Kenya: Cassava Provides Pathway out of Famine in Semi-arid Areas

By Henry Neondo

Every rising of the sun leaves Grace Wasua, 65, and mother of six children and ten grandchildren, six of who are orphaned due to AIDS, fearful.  A look at her two hectare farm in Mutomo district in the larger Kitui County, tells it all.

The stunted, desiccated, wilted, and bent maize-single crop on the hardened black cotton-soil farm gives a way reasons for Grace’s fear.

In summary, the family is staring at a famine for the fourth time in four years and that this is happening early in the year scares mothers like Agnes to their wit’s end.

“I have kept borrowing traditional maize seed from my neighbours every year since 2007 with the hope that I will return back after harvesting. But it has always been like this”, she says pointing at a stunted maize plant.

But for Ruth Ntheeu, 5 km away, things are different. She lives in the same environment as Agnes…that of dry, humid area devoid of rainfall.

But unlike Grace, Ruth’s story is different. Her farm appears to have life. In fact she won a prize during the world food day last year.

 She is described as an early adopter of new technology and innovation by Cecilia Kibe, Executive Director of the Revitalization of Indigenous Initiatives for Community Development (RINCOD), an NGO that engages in advocacy work related to climate change adaptation and mitigation through sustainable utilization and conservation of indigenous resources.

 Alternatives

 The maize stalk is wilted yes, but the cassava crop she planted on advice from RINCOD is green, so are mangoes and green grams. She is also displaying harvested sorghum crop.

Ruth says only last week, she sold cassava cuttings worth Ksh20, 000, this at a time when the entire area is on the verge of calling out for relief food.

Martha Gitau is a programme officer at the RINCOD. She says the Mutomo receives on average less than 300 mm of rainfall per year and over the last four years residents have not had any tangible harvesting of any crop.

“As long as residents continue to plant maize, they will continue getting disappointed”, she says.

According to RINCOD, a needs assessment in the area showed that cassava, sorghum, millet can do well in the area and already, farmers who have heeded their advise to grow these crops like Ruth, have for the second year running escaped famine.

Ruth plus 100 other famers who have now coalesced under Mutomo Cassava Production and Processing Association (MUKAPA), an association that draws membership from cassava farmers, are a good example.

“We have suffered shame and embarrassment of begging for food for too long. This is because we neglected crops our fathers grew and wanted to appear civilized by switching to maize”, says Daniel Ntheeu, Ruth’s husband.

To help find the best suitable variety for the area, Gitau went to the Kenya Agricultutral Research Institute (KARI) Kibwezi who advised them to take Tajiriaka and Nzalauka cassava varieties and Cadam for suitable sorghum.

The two are both drought resistant and are not susceptible to disease infection.

Now, Mutomo community is developing a comprehensive plan to switch from maize to growing cassava.

The alternatives are too grievous. Because of poverty and lack of alternative economic activities, the youths in the area are being encouraged to cut trees and burn charcoal.

The result is that the already fragile ecosystem is made worse. Livestock have little shade and no one in the community can tell the long-term repercussion of the actions by the youths on tree cutting.

Why cassava?

Cassava is most suitable to the area as it is hardy. Its leaves stay green long after other crops have shed off their leaves.

Besides, the leaves can be used as vegetable.

Its stem, the vegetative part, can be sold as planting material. For example, Ruth bought 4000 seedlings enough to plant half an hectare in 2009. By the end of 2010, she sold planting material worth Ksh 20, 000.

The cassava root, the part that usually defines the crop in most people’s mind, provide starch and can be eaten raw, cooked, milled into flour or as tapioca.

When milled, the cassava flour can be cooked as ugali  baked into cakes, bread etc.

Commercial enterprise

With the help of Kibe, members of MUKAPA recently received solar drying equipment together with cassava chopping and processing kits. MUKAPA has also constructed a bakery to begin adding value to the cassava crop.

Demonstrating what they do, Florence Nsambili said after harvesting the crop from the field, they peel and wash the cassava. This is then chopped to tiny bits. The bits are then washed and put into solar drier. Once dried, the cassava can then either be milled into flour or cooked into chips, crisps etc.

Once milled, the flour is them used to bake loaves, cakes etc. already, a baker has been hired and the pilot phase is already producing 150 loaves daily with the Mutomo town residents providing adequate market.

The background

In the semi arid area that Mutomo district falls, the climate change phenomenon is already unmistakeable and intensifying at an alarming rate as is evident from high temperatures and rainfall irregularity and inadequate amounts.

The district has a characteristic erratic and unreliable rainfall of 500-850 mm with only 49 per cent reliability.

The rainfall pattern results in as high as 80 per cent maize crop failure leaving over 70 per cent of the community to depend on the government food relief supplies.

This has resulted in a dependency syndrome among the community Poverty reduction and economic restoration are the priorities of the Kenya government but little impact has been experienced at the grass root levels.

Agricultural production has been declining despite a large number of introduced technologies.

Characteristically, these new technologies require additional farm inputs translating to greater cash investment for any increase in production to be realized.

Ironically most of the farmers in the semi arid areas cannot afford the finances due to the ensuing poverty.

The Mutomo community derive their livelihood from charcoal burning for income generation and a source of energy for domestic use.

This has led to clearing of trees while the shrubs provide fuel wood. This calls for a climate –proof social-economic intervention anchored on a low-carbon path. Robust and mitigation measures must be put in place to minimise risks associated with climate change. Many children in Mutomo district fail to go to school due to hunger.

As a resilience measure, the communities have settled on one meal per day so that the relief food, which the local people frequently rely on, can be consumed for a longer period. During the famine period, the community has only two days to engage in productive activities in a week. Three days are spent in the chief’s camp for relief food locally known as Mwolyo.”

The problem of food insecurity and poverty in Mutomo continues to be of paramount concern among governments, policy makers and many households.

70% of households lack sufficient food for months and even years subsisting on one small, poorly balanced meal per day.

Malnutrition negatively impact on child development and public health and greatly reduces the capacity of rural work force.

Weaknesses with the Government

The problem of cassava and other crops that could do well in areas like Mutomo however is that they have been classified as ‘orphaned crops’ by the staff in the ministry of agriculture.

Kibe says people shun these crops because of the ‘orphaned crop’ tag  given them by the ministry of agriculture staff.

“Crops like cassava, which once in 1959 saved the Kamba from famine and others like potato, amaranths, sorghum and millet are now seen as a poor man’s crop, thanks to the tag by the agricultural staff,” said Kibe.

The Deputy District Commissioner for Mutomo, Lesimam Mike agreed with the sentiments by Kibe saying areas like Mutomo which receive less than 500 mm of rainfall can well grow these crops which, unlike maize do not require lots of moisture.

“Mutomo district, with a population of 190, 000 is staring famine in the face and will soon be calling out for famine relief, yet if farmers were made to grow traditional crops, the situation would be different”, he said.

He said for the fourth time since 2007, Mutomo farmers have lost maize crop due to insufficient rainfall and called on agricultural staff and partners in the sector help change the mindset of farmers so that they adapt to what their environment can support.