For the first time in history, Kenya counts all its animals on both land and water to help with its conservation and tourism plans

  MARSEILLE, France, (PAMACC News) – The Kenya Minister of Tourism and Wildlife, Hon. Najib Balala, today officially released the report for the country's first-ever national wildlife census.

Themed ‘Count to conserve’, the census conducted between May- July 2021 counted over 30 species of mammals, birds and marine species in various ecosystems, covering nearly 59 percent of Kenya's land mass.

According to the report, Kenya has a total of 36,280 elephants, a 12-percent jump from the figures recorded in 2014, when poaching activity was at its highest.

Speaking during a press briefing at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, Hon. Balala said: “This national census is the first wildlife survey of its kind and scope in Kenya. It is fully financed by the Kenyan government. Obtaining this level of information allows for better policy, planning and assessment of areas that require focus in our interventions to maintain or improve our national conservation efforts"

Kenya in East Africa is home to vulnerable and endangered species that include lions, elephants, giraffes and rhinos. It is also a transit route for migratory whales, dolphins and endangered turtles.  In March 2021, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that poaching and habitat destruction, particularly due to land conversion for agriculture, was devastating elephant numbers across Africa.

The survey counted 1,739 rhinos, 897 critically endangered black rhinos and 840 southern white rhinos, and said the tourist magnet Maasai Mara National Reserve was home to nearly 40,000 wildebeest.

“The results of the census report could greatly improve Kenya’s conservation efforts for future generations. Kenya, like several of its African peers, is trying to strike a balance between protecting its wildlife while managing the dangers they pose when they raid human settlements in search of food and water.” said Kenya Wildlife Service Director General Brigadier (Rtd) John Waweru

Congratulating Kenya for this great milestone, IUCN Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Luther Anukur said: “IUCN is honored to have Kenya and other Africa State Members participate at the World Conservation Congress in Marseille. This forum allows for government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business, and academia to share experiences and explore opportunities for collaboration. Kenya’s example is one that will inform policy and action towards wildlife conservation. It is an example that many countries in Africa can learn from.”

Kenya is committed to developing innovative mechanisms for sustainable conservation, identifying conservation hotspots and developing strategies to rally public support and partnerships to grow wildlife numbers. KWS invites partners to work with it in developing strategies to increase the numbers of the endangered and threatened species.

Click the link to download the report here cl: https://bit.ly/WildlifeCensusReport

MAKHANDA, South Africa (PAMACC News) - A comparative study exploring the challenges farmers face in two cattle-farming provinces in South Africa and Kenya shows that trader or broker market control, prevalent in Kenya, should be avoided in South Africa as market access for farmers is improved.

It further identifies the Meat Naturally Initiative (MNI) in the Eastern Cape as a successful case study that, with proper co-ordination agricultural national extension office, could be replicated in both countries to tackle these challenges and increase the access and participation of small-scale farmers in beef markets.

 The study, conducted by Professor Cyril Nhlanhla Mbatha, director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University, identifies poor production methods and limited market access as critical challenge clusters that prevent small African farmers in both countries from developing. In cattle farming in particular, poor grazing practices and a lack of vaccination produce poor quality animals. Limited information, poor infrastructure and cultural issues are some of the factors leading to low participation levels of these farmers in livestock markets.

 The study compares how some of the common challenges in cattle production and market access have, to varying degrees, been overcome in both countries. Mbatha says that a higher number of rural South African farmers remain excluded from different parts of the value chains of formal beef markets compared to Kenya, and even though they own large herds of cattle, their contribution to the country’s demand for beef remains marginal. “Rural South African small farmers are generally faced with high production and marketing challenges, which prevent them from developing into successful commercial farmers. In terms of business operations, South African small communal farmers lack many of the prerequisite elements that make for innovative competitive markets. Many South African small farmers are still operating within mainly traditional systems with respect to livestock farming.”

 Mbatha says challenges in managing livestock and in improving businesses also stem from the fact that there are many more farmers who own smaller numbers of herds, rather than fewer farmers owning bigger herds. “In limited capacities of communal grazing areas this would lead to conflicts among livestock owners on land management issues. This has a direct negative impact on the health and number of Large Stock Units raised per hectare of land. It also impacts markets, as buyers need to search for good quality product.”

 Most studies agree that transaction cost issues are core to most challenges faced by small livestock farmers. “Costs of transporting stock to and from markets are a barrier. Ultimately these costs force farmers to adversely select themselves out of formal markets, which leaves them with limited prospects, says Mbatha.  “This gap is a clear opportunity for the agricultural extension office to coordinate these information flows.”   

 Mbatha says that while Kenyan small rural farmers face similar production challenges as those faced by their SA counterparts, they are more advanced in their level of participation in formal markets. However, the farmers’ lack of resources including infrastructure to transport animals to markets, has allowed an emergence of powerful traders who control markets to the detriment of poorly resourced farmers. “The Kenyan beef value chains are dominated by brokers, traders and butchers. There are persistent reports of high levels of collusion by fewer brokers, especially in the marketing stages of livestock.”

Mbatha says that even though the market domination by brokers is higher in Kenya compared to SA, Kenyan farmers are still better off. “In SA small farmers are almost completely excluded in the marketing stages of red meat, where big suppliers dominate the market. As the small farmer markets develop, it should be anticipated that brokers would emerge to occupy many spaces where obvious profits can be made and market issues like those observed in Kenya may develop, where market powers and prices are skewed against producers. Extension offices in SA must already develop strategies for bypassing any potential dominance of markets by traders to the abuse of farmers through prices in different regions of the country.”

 The study identifies a successful case study in developing small African farmers that could be replicated across South Africa.  The Meat Naturally Initiative (MNI) in the Eastern Cape Province applies a holistic model through which many of the documented challenges in livestock farming for both countries could be reduced, or avoided. “This project has a holistic environmental approach to rural development, with rangeland restoration as one of its objectives. This project organised livestock auction markets for rural small farmers as one of its initiatives to incentivise farmers to participate in environmental protection efforts. Put simply, stakeholders work with traditional leaders to mobilise community members to restore and protect their ecological capital. The model rewards community members with economic incentives aimed at reducing poverty and improving their livelihoods, through participation in livestock-based enterprises.”

Mbatha says that while the MNI model seems sustainable if implemented as intended, only a small proportion of farmers currently benefit. Many parts of the project and its approach to development need to be emulated for the benefits of more SA small farmers in other rural regions, a process that could be co-ordinated through the national agricultural extension office.  Mandated to assist small farmers, it holds the required national footprint and shares many of the developmental objectives of the project to promote the lessons across the country.

 “If the useful lessons from the model are not deliberately spread across the country, as small farmer markets develop on their own, many of the bad structural elements of such markets may creep in. The Kenyan study illustrates well what some of these elements could be with respect to potentially rising farmer abuses by traders or brokers.”

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 Prof Cyril Nhlanhla Mbatha is the director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University, a dynamic African hub of pioneering research that is opening gateways for community-rooted knowledge to be incorporated in policy and practice aimed at improving the natural environment and quality of human life. Former acting Dean and CEO of the Unisa School of Business Leadership and the first Director of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI),  Prof Mbatha has been a senior research consultant on topics including Public Finances Management, Labour Markets & Further Education and Training, International and Regional Trade Integration for government departments and research councils in South Africa and international donor organisations like the UNDP in Botswana and the World Trade Organisation.

PAMACC News (Meru, Kenya) - Armed with a ‘mulika mwizi’ mobile phone gadget, Simon Kailikia, a 33 year old smallholder farmer from Baraimu village, Tigania West in Meru County has been able to triple his farm produce, thanks to a phone based platform known as e-Granary.  

“Once again, we are expecting another bumper harvest in the next few weeks,” Kailikia told the Seeds of Gold as he patrolled his five acre piece of land under maize crop.

It is the fourth season he is using the e-Granary platform, which ensures that registered smallholder farmers have access to quality certified seeds and relevant farm inputs, access to finance (credit) to fund their activities, insurance cover in case of natural calamities, access to information about Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), and above all, access to weather and climate information so that crops are planted at the right time – all on a mobile phone platform.

After the harvest, registered farmers through their groups bring together all their produce and using the mobile platform, they can access the market collectively.

“There is clear evidence that Africa’s full agricultural potential remains untapped due to use of incorrect farm inputs, late planting, use of poor seeds, inadequate financing, lack of structured markets and lack of insurance cover to cushion smallholder farmers whenever they suffer losses based on the changing climatic conditions and related calamities,” said Mutiga Wanjohi, of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.

The e-Granary is a commercial solution developed by the East African Farmers Federation (EAFF) to improve social-economic status of smallholder farmers in 10 African countries in collaboration with governments, UN, Nongovernmental organisations and the private sector.

“We strive to effectively organize and aggregate the otherwise dispersed producer base, in order to achieve scale and engage as a significant stakeholder in the agricultural economy,” said Robert Kubai, the Evaluation and Learning Specialist at the EAFF.

According to Kailikia, it is the first time he has seen the benefit of smallholder farming despite having been brought up in a farming family.

“I was brought up in a farming family, and all through my life, I knew that farming was an activity for people who do not have any meaningful work to do,” said Kailikia. “But today, I have come to appreciate that farming is a sustainable business, beyond hand to mouth survival,” he said.

Kailikia says that his life changed when Baraimu Mathio Self Help Group was introduced to the e-Granary. “For all these years, I never knew that the five acre piece of land under my name had such a huge potential,” said the youthful farmer, and the chair of the group.

Before, he used to plant any seed that was available, sometimes without fertilisers and without following recommended agronomic practices.

However, in 2018, after registering with the e-Granary, he received certified maize seed and necessary farm inputs at the right time on credit. Using the mobile phone platform, he received a short message instructing him on when to plant. And later, he was alerted when the time for topdressing came.

“I was shocked because for the first time, I harvested a total of 93 bags from a piece of land where we used to harvest a total of 25 bags or 20 during a good season,” said the farmer.

Through the e-Granary, EAFF linked him to the buyers of his farm produce, who bought it at an impressive price of Sh3500 per bag. “I sold 87 bags and I used the money to construct a shop, which I now lease to my group members as a store for their produce,” he said. He has since constructed a permanent house from farming activities.

Out of the 67 members of Baraimu Mathio Self Help Group, 55 have completely embraced the e-Granary, most of them women and youth.

To benefit from the e-Granary, one has to be a member of a farmer group. Through the group, the farmer has to register to the e-Granary using a given USSD code because many smallholder farmers in rural villages do not own smart phones.

During registration, the farmer gives all the personal details, the size of the land, the location and the particular crops that they intend to farm. Using this information, the e-Granary calculates the amount of fertilisers and related farm inputs that will be required, and then the EAFF identifies where to buy the seeds, and signs a contract with a potential buyer.

With the contract in place, the EAFF is able to approach finance organisations for farmers’ loans in form of seed, farm input and insurance cover. The items are then delivered to the farmer groups, and using the documented farmer information, each farmer receives a customised package. After harvest, it is the farmer’s responsibility to pay back the loans.

“We insist on farmer groups so that farmers, group members can guarantee fellow members when loans are offered, and watch over each other so that no one farmer defaults,” said Kubai.

Today, over 200,000 farmers in the region are using the e-Granary, according to EAFF.

Everlyne Mwende,  a young lady in Kibwezi, Kenya, is passionate about agriculture. Shortly after she participated in an agribusiness incubation programme, Everlyne launched her livestock business with 50 birds in 2020.

The incubation programme was facilitated by the Youth-in Agribusiness compact of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT)  as part of its commitment to stimulating youth-led agribusiness enterprises along agricultural commodity value chains.

Sponsored by the African Development Bank as part of its Feed Africa Initiative, TAAT’s main objective is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight priority intervention areas.

The programme increases agricultural productivity through the deployment of proven and high-performance agricultural technologies at scale along selected nine commodity compacts such as cassava, Orange-fleshed sweet potato, aquaculture, small livestock, high iron beans, maize, rice, sorghum and millet, and wheat.

These work with six enabler compacts addressing transversal issues such as soil fertility management, water management, capacity development, policy support, attracting African youth in agribusiness and fall armyworm response.

Evelyne sold the 50 birds at Ksh 500 ($5) per piece translating to Ksh 25,000 ($250). After the sales, she restocked 100 birds for rebreeding. She later expanded her business to include the sale of eggs.

Beyond producing chicken, Everlyne has taken her passion to another level this year. She now mentors other poultry farmers within Kibwezi, building their capacity in good agricultural practices. She equally trains women and youth entrepreneurs for medium-scale poultry enterprises to deliver.

Members of the Bidii Self Help Group, a youth group in Kibwezi, have, since January 2021, engaged Evelyne to train them specifically on poultry and goat farming. She has equally mentored more than five other youth in poultry farming, and her business model has proven to be very efficient.

Evelyne is determined to continue sharing her production and business knowledge with other youth in her community and around Kenya. She will also be selling more chicks to farmers hence adding to her revenue streams.

According to Noel Mulinganya, the Leader of the Youth in Agribusiness compact, which is also known as ENABLE-TAAT (Empowering Novel Agribusiness-led Employment), “Evelyne’s resourcefulness affirms the efficacy of ENABLE-TAAT’s “Train-the-trainers” initiative. Through this initiative, benefitting youth are trained to become trainers in their local communities, thus creating a network of young people who have the skills and capacity to contribute to agricultural transformation in Africa.”

“More of such stories are budding, as the compact continues to track the record of previously trained youth,” Noel added.

It would be recalled that a similar “Train-the-Trainers” seminar, organised by the compact, held in March 2021 with youth participants from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The youth were motivated to replicate the knowledge they received from ENABLE-TAAT in their communities as young instigators of African agricultural transformation.

Led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA),  ENABLE-TAAT provides capacity building and technical assistance to establish and expand youth-led agribusiness enterprises along TAAT value chains such as high iron beans, cassava, fish, maize, small livestock, rice and orange-fleshed sweet potato.