Inades-Formation employs a two thronged approach. On one hand it promotes production and consumption of indigenous (drought tolerant) crops as a coping mechanism. On the other hand it promotes agro-enterprise revolving around local chicken, fruits and to a less extend honey.

Packaging of mangoes for export at Mbiuni FA

Acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary for improved quantity and quality is a prerequisite. Farmer innovators are identified and trained as Farmer Resource Persons. Farmer Learning Fields (FLF) are partly used for the trainings.

Preservation of Cowpeas

Collaboration among different stakeholders including extension staff of Ministry of agriculture, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) dryland farming, agrochemical industry, bulk buyers and blockers.

To respond to the gap/need of availability of credit facilities to peasant farmers Inades-Formation International Kenya Office supports local community initiatives on financial solidarity. Currently Inades-Formation Internatyional Kenya Office is working with four facilities/units at Mwala (2005) Mbiuni (2006), Kathama (2007) and Kauma (2009).

Members of Mbiuni Sofdev outside their Sofdev facility during one of their meetings.

Excluding Kauma, the youngest, the others have :-

• Combines membership of 2853.

• Cumulative savings of Kshs.9 674 600

• Loan given Kshs. 6 857 810.

• Number of people who have benefited from the loans 470.

The loans have been put into different uses e.g. starting or expanding businesses, purchase of land, dairy cows, buying seeds and/or other farm inputs, health, education e.t.c.

Due to a combination of factors including light poor soils, overstocking in the past, population expansion, charcoal burning as an economic activity, sedentary farming much of the land in lower Eastern Province where Inades-Formation International Kenya Office works is of little economic value. The soils are infertile and are poor in holding moisture. There are too many patches of degraded lands with hardly any vegetation. Yet population in those areas continue to increase. Food security is a major issue. The area is a food net importer. The situation had been exacerbated by the changing climatic patterns – less and more irregular rainfall seasons.

To mitigate against the effects of the above factors Inades-Formation International Kenya Office has started stimulation and/or promoting techniques for land revitalization and conservation for more productive and increased arable land. This programme component has three specific objectives viz ;

A farmer in his recently rehabilitated farm

  Promote water harvesting and soil protection techniques.

  Promote small holder farm forestry systems.

  Promote rehabilitation of degraded sites.