Nakuru County has launched a climate action initiative to support smallholder farmers in adopting sustainable agricultural practices. This initiative, known as the ‘Cropland Carbon Farming project,’ aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve soil health, boost crop yields, and increase farmer incomes.
The initiative is a partnership between the County Government of Nakuru, the Cereal Growers Association- Farm to Market Alliance (CGA- FtMA), and Boomitra.
Under this project, farmers in all eleven sub-counties will receive training on new agricultural techniques to combat the effects of climate change and ensure food security.
Leonard Bor, the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Livestock, said by implementing practices like crop rotation, cover cropping, and reduced tillage, farmers can sequester carbon in their soils, leading to improved soil moisture, increased soil organic matter, and ultimately higher crop yields.
Mr. Bor highlighted the importance of incorporating agriculture-smart technologies, such as minimum tillage, to improve soil fertility and enhance food security and productivity.
Agriculture in Kenya is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Farmers face irregular, insufficient, and unpredictable rainfall patterns. The situation is getting worse by the day, with extreme weather events like droughts and floods wreaking havoc on farmers and communities.
The initiative by Nakuru County is in line with the 2022-2026 Climate Smart Agriculture Multi-Stakeholder Platform strategic plan (CSA-MSP), which aims to equip farmers with adaptation practices for climate action and increased food production.
The plan has listed some of the climate-smart agriculture practices as the development and use of drought and heat-tolerant crop varieties, finding use for waste products from crops, training on the costs and benefits of crop insurance, and reduction of post-harvest losses through support of agricultural machinery. Other practices are the adoption of biological pesticides, conservation of agriculture practices such as zero tillage and mulching, adoption of a warehouse receipting system, and making use of waste material for biogas.
