jab planter is so good. It is very quick. / I normally adjust it to the point where if I need two seeds, / two seed are released and 0.5 grams of fertilizer is released at the same time. / I use the shallow weeder because it disturbs the soil less / and it shaves all the small weeds which are growing.

13. Various of Caroline using the Jab planter

14. Close up of Caroline sorting out black beans

15. Slow motion shot of Caroline sorting out black beans

16. Wide shot of Caroline’s farm

17. Caroline looking at her farm

18. Wide shot of Caroline’s farm

19. SOT Caroline Masimbi: In minimum tillage the matter is to conserve moisture in the soil. / I planted 3 kilograms of Makueni beans which is a local breed. / I was able to get 2 bags. / Conservation agriculture has a very big impact on me. / We are able to have food throughout the year, / I’m able to pay school fees for my children, / and I’m also able to pay for that land.

20. Various of farmer arriving at an aggregation store on a motorcycle - Turima Tweru, Ngondi, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.

21. Inspection of green grams at the aggregation store

22. SOT James Opiyo, FAO County Programme Officer, Kambu, Mtito Andei, Makueni County, Kenya. (English): Using conservation agriculture / the yields have more than quadrupled over time / and we expect this to rise as the mulch level is continuously built up. / Because it is only with a build up of mulch and the minimum tillage / that we will be able to utilize adequately well the minimal moisture available.

23. Weighing of green grams at aggregation store - Turima Tweru, Ngondi, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.

24. Farmer and aggregation store manager taking recording goods delivered

25. Close up of farmer and aggregation store manager taking recording goods delivered

26. Wide of farmer and aggregation store manager taking recording goods delivered

27. Packaging at the aggregation store

28. Farmers walking to the aggregation store

29. Farmers arriving at the aggregation store

30. Farmers arriving and handing over produce at the aggregation store

31. Various of Dorothy Kanini John in her farm picking cowpeas

32. Dorothy in her farm picking cowpeas

33. SOT Dorothy Kanini John - Kambu, Mtito Andei, Makueni County, Kenya. (Kishwahili): Our grandfathers used to farm here. / We would harvest and let the animals graze on the same land and they would clear everything that remained. / The soil would then become infertile. / If I don’t maintain conservation agriculture / and restore the soil’s fertility, I’ll get nothing from the farm. / When I started conservation agriculture, I learnt that a hardpan had formed.

34. Various of Dorothy in her farm picking cowpeas

35. Dorothy carrying the harvest from the farm

36. Farmer using the multi-planter, pulled by oxen to break the hardpan - Mtito Andei, Makueni County, Kenya

37. Various of farmer using the multi-planter, pulled by oxen to break the hardpan

38. Various of Dorothy with her livestock

39. SOT Dorothy Kanini John: Once the hard pan was broken my farm improved. / I used animal manure and when I planted / I noticed a huge difference on the farm, the produce was much better too. / People in the village began to appreciate conservation agriculture.

40. Dorothy preparing to begin threshing cowpeas

41. Various of Dorothy threshing and winnowing cowpeas

42. Dorothy weighing her farm produce at the aggregation store

43. Various of. Dorothy at aggregation store

44. SOT Dorothy Kanini John: We sell our cowpeas at the aggregation store as a group. / The market prices are much better when the produce is aggregated. / It is important to combine our produce.

45. 68. Dorothy walking with the cowpeas to her granary

46. 69. Dorothy storing the cowpeas in her granary

47. SOT Dorothy Kanini John: We’ve been taught by FAO / that here in Makueni, / we have to use our intelligence and our intelligence is Conservation Agriculture.

48. Kathitini Market, a local market - Turima Tweru, Ngondi, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.

49. Various of farm produce at Kathitini Market

50. Various close up of a sunflower - Magumoni, Chuka, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.

51. SOT Justin Gitonga, Farmer - Magumoni, Chuka, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. (English and Kishwahili): A while back farmers were farming using the old methods / and the harvest was quite low. / The farmers were taught how to farm using conservation agriculture / and were brought hybrid soya and sunflower seeds.

52. Various of Justin inspecting a sunflower farm

53. Close up sunflower

54. Justin inspecting a sunflower farm

55. Establishing shot of Kamwa Enterprises Factory

56. Justin adjusting the oil pressing machine

57. Oil pressing machinery at Kamwa Enterprises Factory

58. Justin preparing to start grinding roasted soya seeds

59. Various of Justin grinding roasted soya seeds

60. Close up of soya drink on the factory shelves

61. SOT Justin Gitonga: We have a few products. / At the factory we make roasted soya drink. / We also have another product of soya. / Soya cake is a by-product of pressing the oil.

62. Justin pouring the soya seeds into the oil press machine

63. Various of soya cake exiting the oil press machine

64. Oil exiting the oil press machine

65. Justin inspecting the sunflower seeds

66. Justin pouring sunflower seeds into the oil press machine

67. Justin inspecting the packaged sunflower oil

68. Justin stocking the shelves at the factory

69. Close up of sunflower oil on the shelves at the factory

70. SOT Justin Gitonga: We also have another product of soya, which is soya oil. / We also have sunflower oil, cold pressed sunflower oil. / We produce it without using any chemicals unlike the commercial ones.

71. Various of sunflower cake exiting the oil press machine

72. SOT Justin Gitonga: Once the oil is pressed, there is a by-product known as the sunflower cake. / The sunflower cake is in such high demand that we can’t even meet it. / In that regard I’d say it has really helped my business, / as well as gaining a lot of knowledge in regards to farming.

73. Justin and colleague inspecting the packaged soya drink and sunflower oil

74. Justin inspecting a sunflower farm

ENDS

Script Conservation agriculture (CA) aims to achieve sustainable and profitable agriculture and subsequently aims at improved livelihoods of farmers through the application of the three CA principles: continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance, permanent organic soil cover, diversification of crop species grown in sequences and/or associations. CA holds tremendous potential for all sizes of farms and agro-ecological systems, but its adoption is perhaps most urgently required by smallholder farmers. It is a way to combine profitable agricultural production with environmental concerns and sustainability and it has been proven to work in a variety of agroecological zones and farming systems. It is because of this promise that FAO is actively involved in promoting CA, especially in developing and emerging economies. Since the start of the FAO program in 2015 in Kenya, more than 26,000 farmers adopted conservation agriculture in the eight counties; 3,500 of them have now market linkages with contracts and are developing cottage industries.

This is the story of three farmers, Caroline Masimbi, Dorothy Kanini John, and Justin Gitonga.

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