A beaming smile is etched on Esther Naishinda’s face before she receives her certificate after four months of intensive training. She is one of the 700 graduates in Oloitoktok, Kajiado South Constituency, Kajiado County.

Before the training, Esther’s focus apart from livestock farming was small-scale subsistence farming at her home in Engutoto Ward in Kajiado South. However, her yields were not enough to even consider selling.  Livestock farming was equally not doing well after months of drought.

During a meeting at her Narote Women’s Group, she heard about the Wezesha Agri programme, which she joined in April this year, months after the prolonged drought that began in late 2022 wiped out most of the livestock in her village. The thought that the programme would train and empower her to earn from farming piqued her interest.

“As a community, we rely so much on livestock farming, but the recent drought wiped out most of our cows which left us without a source of livelihood,” Esther says.

Agnes Mweni, a farmer and a member of Peniel Women’s Group in Oloitoktok, joined the programme with the hope that it would help her increase her farm’s productivity to earn a living from her produce. She saw this as an opportunity for empowerment and to support her family.

Among the skills they acquired was how to set up a kitchen garden. They learnt how to use small spaces for agricultural production through a kitchen garden. Model kitchen gardens maximise food production on small plots of land, raised beds, containers, or even balconies, helping prevent damage by animals. It is effective for smallholder farmers who have little to invest in farm inputs.

“The flexibility of kitchen gardens motivated me. For us who do not own much land, we learned that we can still produce much food from our limited spaces,” Esther says adding that she plans to take the concept of kitchen gardens back home.

She plans to plant French beans and indigenous vegetables. The crops have the potential to fetch a good price in the market since they are in demand. She says Wezesha Agri opened her eyes to the possibility of doing mixed farming too.

Agnes has produced a sufficient yield of vegetables from her kitchen garden, allowing her to both sustain herself and sell the surplus.

“I do not buy vegetables in the market as often as I did since I have enough supply from my small farm. The training has enabled me to produce onions, tomatoes, potatoes and indigenous vegetables for sale. I can say that in this community, we are likely to be food secure in case we have another drought,” she adds.

Both Esther and Agnes are aware that the training is crucial for food security in their community. And to reap as much as they can from their farms, they have been trained to use solar energy for irrigation.

Agnes used to depend on rain-fed agriculture and got frustrated every time the rain failed. Insufficient rain meant minimal harvest which could not sustain her.

She now uses solar technology to pump water to her farm where she does drip irrigation. The use of solar energy has cut the costs she incurred using fuel and she can now invest in other activities.

This is an assertion that Samuel Tobiko, the Component Lead for Solar at Endev agrees with, “We have seen the use of solar reducing the cost of production by 30%, which is a relief for smallholder farmers. Their cost of energy is minimised. Utilizing solar energy, they can irrigate year-round, resulting in increased yields and income for our farmers.”

Esther concurs, “This being an arid area, we can use solar pumps to channel water into our farms from boreholes and we have been trained on how to lay the drip lines so that our crops are watered properly.”

Endev promotes the access and use of renewable energy in the agriculture and informal sector.

Mr. Tobiko adds that the adoption of climate-smart agriculture plays a role in reducing Green House Gas emissions and calls for more partnerships such as Wezesha Agri, which champions sustainable agriculture in efforts to mitigate climate change.

Wezesha Agri’s project manager, Michael Kimani, who is also an agronomist, agrees that the programme uses 100% solar especially in the demo farm where training sessions are conducted. As part of its training efforts, the programme has set up a demonstration farm in Kuku Ward in Kajiado South Sub- County, which supports 1,000 women and youth through capacity development.

Mr. Kimani says that the programme is currently in the process of introducing drought-resistant crops as part of the training with the cultivation of sorghum as a start. “We are looking at crops such as sorghum and drought-resistant varieties of other food crops that can thrive in an arid constituency like Kajiado South. Already, we have begun reaching out to other organisations on getting market once our farmers harvest their grain,” he says.

To sharpen the farmers’ prowess in the market, Mr. Kimani emphasised that Wezesha Agri trains them in financial and business management. This is part of their training under Group Dynamics. They are trained on how to prudently manage finances and keep records in their women and youth groups. They are taught how to function as a group to avoid disharmony and have leadership skills instilled in them to organise their groups better.

“The success of this programme depends on the stability of these groups. They have to be cohesive units for proper accountability and monitoring. We emphasise that for them to make it as smallholder farmers remaining in strong groups is important for their growth,” he says.

Some of the challenges of the programme include inconsistency among farmers who do not attend all training sessions and finding a market for produce still takes time.

The Wezesha Agri programme by Safaricom Foundation was begun in 2021 to empower women and youth through agribusiness. Kajiado County was identified as one of the counties where the idea of climate smart agriculture could succeed hence the partnership with the Kajiado County Government, Endev and Africa Instore Solutions (AIS).

In the partnership, Kajiado County provides access to markets to the farmers, AIS provides the training expertise and Endev equips farmers with solar equipment.

The programme has so far benefitted 1,800 farmers and aligns with Safaricom Foundation’s 2023-2026 strategy which has incorporated agribusiness, along with enterprise development and ecoprenuership as key components of its economic empowerment programs.