A stunning landscape of lush green looking farmlands stretching for miles past the forested hills and river networks, defines the landscape of Kilgoris. Kilgoris is a town in Trans Mara West Sub-county in Narok county. This town is home to fifty-five-year-old Chief Simion Koiseta an unsung hero in the village of Romosha.
Simion Ole Koiseta or simply “chief” as most residents in his area call him is a man who has transformed not only his life but that of his community through servant leadership and leading by example. Chief is from the Maasai community who are traditionally herders. In the 1970’s Chief took a different path, one that changed his life and that of his community for the better.
Chief is a cereal farmer.
We met Chief during a farmer leader’s meeting and he gladly took the time to share his story with us.
Why Farming?
His story begins in the late 70’s, when he began to farm, driven by a strong desire to change his life, despite being armed with very little knowledge of how to go about it. “In my first farming venture, I planted maize on an acre of land and only harvested five bags”, he tells us. This did however not dampen his spirit and even after he enrolled into the General Service Unit (GSU), a paramilitary wing of the National Police Service ready to serve his country in the early 80’s, his desire to farm remained strong.
At this period, his community could not sustain their food supply needs. They engaged in barter trade where they exchanged a litre of milk for a ‘kobo’ (2kg container) of maize with the neighboring Gusii community. “To me, the trade mostly favored the Gusii community because at the time, milk held a higher perceived value in comparison to maize,” he explains.
Faced with this challenge, Chief further embarked on growing maize and beans on just two acres of land while still serving as a GSU officer. His farming venture employed traditional methods which resulted in a meagre harvest.
In 1992, Chief got a departmental transfer from GSU and was posted to become the Assistant Chief of Romosha Sub-location. This transfer brought Chief closer home and his desire to change his life, and that of his community grew stronger. “I had a great admiration for people who owned cars and I desired to own one someday,” Chief told us. To do so he knew he had to change a lot of things and the way he viewed farming was one of them.
The turning point
With his new-found leadership position, Chief embarked on a total mind shift. This mind shift involved moving away from just relying on the traditional cattle breeds and taking advantage of the vast and fertile land available, as well as viewing farming as a business venture that needed to make a profit, for it to be sustainable. He sought to transfer the same mindset to other community members.
However, there was one major impediment, “Our harvests were still low and we did not even produce enough for us to eat”, he continued. Luckily, in 2008 Cereal Growers Association (CGA) began operating in his region and he greatly benefited from the extension service that was offered in supplementation to what the government was doing at the time.
It was easier for CGA and the Ministry of Agriculture to work with the farmers in groups and they encouraged the Romosha community to come together and form groups.
“When they encouraged us to work in groups, I took the advice seriously and helped found the Romosha Farmers Association (RMA) in 2009”, he continues. While working together as a group, they greatly benefited from training on how to plant, the proper use of fertilizer, crop spacing, how to plough correctly, better weed management techniques and more. For the first time in the history of Trans Mara, and specifically Romosha, majority of the group members harvested up to 25 bags per acre up from the previous 5 bags per acre.
“We were ecstatic, we never thought we could sustain ourselves from farming”, said Chief.
However, another impediment came about. “After the harvests, we faced a major marketing challenge due to the poor state of our roads at the time. Brokers would exploit us, by buying a 90kg bag of maize at only 400 Kshs”, Chief explained.
It is then that CGA helped the group in aggregating their produce which enabled them access markets like WFP. “When we aggregated our produce, we minimized the influence of brokers and for the first time able to access markets like the World Food Programme (WFP). We sold a 90kg bag of maize at 1800kshs up from the disappointing 400kshs,” he says midway through a big smile.
Working together as a group enabled them to employ marketers that opened the market for their produce. In addition to the WFP, they also accessed markets within schools and sold directly to millers.
This drastically changed the lives of the members.
Seneiya Mwajuma, also a resident of Romosha location owes a lot of her success to Chief’s leadership. “Before we came together as RMA, the most I had ever harvest in my 4-acre piece of land was ten bags an acre. But after 2009 when we started working with Chief and CGA I now harvest not less than 27 bags an acre”, Mwajuma tells us.
The community has embraced working together in groups and in this region alone over 35 groups have sprung up. Out of these 35, 18 became very active which resulted in the formation of Meguarra Farmers’ Cooperative. “Currently the cooperative has an operating capital of 27 million Kshs,” says Chief.
The coming together to form the cooperative has had many benefits for the farmers in the region. This includes the construction of better storage facilities. “We now have a storage capacity of over 12,000 90kgs bags,” says Chief.
Marketing is no longer a challenge because through the cooperative, the community markets their produce as a unit leaving no room for brokers. “Through the cooperative, we also have an easier and cost beneficial access to inputs and government fertilizer subsidy,” says Chief.
Chief owes a lot of his success and that of his community to having positively embraced CGA’s input and taking the training offered to him seriously. “I am not the same person I was when I started. I have grown from farming on just an acre and a half to cultivating up to 150 acres at a go with production of up to 30 bags per acre,’’ he says smiling happily.
“For me owning a car was a pipe dream yet now I own several cars including trucks to transport my produce. “he adds.
Advice to upcoming cereal farmers
Chief’s advice to especially the young upcoming farmers is that farming pays and ought not to be left for the old. He also encourages anyone wishing to grow through farming to endure through humble beginnings as they always grow into bigger things.
“Work together with people around you because that way, you are better placed to overcome common challenges together, just like we did.” He says in conclusion.