The Kindness of Small-Scale Farmers in Kenya

The smells of charcoal fires, the welcoming taste of African tea, and the feel of red dust coating her feet are memories, Rebecca Warren says, that she brings back from this summer’s Kenya Learning Tour.

Warren also recalls development workers riding on motorcycles across rutted roads from one remote farm to the next, sharing agricultural techniques and training to help make the lives of the community better, one farmer at a time.

“It was such a wonderful trip. It gave me a stunning picture of things that I may have known before in my head, but that I now know on the deepest heart level,” said Warren, a board member of World Renew, which works in various ways to reduce poverty and enhance health for the people of Kenya and many other countries throughout the world.

Sponsored by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank with the help of a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the trip took place July 10-24 and involved seven faith leaders from across Canada who were invited to go on the journey.

The trip was part of the Good Soil Campaign, an effort by the Foodgrains Bank to lobby Canadian lawmakers to boost aid to developing countries. World Renew is part of that campaign.

Among the project sites they visited was one in which World Renew is involved.

“Our group traveled to many different sites in Kenya and got a wide range of views of the agricultural sector—from meetings with the Canadian High Commission and research scientists to casual conversations with the farmers themselves,” said Warren, interim director of interdisciplinary studies at The King’s University in Edmonton, Alta.

A significant challenge Kenyans are facing now is a long-term drought.

“Unpredictable weather patterns are making it very difficult for them to feed their families,” said Warren. “But there are projects that are making a difference.”

One of the sites they visited, she said, was the African Christian Church and School Food Security Project operating in a drought-ravaged area of the Rift Valley that hadn’t been able to produce a harvest for three years.

The project involves use of drought-resistant seeds and distribution of farming tools and wood-saving cookers.

Warren said they also visited a livestock research institute, a research hub that is bringing together scientists who are addressing agricultural challenges across Africa, and a centre that studies the use of trees in farm settings.

In addition, the tour group spent time at Mount Kenya Christian Community Agriculture & Livelihoods Restoration, which is funded partly through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank with the support of World Renew.

At this site, farmers received drought-resistant seeds, training in what is called drip irrigation, and chickens to raise to eat and to sell.

Warren recalls how Jane Manjiku, one of the farmers, insisted that Stephan Lutz, the World Renew representative in the area, take two chickens and some sweet potatoes as a gift.

“She loved Stephan and wanted him to have the chickens. It was a wonderful moment of connection, a glimpse into the fact that the people of God are everywhere,” said Warren.

Another moment of connection came for Warren when she met Mercy Stephen, a woman who has six children and works hard on her plot of land to feed them.

In talking of the help she has received to grow crops in the midst of drought, Mercy told Warren that she was so grateful for the food she was able to harvest that she gave some of it to her neighbors in need.

“That was no small task. She has a small farm and school fees for her children, but she wanted to share what she had with others,” said Warren. “It was so humbling for me to meet women like that.”

Another highlight of the trip was seeing how farmers have turned to simple solutions for their problems,.

On the advice of development workers, the farmers are using inexpensive plastic bags to store their maize so that it doesn’t get eaten by insects, and they are digging small ponds and lining them with plastic to catch and store water.

“It was amazing to see how the people are able to go from receiving food relief to food security where they can grow their own food,” said Warren. “This is what Canadians are helping to do and making a huge difference.”

Going from place to place, Warren was inspired by the spirit of people like Jane Manjiku and Mercy Stephen . She appreciated meeting and learning from them and also worshiping with them.

“I have never seen anything like the determination and courage of so many small-holder farmers in Kenya—how hard they work for their daily bread, yet also how many innovative solutions they have adopted—and how grateful they are for what they have,” she said.

“Throughout the trip, we were greeted with such kindness, hospitality, warmth, and generosity.”

If you are interested in learning more about how you can make a difference in the lives of farmers by encouraging the Canadian government to increase giving for international aid for agriculture, please see the Good Soil Campaign at the Foodgrains bank website:http://foodgrainsbank.ca/campaigns/good-soil/.