Women's cooperative in Makueni County use agricultural innovations to improve food security, income and resilience

In the heart of Makueni County in Makindu, Kenya, the Kimatwa Women Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) is making remarkable strides in agricultural innovation and community empowerment around climate-smart agriculture. Supported by AICCRA, this group of dedicated women is transforming their farming practices and expanding their reach through a home-grown model that goes beyond traditional demonstrations and training sessions to ‘Climate-Smart Production Farms’, and aims for large production volumes in lucrative cereal and legume markets.

During a recent field visit, the women showcased how they’ve been using various climate-smart technologies and shared their experiences, including incorporating indigenous knowledge of weather prediction into their decision making, for example, to determine planting seasons. They also discussed the best tools for farming and demonstrated their commitment to safe and nutritious food production.

Ripping being implemented on the fields in Makindu. Ripping breaks up compacted soil layers without turning them over, helping to break up the hard layers from traditional ploughing and improving water infiltration and soil moisture.

A model of innovation and expansion

Kimatwa SACCO first received CSA training from AICCRA in 2023 and they have not looked back. Using what they’d learned, the cooperative started by setting up nine cluster demo areas to serve as community learning labs for CSA technologies and innovations.

The demos exhibited various climate-smart crop varieties such as maize, beans, sorghum, millet, green grams, cowpea, and pigeon pea. They also showcased climate-smart practices such as ripping, planting basins, furrows, and ridges, innovative intercropping systems, use of organic manure and fertilizers, and mulching, among others. The wide range of options presented was necessary not only to take care of the heterogenous environment but also to give farmers options to choose their preferences and what fits their individual farms.

Zai pits (small basins in which seeds are planted and water is captured) being used in SACCO farmers' fields.

Use of the planting basins is considered labor and capital intensive. This has previously put many farmers off from adopting the practice. However, as farmers have learnt and seen the long-term benefits, they have come to appreciate the technology, realizing it is worth the initial investment as the overall benefits far outweigh the short-term labour and cost of establishment. Uptake happens when there co-design, demonstration and continuously learning by doing among researchers/extension and farmers

From the demos, local farmers have adopted CSA technologies on their farms and observed the benefits of higher and stable yields versus those they were achieving with traditional farming approaches.

“After the training on CSA, I decided to try out the planting basins on my farm. I started with 300 basins. In an area I used to harvest less than 1 debe (20kg) of maize, I was able to harvest 1 sack of maize (90kg), thanks to the planting basins. As you can see, I have decided to expand from 300 to 700 basins.”
Josephine Mwende, a Kimwatwa SACCO farmer

Similar testimonies of increased and stable yields in the drought-prone semi-arid region of Makueni County were echoed across the farms showing the benefit SACCO member farmers are accruing from adopting CSA technologies. Several farmers - including those not members of the cooperative - have embraced these technologies and expanded their practices onto their farms. This farmer-driven expansion is a testament to the effectiveness of the training and support provided, and the invaluable role of women in scaling climate adaptation for their communities.

To scale the CSA demo plots, AICCRA supported SACCO with starter seeds to pilot a community seed revolving scheme. Farmers receiving the seed demo packs from the cooperative were expected to return part of the harvest to rebuild the stock for subsequent seasons. 81 farmers returned some of their grain as agreed, creating a revolving seed scheme. This seed-revolving scheme will ensure that grain from legumes can be replanted or sold, with the proceeds reinvested into SACCO’s agricultural activities.

“We were motivated by the benefits at the demos and individual farms, and we opted to rolling out the collective Climate Smart Production Farms as part of the diversification of its investment portfolios,” noted Theressiah Ngonze, Chair of Kimatwa SACCO

Farmer-driven growth continues

To date, the cooperative has independently rented additional land, currently totalling about 12 acres, and is actively seeking more in different locations to produce drought-tolerant crop varieties of maize, beans, sorghum, millet, green grams, cowpea, and pigeon pea using climate-smart practices.

One of these acres is designated specifically to serve as a demonstration site where various CSA technologies will be exhibited for continued learning, while other farms have been designated for scaling up and collective production. This model not only highlights the organization's commitment to learning and experimentation but also emphasizes its focus on sustainable growth through community involvement.

Boaz Waswa and SACCO women representatives inspect a ripper machine - these are used to address soil compaction issues and improve soil structure without turning over the layers of soil.

SACCO will also utilize the part of the certified seed that remained in storage, along with the seed returned by farmers as part of the seed revolving scheme, to produce as a group. Using their tractor and ripping equipment, they completed land preparation in mid-October, positioning themselves to plant as soon as the conditions were right. This proactive approach demonstrates their growth and institutional transformation, driven by the knowledge and skills acquired through AICCRA’s support.

The SACCO promotion of the use of tractors has helped ease operations for farmers adopting ripping and furrow technology. However, those adopting planting basins, one of the emerging popular CSA technologies in the area still rely on manual preparation. The digging of the basins is considered labour intensive, especially for women farmers, the majority of whom are also elderly. It is expensive as it costs about 50 Kenya shillings (Kshs. ) to dig a 2ft-by-2ft basin.

Fortunately, young people in the community are emerging as entrepreneur service providers for digging the planting basins. The youth have been innovative in fabricating appropriate digging equipment that makes the work easier and faster. By offering service to the other farmers, they can earn income while at the same time enabling a wider group of farmers, including women and elders, to adopt the CSA technologies. Nurturing such mechanization service provision models will go a long way in incentivizing adoption of the CSA technologies.

A shift towards sustainability

The cluster CSA demonstrations, which have been a cornerstone of the SACCO’s learning process, will continue to play a vital role in the cooperatives expansion. These demonstrations have been carefully screened to ensure they provide valuable insights and practical knowledge to the farmers, acting as learning hubs, sparking interest and motivation among the farmers to scale up their operations.

Moving forward, AICCRA will continue offering technical support on CSA technologies and training, ensuring that the SACCO’s activities align with environmental and social principles.

AICCRA researcher Boaz Waswa, training SACCO cluster leaders on CSA, climate information services and safeguards sensitization.

The self-propulsion of the Kimatwa Women SACCO is a significant move towards sustainable agricultural practices. It showcases the SACCO’s ability to progress from training and demonstrations to widespread adoption and leading community involvement.

“The shift by Kimatwa SACCO to Climate Smart Production Farms is an innovative approach that seeks to go beyond the perennial lead farmers to involving the entire community in the journey toward wider scaling of CSA technologies and innovations for increased productivity and resilience to climate change,” noted Boaz Waswa, AICCRA Researcher

To sustain its current level of growth and momentum, SACCO is looking to build capacity for 3-4 Trainers of Trainers (ToTs) from within their ranks. These ToTs will be instrumental in following up on production farms and supporting individual farmers.

AICCRA will facilitate the training of the trainers as well as the initial field facilitation for data collection and learning materials for the ToTs by linking with the County agriculture extension team. This collaborative community effort will ensure that the SACCO’s expansion is well-supported and sustainable.

As part of the continuing learning in preparation for the season, the AICCRA team facilitated a training session for 11 SACCO executive members and CSA cluster leaders covering elements of best agricultural practices, climate information services (CIS), CSA practices, and safety measures for the application of chemicals and pesticides.

These comprehensive training sessions have equipped the farmers with the knowledge and skills needed to enhance their productivity while ensuring environmental and personal safety. The trainings were drawn from the CSA training guide developed by AICCRA from the learnings with the group.