1. A Kenya Agricultural Research Institute &
McGill University Project
Funded by IDRC/CIDA
Enhancing ecologically resilient food
security through Innovative farming
systems in the semi-arid midlands of
Kenya
Esther Njuguna, Lutta Muhammad, Gordon Hickey, Leigh Brownhill, Bernard
Pelletier, Festus Murithi, John Wambua, Josiah Gitari

2. Key Messages
• PPATE – SPATE model has allowed the project to demonstrate
technologies and approaches that enhance resilience in the
farming systems to many farmers within a short time
• Traditional crops demonstrated to have the potential of
becoming cash crops for farmers in semi arid areas
• Farmers and traders in the semi arid areas have opportunities to
grow business deals if they talk to each other
• There are opportunities for the private sector to make business
providing certified seeds of neglected crops to the small scale
farmers: some lessons from Freshco Seeds Company.

3. Definitions
• The project is innovating by adapting the existing
technologies and making sure that farmers use
them, working across institutions
• Resilience is the ability of
people, households, communities, countries, and systems
to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and
stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability
and facilitates inclusive growth (USAID 2012)

4. The four elements of a resilience framework
DFID, 2012

5. Rationale for the project
Lower midlands 4 and 5: The
project focus region in Kenya
• 10% of Kenya’s land resources
– Climatic shocks
(rainfall, amounts, distribution, re
liability)
– Natural shocks (degraded soils)
– Production shocks (low yields)
– Market shocks (access, prices)
– Demographic shocks (population
increase, migration of
labour, health)
• Many years of research and
development interventions
• But low adoption rates, low impacts

6. Food security resilience: Conceptual framework
Equitable access

7. Participatory evaluations and
service provision model
Farmer groups
SPATE
SPATE
SPATE
• Primary participatory agric technology
evaluations
•Secondary participatory agric technology
evaluations
54 PPATE groups - 1253 farmers (498
male, 755 female)
216 SPATE groups in 7 districts in 3
counties, 5400 Households
Sorghum, Cowpeas, Green grams, Millet,
Maize, Pigeon peas, Beans, Dolichos
Lablab, Cassava, Forages, Natural Pastures
improvement
All the 54 farmer groups prioritized
indigenous chicken 67 service provides
trained on improved management;
vaccinating against new castle diseases.

8. Participatory evaluations and service
provision model
•Attitude
•Perception
•Preferences
•Assessment of the performance of
technologies
•Adoption of subsets

9. - 716 men and 1007 women
farmers trained on participatory
market identification in the local
area, assessment and planning
- 18 Market opportunity groups
formed to facilitate sets of 3
farmer groups (FRDAs) in market
planning
- Indigenous chicken, green-grams
and cowpeas identified as
priority products for marketing
Traditional crops as cash crops
Enterprise Scores
Indigenous
chicken 16
Green grams 19
Beans 2
Millets 4
Sorghums 1
Cowpeas 10
Pigeons peas 6
Dolichos 2
Maize 2
Cassava 1

10. - There are Institutions and private traders
willing to buy from farmers e.g.,
- 1 FRDA in Yatta planned for the market
and collectively sold green grams to
traders worth KSh 850,000 (USD 10,000);
Saw price of green grams increase from
KSh 40/kg for an individual to KSh 55/kg
when traders collected the produce from
a group
- Produce sold to local traders identified in
the PMSD exercise
- Chicken sold every 2 months to highest
bidder, prices raised from 3.75USD to
6.80USD per bird
Market Access in the semi arids

11. Business opportunity for the private sector
6 10.5
33
1 0
5
42
100
210
0
50
100
150
200
250
Jan to April 2011 Sept to Nov 2011 Jan to Apr 2012
AmountofcertifiedseedssoldinMetricTons
The amounts of certified seeds sold by Freshco Seeds for 3 seasons in
the 7 districts where the project is implemented
Cowpeas Green Grams Pigeon peas Dolichos Lablab
Sorghum Beans Maize
-Farmers pooled Ksh
72000
to buy fertilizers
-Farmers raised over
100000
to buy certified seeds from
KARI katumani
-Opportunities to use the
PPATE groups are seed
Distribution agents being
considered

12. • Building and sustaining up-scaling strategies through farmer to
farmer learning in the PPATE/SPATE Model
• Small scale farmers participation in markets: aggregation, standards
and storage
• Stakeholder coordination around identified compelling agendas for
food security resilience
• Sustaining resilience in scale and over time for vulnerable
households
• Priority policy interventions in collaboration with local county gov’ts
Priorities for further action

13. Key Messages
• PPATE – SPATE model has allowed the project to demonstrate
technologies and approaches that enhance resilience in the
farming systems to many farmers within a short time
• Traditional crops demonstrated to have the potential of
becoming cash crops for farmers in semi arid areas
• Farmers and traders in the semi arid areas have opportunities to
grow business deals if they talk to each other
• There are opportunities for the private sector to make business
providing certified seeds of neglected crops to the small scale
farmers: some lessons from Freshco Seeds Company.

14. Acknowledgements
• CIFSRF through IDRC/CIDA
• GOK
• Partners (KEMRI, MOA, CASCADE Freshco Seeds Company, KSU)
• Farming communities in Tharaka, Makueni and Machakos
counties of Kenya
• Dedicated researchers in KARI Katumani and KARI Embu
• Research assistants in the field
• FARA audience today
• Thank you