AGRICULTURALPRODUCTIONIn Othaya, Kenya

By Brett Promisloff & Alayna Blalock

Subsistence Crops specific to Othaya, the Nyeri South District, and Nyeri

• Most farmers are subsistence farmers

• Almost every homestead in the Nyeri South District has at least one or two exotic cattle for personal/family use. (Source: Future Ag research paper)

TeaRequirements:•Red loam mixed with volcanic soils•Drained within 2m depth and PH between 4.5-6.5•Thrives with rainfall from 1,200mm to 2,500mm annually, preferably with long/sunny intervals. •Temperatures 120-280 degrees Celsius.•Typically 2 harvests per year (“first flush” and “second flush”)

Chinga Tea Factory Co Ltd. (Othaya):•Tea first grown in region in 1953; factory built in 1963•4,683 growers •Grow stump/clonal teas

Coffee• Species: Arabica

• Optimal Arabica Growing Climate• Harvest Season (generally in Kenya): October through January (rainy period)

• Can be a month ahead or behind depending on climate and El Niño force• Ability to be intercropped with other horticultural crops• Mostly produced by small farmers• Declining market

• Transparency of the market: producers are not guaranteed a profit• Political interference in market: cause of decline?

• Coffee co-op in Othaya: Othaya Farmers Cooperative Society Ltd• Membership: 14,000• Production Capacity (total kg): 2,940,000• Factories: 19• Staff No.: 101

• (Source: Kenya Coffee Producers Association)

Coffee cont…

• Coffee Knowledge Base: Varieties in Kenya

• Coffee Geography and Climate in Kenya• Kenya in general prides itself on the quality of coffee they produce:

“Kenyan producers place an emphasis on quality and as a result, processing and drying procedures are carefully controlled and monitored. Kenya has its own unique grading system. Kenyan AA is the largest bean in a 10-size grading system and AA+ means that it was estate grown” (National Coffee Association of U.S.A., Inc.).

Dairy

Othaya Dairy Cooperative Society:•Established in 1964•1,386 active members operating in three dairies with 200 collection sites in the region•Receives a lot of morning milk deliveries for the area and acts as the link between farmers and milk processors •Buys milk at Ksh.27 per liter and sells it at Ksh.29.50 with the margin used to run the society•Used profit to create program in the “farm input department” which allows the society to give farmers input on the basis of how much milk they supply•Discourages sales directly to the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) or any other brokers due to a history of mismanagement and fraud•The dairy boasts nearly 100% allegiance from participants.

Goats

In Othaya:• Keeping of dairy goats gaining popularity

in region, but little know-how• Such a new phenomenon there is currently no, or very small, market for goat

milk • “The agricultural officers still have to do a lot of sensitization to bring more

farmers on board and also create a market for the product.”

General Benefits:• Goats need less space than cows • Milk is highly nutritious• This is an activity that women traditionally undertake

Other Ag Ventures

Piggeries:

•Some farmers have learned how to manage pigs in Nyeri South District (exact numbers unknown)•Ready markey available, including a sausage manufacturing companies in Thika, Kenya•Thika is about 1.5 hrs from Othaya

Horticulture & Greenhouses

•Land fragmentation has caused people in the region to focus on high intensive farming; minimum land, maximum use

Beekeeping• Due to land fragmentation, drought and soil degredation, tea production has

been on the fall in recent years but often the government intervenes and won’t allow people to tear up their tea fields • This is because it’s a cash crop that brings in tax revenue In order to

supplement their income many farmers have been adding beekeeping to their farms since it takes up little space but can be highly productive.

• “So far, at least 6,000 tea farmers at Iriaini Tea Factory have already acquired hundreds of beehives to diversify their income. The farmers have acquired a 150-acre piece of land in Nyeri town, where they plan to erect 12,000 bee hives in three years. Through the bee project, introduced by Fair Trade Company — also the marketers of Iriaini Tea factory — the farmers hope to raise 288,000 kilos of honey annually.” http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/mag/InsidePage.php?id=2000008048&cid=457&

• expect to sell it at Sh500 per kilo• Iriana located in Nyeri

Rabbit Keeping• Ministry of Livestock recently held a “field day” in the district to conduct studies on the

acceptance of rabbit meat• There was good attendance and everyone was able to try it• Taste of meat was well accepted

• Number of farmers keeping rabbits is rapidly growing, but still not keeping up with demand

• Rabbit Farming Networks beginning to pop up across Kenya• Rabbit Farming won funding from the 2009 Africa Rural Connect Competition

From: http://arc.peacecorpsconnect.org/view/653

Problems & Challenges facing Agricultural Production

• Population has put pressure on the remaining arable land left in the area. The average household owns about .64ha2 of land. Moreover, no one is willing to sell land anymore (Source: Future Ag research paper)

• High cost of capital• Land fragmentation• Soil fertility• Youth opinions• Pesticide use• Other farmer challenges

• Farmer ignorance and low technology uptakes• High cost of inputs• Cooperative mismanagment (like in coffee)• Lack of sanitary information• Delayed supply of inputs

Resources