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Highlights on Major Topics Covered During the Events
Soil fertility management. Composting occupied a prominent role within all of the Countrywide Events, as did the utilization of other organic inputs in crop production. Examples of organic inputs included livestock and poultry manure, crop residues, biomass slurries, forest litter and wood shavings. Integrated soil fertility management combining organic and inorganic inputs was emphasized as it greatly increases the returns from farm inputs. Farmers require knowledge on the benefits that accrue from using organic resources in crop production. Smallhold irrigation, water harvesting and conservation technologies were also presented. Presentations and exhibits by NGOs and CBOs indicate that they are widely involved in soil fertility management and improved access to soil, and other farm inputs.
Waste management. Organic wastes occur both in the rural and urban areas and their wise management contributes to household sanitation, crop production and environment protection. In some rural areas, large amounts of wastes accumulate as agricultural by-products that are not optimally recycled within the farming systems. Some of the under-utilized wastes include rice and wheat straw, maize stover, rice hulls coffee husks and sugarcane tops. In Nairobi, urban domestic waste consists of 70% organic materials, suggesting that opportunities exist for recycling of the wastes into compost, handicrafts and other useful products. Crop residues in farms and organic wastes in towns are being profitably processed into agricultural inputs both for crop, fish and livestock production. Banana fibre is being weaved into handicrafts for household and office uses, and water hyacinth is being processed into compost, fibre for handicrafts and livestock silage. CBOs have taken the lead in urban waste management but are constrained by limited facilities and lack of supporting policies and laws. Furthermore, experiences with waste management developed by innovators in Nairobi also have application in other, smaller urban areas of Kenya.
Traditional foods and plants. Production, processing and preservation of foods were widely covered. Traditional foods are important in household nutrition and are emerging as a cash crop among the peri-urban farmers, although their consumption is limited within some Kenyan communities. An exhibit on processing amaranth seed into flour by 3KM Women Group attracted immense public attention. The flour is used for cooking porridge, chapati and vegetables. Pumpkin, potato, cassava, soybean and banana are also being processed into higher value, marketable products. Some research and development institutions are involved in seed production, dissemination of information and value-added processing of traditional plants and vegetables. Farmers have ventured into drying, packaging and labeling traditional vegetables to improve their shelf life and demand. The events promoted the role of traditional foods and plants, distribution of seeds and informational materials. Challenges highlighted include lack of proper seed and nutrient information, cultural biases and limited processing techniques. Future research should target improved marketing and increased use of fertilizers.
Agricultural credit and grants. A few organizations were invited to familiarize participants with micro-enterprise credit and grant schemes. Credit providers must target the small scale farmers who have limited access to loans from banking institutions. Limited access to credit reduces innovators’ abilities to expand and improve their technologies and products. Financing of credit is the main constraint in credit management given high interest rates charged and low returns from investments. Discussions at every FORMAT countrywide event point to the capital resource limitations faced by promising innovators. These innovators who are really no different than their counterpart backyard inventors in developed countries during the 1900s, depend upon their own resources in developing new technologies and products that may later benefit society. These backyard innovators tend to concentrate their efforts upon invention rather than dissemination and popularization. A modest “micro-grant” to assist key innovators refine their technologies and products in order to facilitate their dissemination and testing by others will be initiated by FORMAT in 2004. Examples of emerging innovations include proto-type mushroom composting kits (Maseno University), grain amaranth seeds and production systems (3KM Women Group, Central Kenya), instant traditional green vegetables (ARDAP, Western Kenya) and recycled briquettes (TEPA, Central Kenya). FORMAT believes that innovators given support will greatly improve their products and technologies allowing for wider application of them in agricultural production and environmental protection.
Information dissemination and extension. One of the achievements of the FORMAT Countrywide Events was the exchange and dissemination of information on organic resource management to participants, the public, institutions of learning and grassroots organizations. Several books, brochures, pamphlets, contacts and various extension materials were widely distributed during the events. Information was presented to participants using PowerPoint, overhead projectors and attractive posters with polished artwork, although in a few cases presenters relied upon handwritten notes. It was evident from all the events that grassroots organizations are becoming more familiar with cost-effective means of information dissemination within rural areas. Most presentations and exhibits emphasized agriculture as a business, community mobilization and networking, creative marketing, alternative extension approaches and the role of women in rural development. In areas where the events were well advertised, the number of visitors was overwhelming and the events filled a gap left by diminishing government extension services. Information on crop improvement covered breeding of higher yielding varieties, clean seed bulking, seedling propagation and the control of diseases, pests and weeds. Biological and cultural of weed, pest and disease control was the focus of most presentations. The use of tissue culture to produce disease resistant crop varieties especially bananas, potatoes and fruits is being popularized by various research institutions. Seed security was emphasized in order to conserve germplasm and sustain the crop production in smallhold farms. Several CBOs engage in profitable distribution of seeds, seedlings, cuttings and suckers of the tissue cultured bananas, potatoes and fruits.
Natural resource conservation. The conservation of natural resources is an integral part of organic resource management and a number of the presentations demonstrated different ways in which diverse natural resources can be conserved for improved livelihoods. The various approaches presented include the use of renewable sources of energy, water conservation, biological pest and disease control, protection of fragile environments such as wetlands and marine environments, conservation of indigenous trees, agroforestry and protection of forests. Uncontrolled utilization of natural resources without allowing for regeneration has greatly affected production systems resulting in poverty due to considerable environmental damage. Policies and their effective implementation are needed for sustainable utilization of natural resources. Such policies should also provide incentives for practitioners whose efforts contribute to sustenance of the natural resource base.
Value-Added Processing. A significant proportion of presentations and exhibits at the Countrywide Events were on value-added processing and products. Methods and tools for processing organic resources into various products such as fuel briquettes, handicrafts, fertilizers and livestock feed were presented. Several products are being processed from trees such as baobab, avocado, acacia, coconut, moringa, jetropha, neem, and pawpaw. Such products include herbal soaps, medicine, pesticides and herbicides, oil, gum arabic, handicrafts, manure, foods, animal feed, fertilizers and cosmetics. Processing of organic resources minimizes waste, conserves the environment and sustains farm production. Value-added processing, however, may also pose a threat to the natural environment as most of its resource outputs may be in greater demand as intermediate inputs in the production system. Several women groups are processing various foods and fruits such as avocadoes, bananas, mangoes and pawpaw into value-added products like bread jam, wine, toffee, oil and fruit beverages. Non-biodegradable wastes such as metals are recycled into machines for processing organic wastes. Examples of simple machinery useful in processing organic resources into value-added products include fuel briquettes presses, hand pumps, drum ovens and solar driers.
Livestock management. Organic resources are of great importance in integrated crop-dairy farming systems. Presentations in this subject emphasized value-added milk processing and marketing, smallhold zero grazing and feed management, silage making, fodder production and management, ethno-veterinary medicine, composting and manure management. Smallhold fish farming was promoted and enthusiastic farmers were encouraged to construct fish ponds in order to benefit from improved nutrition and fish sales. Livestock feed and feed waste management is efficient within zero-grazing units. It is recommended to integrate dairy farming with crop production in order to produce more livestock feed and provide a wider variety of organic inputs to the soil. It was also observed that dairy animals fed with balanced diets including concentrates produce higher quality manures, with high nutrient levels that are required for crop growth.
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