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Every year 30-40 percent of Kenya's cereal crop is lost due to poor post-harvest handling, storage and transportation issues, contributing to poverty and food scarcity in the region. The Kenya Small Scale Cereal Growers Association has developed a farmer-to-farmer training program to prevent these losses and increase the amount of locally-grown, affordable food for the people of Kenya.
It will cost $50,000 to roll out this program to the association's 130,000 members for the 2014 harvest. We are inviting farmers and supporters of food security to help Kenyan farmers by stepping and provide the $10,000 required to get this project off the ground and into practice.
Cereal production in Kenya :
Cereal production in Kenya is synonymous with maize, the main food crop in Kenya and much of East Africa. Maize accounts for 90 percent of the cereals planted, while wheat, sorghum, barley, millet, rice and assorted legumes account for the other ten percent.Eighty percent of the crops in Kenya are produced on farms less than five acres in size.
Kenyan smallscale cereal farmer typically produces maize as the number one priority crop, maize being the staple food. Other cereals include sorghum, millet, finger millet, wheat and assorted legumes/pulses like beans, cowpeas, chicken peas and green-grams.
About the Kenya Small Scale Cereal Growers Association:
The Kenya Small Scale Cereal Growers Association is a farmer-based organization that was formed to champion the plight of the small-scale cereal farmer and address the many challenges they face. Cereal farmers in Kenya face a number of production challenges, including lack of awareness of new farming technology and low technological adoption, access to quality seeds and other inputs, and extreme weather events related to climate change. Despite the production challenges, the greatest threat to food security in Kenya is an extremely high rate of preventable post-harvest loss.
KSSCGA is committed to a country without hunger. It is not only unbelievable but also immoral to let someone die of hunger while it is possible to make a large contribution towards food security by tackling the huge losses we incur post harvest. In response to the issue, we have developed a training program to teach farmers how to improve their post-harvest handling of crops, andreduce their losses.
Post-harvest loss training :
KSSCGA feels that in as much as we work hard to increase our productivity, we must also go back and address the losses that we incur after toiling so much in the farms. We have therefore come up with training guidelines for the proper post-harvest handling that we expect to help our farmers reduce significantly their post-harvest losses consequently ensuring more food security at the household level, increased disposable income and reduced malnutrition related diseases. This training will also go a long way in seeing that hunger related deaths are drastically reduced.
Farmers will be selected in each region to receive training to deliver the post-harvest loss reduction program. In doing this training, we have already identified some farmers who we shall train for some few days so that they can have all the required knowledge to help us deliver appropriately. KSSCGA will use these farmers to train their fellow farmers. This model of farmers teaching farmers has been used before, andhas been very effective. We had seen this before and it works so well whena fellow farmer in the neighbourhood teaches others on the daytoday farming activities. These teacher-farmers will be regionally based so that even while training other farmersthey can work with their colleagues in their own language, and speak to specific issues that they deal with in their communities.
The Kenya Small-Scale Cereal Growers Association is resolved to deliver the post-harvest loss reduction training with precision to our 130,000 members across the country. The program will cost approximately $50,000 to roll out nationally this year.
About Tamara Leigh:
I visited Kenya in 2012 as part of an international delegation of agriculture journalists to learn about production and market challenges in East Africa. Following the official tour, I spent a couple of days meeting with grain growers with the help of the Kenya Small Scale Cereal Growers Association. Earlier this year I was reflecting on the impact that trip had on my life, and how I could give back. A week later, I got an email from Booker Owuor, national chair of the Kenya Small Scale Cereal Growers asking for my help to get the funds to start this training program.
There are places in the world where small changes in farm practices and post-harvest handling can make a difference to millions of people. Kenya is one of those places. Your contribution will empower farmers and help create a more food secure nation.
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