Combatting climate extremes with regenerative agriculture

Erratic weather, poor yields and a limited food supply – these are just some of the issues that mother and smallholder farmer Perpatualh used to experience in her day-to-day life in rural Kenya.

In Embu County, where Perpatualh lives with her family, the challenging climate and a rising population have led to soil degradation, making it difficult for farmers to grow enough food to feed their families, let alone sell.

Perpatualh explained, “Most of the time we experienced drought…the weather keeps on changing. It is not consistent. When there is a challenge of a drought, we don’t have the harvest. We had big food gaps. It was difficult to look after my family.”

With support from Farm Africa, Perpatualh began using regenerative agriculture techniques such as mulching, minimum tillage, intercropping and crop rotation on her farm to improve the health of her soil and increase her yields.

“We have been having training sessions with Farm Africa trying the good farming activities. We have learnt so many things about regenerative agriculture: we have to prepare the land and plant certified seeds. Then you plant well, you add manure, you add mulch.”

Photo: Farm Africa / Arete

With the new techniques came healthier soils, higher yields and in turn, a more stable livelihood.

“Now because we have Farm Africa and those farming practices, even when there is not much rain we don’t experience soil erosion. Mulching can retain some wetness in the ground and the crop will continue to grow well.”

“We have seen a lot of improvements. When you follow the techniques, you have better yields, so you have something to eat, to put in the store, to sell. You also get something in your pocket. You buy your children something else to eat, not only maize and beans. We are able to provide for school fees,” Perpatualh added.

Other aspects of the project include support in post-harvest handling, kitchen garden establishment, horticulture and diversification – all of which Perpatualh integrates into her farming.

Photo: Farm Africa / Arete

Her now flourishing farm is filled with nutritious food for her family to enjoy, from papaya to avocado, spinach to cabbage, and tomatoes to courgettes. The goats Perpatualh keeps also help improve her family’s nutrition, as she explained:

“Goats are very beneficial to my farming because we are advised when we are planting to use manure. They provide us with manure and they provide us with milk. I only use goats’ milk and it is very nutritious so it even adds value to my body.”

Her goats’ manure not only enriches her soil and improves its fertility, but diversifying to livestock also provides Perpatualh with a second source of income if her crops do fail.

With a thriving farm, Perpatualh is now delighted to be able to rent another acre of land. And just as her crops are growing, so are her ambitions.

Perpatualh’s success is proof that regenerative agriculture techniques not only help small-scale farmers to boost their yields and protect their environment, they also provide the chance to build secure livelihoods and healthy futures for generations to come.

Perpatualh concluded, “I would like to congratulate Farm Africa and request that they remain with us so that we may continue benefitting from their training sessions. The more they continue to teach us, the more we are going to apply techniques in our farms and the more we are going to benefit, and the more we are going to grow as the family and even the community.”

Find out more about how Farm Africa is introducing regenerative agriculture to farming communities across Kenya.