Farmers Experience Increased Revenue through Sorghum Farming
As Purity Njeru walks through one of her farm in Tharaka South Sub County, Tunyai Location, Tharaka Nithi County, she points to the bounty of growing sorghum.
“I have practiced farming for several years now, to be precise over 20 years. Farming is what I do for life. It is what I eat, drink and use to raise my children” says Purity.
“Ukulima yangu ilikuwa ya kutamba tamba tu” translated ‘My farming was shaky’ I was forced into farming by the dwindling opportunities which rendered me jobless.” adds Purity
Today, Purity harvests sorghum, green grams and other crops in abundance, and has begun contract farming. Last season, she harvested over 200 bags of sorghum, she is now food secure.
“I could spend Kshs. 15,000 on an acre but now it has reduced to Kshs. 9,000 – 11,000 on a higher side. To this effect, nowadays I don’t take loans to finance my farming venture, I have enough money to invest to my farm.” explained Purity
Purity attributes her success to what she has learned through the hub.
“In the year 2006, I joined the group. But we were facing several challenges. We lacked quality seeds for our farms and reliable market for our produce. By virtue of me having been appointed the vice chairperson for my group, I discussed the challenges we were facing with other groups which were also going through the same and we agreed to find help. That is how CGA came into the picture,” narrates Purity
In 2019, the Cereal Growers Association (CGA) in partnership with Christian Aid established Gakiuma Hub in Tunyai Location, Tharaka Nithi County, near Purity’s home. At the hub, small holder farmers learn to improve production through adoption of climate smart agriculture and good agricultural practices which they are required to replicate at home. In addition, farmers access advisory services, input and output markets as well as other services such as financial and mechanization services. Purity and over 120 other farmers have been trained as agribusiness advisors (farmer leaders who are change agents at the farm level) and as CSA champions.
“As a farming group in Tharaka Nithi, I can testify CGA has been quite helpful to us. You are God sent. Through your training on various areas which had proved to be a challenge to me, I have managed to increase my yields,” says Purity
“When I joined the hub, I sat down with other members and discussed on what we should do to grow our farming. I used to harvest 2-3 bags of sorghum from an acre of land and sold it at low prices. Brokers would come and offer prices which were too low but I had to sell because I needed money.” adds Purity.
Armed with new knowledge and skills from CGA’s training, Purity adopted those ideas and the results she got was amazing. For the first time, she recorded increased yield. An acre which used to give her 2-3 bags increased to at least 10 bags.
Before joining the hub, Purity says, “I had no clue on where to get quality seeds, and they were expensive anyway, so I opted for local home-made seeds. But now as a hub beneficiary CGA helped me access fertilizers, certified seeds and better markets where I sold my produce at relatively good prices compared to what brokers offered. Brokers would offer Kshs. 20-25 but through CGA’s market linkage, I started selling at Kshs.37 per kilogram. This change inspired me to work hard and earn more.”
“CGA has transformed my life completely. I never thought sorghum farming is a profitable venture. I did it to keep my land busy, but your intervention has made me realize proper knowledge and skills comes in handy to succeed as a farmer.” said Purity
“I have bought a water tank, dairy cows, constructed structures for poultry rearing, fenced my compound, this makes me happy,” says Purity
“I have also supported my husband to buy shopping as he pays school fees for our children. I have children in high school and university,” narrates Purity
Purity is thrilled that her training has helped her increase her production and income that can provide for her family and is now happily giving back to her community by training others on agripreneurship and proper farming skills to increase their production. She is now a mentor to women and members of the community
Through 8 CGA supported hubs, small holder farmers like Purity are increasing their production, diversifying their sources of income and becoming self- reliant. Across the four counties namely; Makueni, Kitui, Embu and Tharaka Nithi. These small holder farmers are developing an inclusive, resilient and sustainable green grams and sorghum value chain that improves the livelihoods that are resilient, ensuring food security lasts.
Farmers in Tharaka Nithi County are enjoying the benefits of engaging in good agricultural practices and training undertaken by CGA to enhance productivity and profitability. The skills acquired has enabled most farmers to double their yields and earn handsomely from sorghum farming.
All the 2548 smallholders farmers, like Purity, have received training in planning, production through to harvesting, record keeping, and the use of agricultural inputs to generate maximum yields as well as linkage to aggregation centers and the market.