Gilgil farmer discovers smart technologies from TOF Magazine

“I had reached a point where every season was frustrating. Buying farm inputs was expensive and my yields were unsatisfactory. I felt like I was using too many chemicals on the crops my family was feeding on…”

From a distance, her farm appears ornamental due to the rich variety of crops she is growing. Various vegetables, tree tomatoes, apples, and bananas fill the farm and free-range chickens roam around. Rachael Wairimu is a cheerful woman, whose homestead is always filled with laughter from her grandchildren.

“When I came to this place, I was scared because it was awfully dry. I came from Kiambu, a wet region where my mother grew all sorts of vegetables. I wondered what could grow in this desert,” she reminisces.

Many years down the line, Wairimu has learnt about many technologies from the TOF Magazine and got training from the BvAT outreach team. Today, her garden is as green as her mother’s despite the dry weather in Gilgil, Nakuru County.

In the few minutes we spend with her, she immerses us into her world of farming and tells us about her transformation from a conventional to an organic farmer.

“I had reached a point where every season was frustrating. Buying farm inputs had become expensive and my yields were unsatisfactory. I also felt like I was infusing too much chemical substances into the crops I was feeding to my family, and this was disturbing.

One day, a friend invited me to visit her farmers’ group. They were expecting some visitors from Biovision Africa, an organization that teaches farmers to farm better, organically. The visitors changed my whole approach to farming. The visitors taught us how to grow food organically, and showed us technologies to increase water retention in the dry season. I went home determined to try and started with small portions of land preparing them for planting as instructed, using manure and mulch to retain moisture and growing medicinal plants to protect the crops from pests. My first harvest from the organic portion was encouraging.”

The next season she practiced crop rotation and inter-cropping and her yields improved.

“I have never looked back. I found other farmers with similar interests and formed a group, Karamaro Seed Savers Network, through which we have been undergoing training. We also meet to discuss ideas to implement on our farms,” she explains.

The group comprises 20 farmers and receives a copy of the TOF Magazine every month.

“We work closely with field officers from BvAT and have learnt many new technologies, to increase yields and cut costs of production,” she adds

Her soil is fertile and her farm is always full of produce.

Technologies she learnt

“I read an article in the magazine on making organic manure. Since then, I have never bought commercial fertilisers. I have cows and trees that we prune, which provide sufficient materials to make compost, which we apply on the farm,” says Wairimu. “When I invited the experts to test the soil on my farm, the results showed that it had all the nutrients in the right quantities.”

Wairimu also learnt how to make plant extracts and use them to control pests. In addition, a BvAT field officer taught the group members how to differentiate between beneficial and harmful insects.

Having learnt about the danger of mono cropping, she grows a variety of crops such as spinach, managu, dhania, sagaa and oats. She also has 200 tree tomatoes, 20 banana trees, pawpaws, apples, avocados and two pomegranate trees, which produce more than 300 fruits. She keeps cattle, chickens, and rabbits and is planning to start rearing dairy goats.

“Through the magazine, I learnt how to make my own chicken, dairy and rabbit feeds. This has reduced my costs,” she adds.

She sells her surplus and makes over Ksh20,000 a month, which caters for home expenses.

“I feed my family from the farm. I don’t buy food. Even better, my family consumes a balanced diet,” says Wairimu.

To deal with the shimmering heat in Gilgil, Wairimu uses leaves and farm residue to cover the soil to prevent moisture loss. This helps her soil to retain water for longer and enables her to harvest throughout the year.

“Since I learnt about mulching and minimal soil disturbance, I do not throw away leaves after pruning my trees. I also buy leaves from neighbors who have pruned their trees.”

‘Farmers should stop farming routinely and farm smart’, she says, and urges them to inter-crop in ways that keep the pests away. Her plea to urban residents is for them to embrace technologies such as vertical gardens to plant vegetables.

“After discovering vertical gardens, my worry about dryness of this region dissipated. With vertical gardens, it is easy to keep the soil moist even when dry seasons persist,” she says.

Wairimu asks farmers to be conscious of the long-term effects of chemicals on food produced. She urges them to start organic farming on a small portion of their farm and expand gradually.

“Once you start using these techniques, you will never desire to invest in chemical farm inputs. Despite the labour you will need to put in, the yields and benefits are worth it. Organic farming though tasking is rewarding,” she adds.