A Global Agricultural Research Partnership

Kenyan farmers adopt simple techniques to increase their yield

by Consortium
Stories of Change
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Margaret Silas is a Kenyan farmer who grows coffee, sweet potatoes, mango, macadamia, arrow roots and trees on her farm. She faces a lot of problems due to the lack of dependable rains. Particularly during the planting season, the seedlings often dry out. As a response, like so many other farmers, she started using chemical fertilizer but lack of sufficient rain often causes her crop to fail.

Today, Margaret use conservation farming techniques: instead of ploughing the entire field surface, she plants her seeds in smaller squares, filled with manure and covered with leaves. This not only protects the top soil better, but the seeds can await the first rains for up to 2 weeks.

This simple technique increased her yields from 3-4 bags of maize, to 57 bags per season.

Margeret was supported by TIST, an ICRISAT partner.
Video by Peter Casier/CGIAR Consortium office, produced for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
View more CCAFS farmer testimonials

3 Responses to Kenyan farmers adopt simple techniques to increase their yield

  1. SANDRA C. S. MENDES says:
    August 31, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    Acho louvavel e necessario uma concientizaçao sobre a importancia de se preservar as vegetaçoes bem como espalhar o conhecimento sobre vegetaçoes resistentes a seca, e incetivar o cultivo conciente de tais,para que algum dia a populaçao africana se sustente com as proprias “pernas” e tenha independencia dos outros paises.

    Reply
    • Peter Casier says:
      August 31, 2011 at 2:30 pm

      Sandra, I allow a “liberal” translation into English for the other readers (given my very imperfect Portuguese, but with help from you via Twitter):

      Sandra says:

      Preserving the vegetation, implementing drought resistant (grain) crops (vegetation) is crucial.But the preservation of the vegetation itself also helps to mitigate the effects of drought, and making people conscious of these crops, will allow the African population stand “on their own legs” and become independent of other countries

      .. And we could not agree more, Sandra! — This is one aspect. But we could also widen it: training on those crops, adapted fertilizers and cropping techniques, creating a market for these crops, irrigation, forestation (to protect the fields)… All goes together..

      Peter
      (Moderator)

      Reply
  2. Women in agriculture? Yes, we can! (CGIAR) – Improved Management of Agricultural Water in East and Southern Africa says:
    March 9, 2012 at 6:57 pm

    [...] Margaret Silas, a Kenyan farmer uses simple techniques to increase her yield [...]

    Reply

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