digital farm - oi engine · 2017-06-15 · lastly, this report synthesizes the lessons learned into...

DIGITAL FARM

CASE STUDIES &TECH SOLUTIONS RECOMMENDATIONS

INTELLISOFT PLUSFOR

CAFÉDIRECT PRODUCERS’ FOUNDATION

CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………………...... 03 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.…………………………………………………………………………..... 04 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.……………………………………………………………………………...... 05 BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………………………………......... 06

OBJECTIVES & METHODS.……………………………………………………………………..…..... 07 CASE STUDIES DAY ONE.…………………………………………………………………………………..... 08-11 DAY TWO.………………………………………………………………………………….... 12-14 DAY THREE.……………………………………………………………………………...... 15-19 DAY FOUR.………………………………………………………………………………..... 20-23

FARMERS CHALLENGES OVERVIEW….…………………………………………………….. 24-26 SOLUTIONS RECOMMENDATIONS….….…………………………………………………….. 27-32

CONCLUSIONS

APPENDICES

DIGITAL FARM


INTELLISOFT PLUSFOR


INTELLISOFT PLUS & CAFÉDIRECT PRODUCERS’ FOUNDATION

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Acknowledgements List of Abbreviationsn December 2016, Intelli Soft Plus embarked on a field research

to document experiences of smallholder farmers in Rift Valley -

Kenya. We acknowledge that completing this report would not

have been possible without their warm hospitality, valuable inputs

and the time they took to show us around their farms.

Intelli Soft Plus is indebted to Gilbert, a SIRET official, for taking

time to give us a tour of the area, introducing us to farmers and

farmer organizations. Special mention goes out to Farmer Sylvester

for the truly African hospitality rigged with food and organizing to

introduce us to fellow farmers.

We sincerely thank the UNDERIT Youth Organization for their

insights in coffee seedling propagation and SIRET Outgrowers

Empowerment Project (OEP) for facilitating a hospitable reception

for us.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge CPF for giving us the

opportunity to embark on this project. Your consistent support

to smallholder farmers and their organizations across Africa is

enviable.

CPF - Cafédirect Producers’ Foundation

SIRET OEP - An Outgrowers Empowerment Project Savings and Credit Cooperative

JKUAT - Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology

We-Farm - a free service where farmers can ask questions, share farming tips and advice

using an online platform or SMS.

2-KUZE - MasterCard’s App for all stakeholders in the agricultural supply chain - farmers,

buyers and agents. It empowers farmers to conduct the entire transaction of selling produce

and receiving payments via their mobile phones without having to leave their farms.

IoT – Internet of Things

Boda-Boda - Motorbike Taxi Services

SMS - Short Message Service

Mpesa - Mobile Money System powered by Safaricom Limited

NPK - Nitrogen, Phosphate & Potassium Fertilizer

DAP - Diammonium Phosphate Fertilizer

CAN - Calcium Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer


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n an information driven age such as the one we find ourselves living in - the era of Google and the mobile phone - where the world’s information can fit In the palm of your hand, developing innovative solutions to challenges facing smallholder farmers is paramount if we are to reverse low productivity that has continued to plague smallholder farmers in

Africa. Without access to information and simple tech solutions, smallholder farmers have steadily lost the ability to support strong crop growth, access ready markets and develop profitable farm enterprises. The Digital Farm project developed by Cafédirect Producers’ Foundation (CPF), seeks to explore and develop these solutions whilst working in partnership with smallholder farmers and tech companies like Intelli Soft Plus among other third party solutions providers. This report describes the background against which the Digital Farm project was established. It chronicles case studies of smallholder farmers in Nandi Hills Kenya focusing on their experiences (triumphs and challenges) in crop production (subsistence and cash crop farming), dairy farming, beekeeping, soil improvement, record keeping, marketing, the role of cooperatives and other farmer organizations in capitalizing on economies of scale to reduce the high transaction costs that come with separate individual actions, access to finance, access to information / trainings / seminars and the adoption of technologies that will enhance all the above. Lastly, this report synthesizes the lessons learned into scalable innovations presented in the recommendations section with a wider vision of opportunities for smallholder farmers and their organizations to share and building upon in the quest to strengthen their farm enterprises even more. We sincerely, hope that this report will seamlessly fuse into the wider visions of CPF and Digital Farm to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative solutions, that will open up a whole new world of opportunities for smallholder farmers.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



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igital Farm, developed by Cafédirect Producers’ Foundation (CPF), is a project designed to assist smallholder farmers access information instrumental in propelling them to manage their

farms and businesses more efficiently. It is pioneering solutions in digital data collection and record keeping; developing tools that collect information from the Internet of Things style technology linked to a wide range of farm appliances attached with sensors. Working with over 280,000 smallholder farmers of tea, cocoa and coffee and their organizations across Africa and Latin America, CPF was established to be an organization led by smallholder producers, for smallholder producers. Having witnessed first-hand the wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise that exists in underserved rural farming communities, CPF’s model and approach leans on creating opportunities for smallholders to share, build upon and strengthen their operations. In Intelli Soft Plus, CPF has found a tech partner with a wealth of experience in the Internet of Things technology, Hardware, Data Collection, Coding and Database Management. Working in conjunction with CPF’s tech partner in the UK, we are looking forward to begin working on prototypes and testing their functionality with farmers. Where necessary, tweaking and re-designing hardware and software to develop solutions that will be useful to farmers.

section

01

DIGITAL FARMBACKGROUND TO THE

PROJECT


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section

02

OBJECTIVES

RESEARCH & METHODOLOGIES

Our study sought to determine challenges and factors related to these challenges that smallholder farmers in Nandi hills experience in the promotion and uptake of improved technologies and innovations to improve productivity, access markets and run profitable farm holdings. Specific objectives of this study include:

The team adopted a Desk Research, structured Key Informant questionnaire and Focus Group Discussions to carry out the study in Nandi hills, Rift Valley Kenya. Most farmers rely either on tea or coffee cash crop; and, subsistence crop production and animal husbandry. Using the structured questionnaire, we collected qualitative and quantitative data from 30 key informants, one youth group and one focus group discussion with a total of 12 participants (youth) as outlined in the case studies section. This involved field visits to smallholder farms. The data was complemented by combining observations made during data collection, experiences gained during interactions with farmers and meeting sessions with farmer organizations / out growers.

Identify and describe challenges related to smallholder farmer dependency on rain-fed agriculture;

Identify and describe challenges related to access to information through farmer organizations, training and seminars, Apps and promoter farmers, Government issued fertilizers;

Identify and describe challenges of their produce value chain and access to markets; Identify and describe challenges related to stringent and smart record keeping;

Propose recommendations to be implemented in the form of technologies and innovations in conjunction with CPF and other partners. Technologies and innovations developed through multi-stakeholders processes are generally known to drive the agricultural sector, promote a wider adoption and specifically benefit smallholder farmers.

OBJECTIVES, CHALLENGES& METHODOLOGIES


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LUKE MESOTea Cash Crop & Subsistence Farming | Dairy Farming | Beekeeping | Hydroponic Garden | Biogas

Two out of the three-acre farmland operated by Luke is used to grow tea cash crop. The rest is covered by several projects including bee farming, tissue culture bananas, grafted avocados, a kitchen garden, a dairy farm, a biogas plant, a hydroponic garden; and, rain and underground water harvesting. ACCESS TO FINANCE & INFORMATION: Luke is a member of SIRET Outgrowers Empowerment Project (OEP) and has accumulated vital information on farming from attending seminars and trainings they organize. As a member of the cooperative, Luke has access to small loans for minor projects. Banks provide major funding pegged on consistent and recorded outputs of farm produce like tea, coffee and milk. DAIRY FARMING: As a catalyst of milk production for his dairy cows and goats, Luke has invested in hydroponic gardening to grow highly nutritious fodder to supplement Napier grass. Using compressed technology, barley seeds are washed in a bleaching agent, soaked for two hours then transferred into a perforated container. After two days, roots sprout and the crop is transferred into slanted trays and spread evenly for excess water to drain. In seven days, the crop is ready to feed livestock. BEEKEEPING: Luke started beekeeping as a hobby in 1996. He keeps a mixture of traditional and modern hives including box hives and the highly sought after Langstroth beehive. Also, some of the bee varieties are stingless. He is unable to fully maximize the properties of the Langstroth beehive since he is yet to invest on a centrifugal machine. During harvesting, the Langstroth requires a centrifuge machine to neatly extract honey without damaging the honeycombs. He has invented an ingenious spindle wire that enables him to carry out harvests without completely destroying the honeycombs. Currently with 30 beehives, Luke’s dream is to increase output and enable him supply supermarkets with quality honey under a professionally branded line in labelled and stylish jars, with price barcodes and certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards. On average, he harvests twice a year (December and February - July and August) when flowering is at its peak. On a good year, he can squeeze three harvests. His farm yields 70-80 kilograms of honey a year. With over 20 years in the industry, Luke’s farm serves as a training ground for aspiring bee farmers. Many groups come to learn from him and this has served him in good stead as far as marketing is concerned. In 2013, he was featured in the Standard Newspaper as an exemplary smallholder bee farmer. Luke’s beekeeping project comes with myriad challenges including the need for ample space to allow the bees room for maneuvering. The beekeeping area is surrounded by a live-fence to keep away human and animal predators as well as for the safety of his neighbours. He has had run-ins with the

CASE STUDIES

DAY 01

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honey badger and were it not for the live-fence, the losses would have been big. Before he erected the live-fence, night thieves were his worst predators. TISSUE CULTURE BANANAS: Growing on the farm is a mixture of indigenous and tissue culture banana crops. The latter has strong stems that support heavy and compact fruit loads without breaking. These seedlings are propagated by a local farmer working in partnership with JKUAT. Luke has been progressively phasing out the indigenous variety. GRAFTED AVOCADOS: In 2014, Luke started cultivating Grafted Avocados. They are drought resistant, produce a lot of fruit, can last for a month after harvesting and therefore suitable for export. The seedlings, developed at JKUAT, are propagated and available at Kaptumo Nursery retailing at Ksh. 200 each. It takes 15-18 months from the day of planting for the tree to produce fruit. One tree produces a tonne of fruit per year. With each avocado retailing at Ksh. 3, the return on investment is very good. This type of high yielding, quick maturing and longer shelf life farm produce continues to be misunderstood as a GMO variety and shunned by locals. MARKETING: Luke has registered with MasterCard’s 2-KUZE through CPF. It is an App for all stakeholders in the agricultural supply chain - farmers, buyers and agents. It empowers farmers to conduct the entire transaction of selling produce and receiving payments via their mobile phones without having to leave their farms. Buyers post orders to the virtual marketplace for produce like bananas, honey, eggs, avocado, milk and vegetables. These orders are passed on to farmers via SMS with details like quantity and date of collection. Farmers with produce accept orders and tagged price before CPF agents are dispatched for collection and shipment to markets in any part of the country - Eldoret, Kapsabet, Kisumu and Nairobi. Farmers are thus saved from the rigours of travel as well as incurring unnecessary transport costs. Payment is made via Mpesa. Previously, Luke was hawking all his farm produce in town in a vehicle with stickers advertising a variety of produce from his farm. It is more comfortable selling from the comfort of his farm. 2-KUZE has enabled Luke to capture a greater percentage of the wholesale value of his produce by providing price transparency, direct access to buyers and fostering agents who are friendly to farmers. RECORD KEEPING: Luke admits that he is not very accurate in record keeping especially on farm produce like avocados. However, he keeps a meticulous record that captures harvested litres of honey, cash generated from sales and quantities in stock. The tea farm is self-regulating with computer generated tea receipts and monthly summaries from the cooperative. The dairy farm is also regulated with monthly statements from his buyers.

On the one-acre farm, Chirchir grows tea cash crop and keeps one dairy cow. The cow produces 5 litres of milk a day for sell and domestic subsistence. Selling at Ksh.45 per litre, the milk has a ready market from a collector who makes payments every end month. Chirchir faithfully keeps a milk ledger for this purpose. Once, his children were playing with the ledger and some pages were lost, luckily his collector keeps a copy of the records and this helped in reconciliations. He has never tried any other form of record keeping - like a digital ledger. For now, his partnership with the collector is functional and keeps his expenses at a minimum. Like most farmers, Chirchir feels marketing is not his core business, he would rather focus on production and leave marketing to third parties who are aptly placed to compete with other milk brokers for the tea estate market.

A tea farm and maize plantation adorns the one-acre land her family calls home. The family grows maize for subsistence yielding 7-8 bags a year. Together with her husband and children, they make up the labour force involved in farm activities like ploughing, planting, weeding, pruning, harvesting and deliveries in the case of tea. She has been a member of SIRET OEP for over a year. In this time, she has never attended any of their seminars or trainings. Her wish, moving forward, is to have active participation and exchange information with fellow farmers. She delivers tea harvests twice a month to the cooperative collection points and proceeds are used to pay school fees and family upkeep. With her delivery records, the Sacco allows her to access loans whenever the need arises.

CHIRCHIR

FARMER No. 4

Tea Cash Crop Farming | Dairy Farming

Tea Cash Crop Farming | Maize Farming


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SYLVESTER METOTea & Coffee Cash Crop Farming | Bananas | Dairy Farming

A retired teacher, Sylvester inherited the farm from his father. Growing up, he observed the family engage in agriculture as the main economic activity. Livestock farming has served several generations of the Metos. The farm has a borehole, it is electrified and surrounded by a perimeter of indigenous trees that take 5 years to mature. These trees grow straight and tall opportune for construction, firewood, act as windbreakers, their falling leaves provide mulch and prevent soil erosion by wind or rain. DAIRY FARMING: The dairy farm complements income from the tea plantation. It is a zero grazing farm, with cattle pens and a Napier grass garden. Currently, the farm has a mixture of cows and heifers with prices ranging from Ksh.18,000 to Ksh.40,000. He also rears sheep. Four of his children have graduated from college with proceeds from selling livestock. The cows produce milk for domestic consumption and when output is good, the surplus is sold to brokers who supply the creamery cooling and processing station at KAPTUM 3 kilometres away. A litre of milk goes for Ksh.26 - 30 per litre depending with the season. He has greatly reduced his sheep stock as a result of low returns on investment occasioned by unscrupulous brokers who dictate prices at the sheep auctions. Sylvester and other sheep farmers in the area temporarily rely on this unprofitable value chain as they explore other partnerships that will be beneficial. As a member of SIRET OEP, Sylvester has access to veterinary extension services whenever the need arises. Together with other members who practice animal husbandry, they have learned valuable skills like improving animal stock through artificial insemination.

CASE STUDIES

DAY 02

BANANA FARM: The banana farm had very good yields during its early years. Produce is progressively dwindling and Sylvester reckons he needs to overhaul the crop with a new variety. Harvested bananas are sold at the trading centre on retail. His biggest marketing resource remains boda boda operators who transport produce to the trading centre. They keep him informed of market demands as well as refer buyers to his farm. TEA & COFFEE CASH CROP: Tea farming takes a lion’s share of his farm holdings with 11 acres dedicated to the crop. Part of the farm has a tea seedling nursery that produces one acre worth of seedlings at every maturity date. The coffee takes up a smaller portion. On a good year, it can produce in excess of 50,000 kilograms. MARKETING & INFORMATION APPS: Through the We-Farm App, Sylvester sends and receives SMS alert orders for livestock. According to Sylvester, it is an idea ahead of its time affording him ready market and information at his fingertips. He confirms that sharing knowledge has played a crucial role in enabling him increase productivity and make the farm profitable. He is looking to change from a mobile into a full fledged smartphone that will enable him read the newspaper with ease and take photos of farm success and failures to share with peers and experts for their input.

ACCESS TO FINANCE: During his heydays as a teacher, he was a member for the teachers’ cooperative society. Members contributed Ksh.1000 a month and after six months, one


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was eligible for a loan of up-to three times the sum of their savings. Sylvester is applying this principle in his tea farm. For every kilogram he supplies to the EPK, they retain one shilling as his share of savings. Over time, he can apply for a loan of up to three times the sum of his savings. Thus far, he uses these loans to pay school fees. As his farm increases in productivity and the school fees burden decreases with each passing year a child graduates, progressive loan applications will be steered towards developing the farm. These development include a biogas plant to be powered by waste generated from the livestock, grow more coffee, fill gaps in the tea farm and fence it. He reckons that his farm would have been more productive had he gotten an opportunity to access a farm development loan. Currently, Sylvester saves with the farmers’ cooperative. He is not aware of any apps other than M-Shwari (he does not know how it works) that can enable him save using a mobile phone.

CASE STUDIES

DAY 03

RECORD KEEPING: After attending a seminar on coffee farm management, Sylvester keeps a detailed diary for the coffee farm focusing on parameters like date of planting, fertilizer application, harvesting, final tallies in kilograms of berries supplied to the cooperative and the price. The coffee cooperative weighs and issues a receipt. Every three months, these records are required for payments to be made. This form of physical record keeping can be disadvantageous to farmers who lose their receipts or when one sends a newcomer to make deliveries yet they do not understand the procedure. Sylvester surmises that the industry is rife with unscrupulous brokers, markets are not performing and cooperatives interested only on the final produce and less concerned with building the farmer’s capacity, combating crop diseases and empowering farmers to increase output.


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SIRET ESTATE INTRODUCTIONThe working partnership between CPF and SIRET paved the way for our field studies. Gilbert from SIRET OEP introduced us to the chairman and estate members. To layout the groundwork, he painted a picture of focus areas for the Digital Farm Project. From the estate committee, we learned that most farmers rarely keep records of milk, eggs, poultry, vegetables, plantains, sugarcane among other farm produce. At most, tea farmers have their deliveries recorded on cards and receipts issued by factories that are easily lost. Digitizing these transactions in a trusted and auditable technological ecosystem provides for a legitimate financial footprint opening up access to finance. It was also obvious that fertilizers are a key factor on the fortunes of farmers yet they do not fully grasp the nuances of recording soil PH values to discern the right fertilizers. Launching the Digital Farm Project at SIRET enabled us to gather vital data for the development of apps, platforms, software and forums to be used in conjunction with farm appliances, tools, mobile phones and computers to manage and improve the productivity of smallholder farmers.

SETH MISOITea & Coffee Cash Crop | Sweet Potatoes | Cassava | Bananas | Pawpaw

On the 5.5 acres of land, Seth has planted cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, pawpaw, tea and coffee. He is an amateur beekeeper and nurtures a tree seedling nursery. Born and raised in Subukia, he picked farming practices and crops of Central Kenya like coffee and pawpaw. TEA & COFFEE CASH CROP: The coffee crop yields bumper harvests attributed to top dressing fertilizer, fertile soils and good weather. Accessing the aforementioned top-dressing fertilizer continues to be a challenge. Agro vets in the area provide information as well as insecticides and pesticides for the coffee crop to keep diseases and pests at bay. He rarely keeps records but claims to know when the farm performs well. Even so, at least he keeps receipts of all tea supplied to the cooperative and this allows him to forecast expected bonuses as well as reconcile with monthly pay-outs. Sometimes the factory makes mistakes and underpays farmers therefore, keeping receipts is a sure way of ensuring this does not happen. The general feeling by most farmers is that tea and coffee factories treat bonus payments like ace cards played very close to the chest. He is among farmers advocating for early announcement of these payments to enable farmers strategically plan for envisaged earnings. Tea services and information is easily accessed from tea offices. However, accessing information on coffee is a challenge since he is the only coffee farmer in the area and a member of the cooperative in Eldoret where he is licensed to supply. ACCESS TO FINANCE: Having a mobile phone is key to operations like receiving communication on licensing and getting transport for farm produce and money transfer services via Mpesa. Seth operates a bank account with Equity Bank. To access loans, the bank requires up to 3 months of tea supply records to match the amount of money one can borrow. Loans are pumped into school fees, paying labourers and buying fertilizer. Given an opportunity, Seth would like to delve into commercial dairy farming. Seth’s continues to face various challenges including very low prices for farm produce, fertilizer potency and dwindling returns.


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JOEL - FARM MANAGER KIPCHUMBA RUTOTea Cash Crop | Bananas | Dairy Farm Tea Cash Crop | Bananas | Beans | Vegetables

Joel is employed as the farm manager of a 7 acre farmland with 6 acres of tea crop and one acre taking up a banana plantation and a dairy farm. Acute water shortages and 3 dry boreholes later, the dairy farm is down to one cow. TEA CASH CROP: Every month, tea output is averaged at 2,500 kilos. It is a profitable economic activity for the area when professionally done. Apart from water challenges, the quality of fertilizer being supplied is very poor. It loses potency two months after application. The return on investment is very disappointing with diminished outputs of over 1000 kilos from an expected output of 3000 kilos. This has forced many farmers to incur additional costs of buying alternative brands to cater for mandatory scheduled soil upgrades. When comparing tea harvests from government issued fertilizer and the new Mavuno brand, he has opted for latter. The results are compelling - 2,000 kilos versus 2,800 kilos a month. He reckons it would have been over 3,000 kilos if pruning had not been necessary. BANANA PLANTATION: The plantation supports different varieties of plantain and sweet bananas harvested twice a month. These have ready markets at the tea buying centre, the harvesting Estate as well as individual stall operators at the local market. When ready, he makes a phone call to arrange for collection. The price varies depending on the market. Stall operators get a slightly lower rate than the harvesting Estate. RECORD KEEPING: He keeps a ledger of all farm expenses, produce, sales and profits. Ksh.500 out of the Ksh.800 generated from the sale of each banana stalk is saved in the Barclays Bank farm account. Ksh.100 is paid to his wife for labour, ripening and hawking at the tea collection centre. Ksh.200 goes into family expenses. The farm’s development projections include solving the water problem and setting up a greenhouse. For communication, a mobile phone is at his disposal, which also comes in handy for money transfer and withdrawals through Mpesa. He deals mostly with cash depositing proceeds from sales directly into the bank. He has heard about 2-KUZE and understands how it works but is yet to use it. His conclusions, farmers need operating capital for fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, labour, transport, livestock feed, salt licks, pesticides and veterinary services.

Ruto holds a Diploma in Disaster Management. Lack of vocation in his area of expertise has made him a farmer for the last 2 years. The farm holding he oversees commands about 10 acres of land with tea cash crop and small-scale cultivation of bananas, beans and vegetables for domestic consumption. MAIZE & BEANS: When planting maize and beans, he uses DAP fertilizer. While understanding the importance of top dressing when the maize plant is knee high, financial constraints means he cannot afford CAN fertilizer a pertinent game changer on the final harvest. TEA CASH CROP: As a main cash crop, the farm invests more time and resources on tea with plans to extend the crop. He uses NPK fertilizer, which presents his crop with myriad benefits including quick growth, better quality of leafs, catalysing photosynthesis, stimulating root growth and a blooming tea plant. He reckons that should current prices of tea be upgraded to at least Ksh.30 per kilo, up from the current Ksh.20, many farmers would have operating capital to improve their farms. The general feeling among farmers is that relevant authorities and regulating bodies never come clean with real tea market prices while declaring bonuses one week to the pay-out date. This trend makes it very hard for farmers to plan in advance for the expected earnings. An App that reconciles farmers tea reports, gives projections on the price of tea every quarter and calculates expected bonuses would be opportune to enable farmers generate quarterly or half year plans on expected funds.

Ruto is planning to delve into dairy farming considering upcoming projects like the proposed Koitalel Samoei University that will open up the area and provide ready markets for milk and beef. Similarly, the bordering tea estates depend on local farmers to supply milk and beef. The major challenge is availability of water considering that the nearest source is one kilometre away. The water table sits at 70-90 metres forcing many farmers to sink more than 3 boreholes as shallow wells dry up very quickly. By purchasing two 10,000 litre tanks to store water, he has set plans in motion to commence harvesting rainwater. With the water source sitting on his land, it is easy for him to rally the community into pooling resources towards protecting the water source and setting up an electrical pumping station. Using the farm’s tea records as collateral, Ruto is planning to get a loan from the Sacco for this purpose. ACCESS TO FINANCE: Ruto saves and takes loan facilities from a farmer cooperative to implement personal and business projects. Like many farmers, he prefers cooperatives because they deal more humanely with farmers by considering many factors including drought unlike traditional financial institutions like banks. Ruto’s phone is Internet enabled allowing him to access Facebook and Google. He keeps records of 5 year tea pruning schedules, crop production, kilos supplied and expected income. He has access to tea statements from SIRET and the mother factory for reconciliations whenever bonus payments are announced.


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UNDERIT YOUTH GROUPCoffee Nursery | Dairy Goat

COFFEE RESEARCH INSTITUTE - A COFFEE PRODUCTIVITY PROJECT

UNDERIT Youth Group was established in 2005 by a 12-person membership comprised of 7 gentlemen and 5 ladies. The inception project focused on nurturing different varieties of tree seedlings for sell. In 2007-08, the Youth Group received funding to acquire dairy goats and repair the nursery. Each group member now owns two dairy goats - an adult doe / nanny and its kid. The goats produce two litres of milk a day. A litre of goat milk is Ksh.300 and it is reputed to have beneficial nutritious properties opportune for building immunity in children. Members are looking to expand the project to generate more income from milk and meat sells. Between 2009 and 2015, CPP funded the group to diversify into nurturing coffee seedlings. In the first year, 90,000 seedlings were planted. 75,000 were sold in the following order: The farmer cooperative bought 30,000 seedlings for its members. 27,000 seedlings were bought by the County Government and the seedlings distributed to farmers in the county. The remaining seedlings were shared among group members. Sitting on a 0.4 acre farmland, the project is valued at Ksh.3 million. Currently, the nursery has 50,000 seedlings each retailing at Ksh.30. The whole process of propagating coffee seedlings for sale takes up to 8 months. Until a few years ago, the area had been predominantly a tea cash crop region. Farmers and other stakeholders are progressively diversifying into coffee. Thus far, the group has invested profits from the first coffee seedling phase into one acre of land on which they have set up a group coffee plantation. They are members of the coffee cooperative and operate performing savings accounts in the

CASE STUDIES

DAY 04

cooperative and with Equity Bank. To this end, they have had no cause to take loans for any of the on going initiatives or to launch new ones. They are experiencing some challenges including lack of space to expand the project, diseases afflicting coffee seedlings and dependence on water from a nearby river cripples operations during drought. To combat this challenge, the group sunk a borehole and bought a pump to supplement water from the river. Even so, during severe drought, the water tables run low and the borehole dries up. The project also cultivates indigenous trees seedlings sold to local schools. Currently, the tree nursery has 5,000 tree seedlings each costing Ksh.10. As a Youth Group, they are embracing new ways of practising agriculture through the Youth Innovation app that provides tips and information on prudent farm management, smart business practises, use of insecticides and prevention of soil erosion. The nursery’s structure has employed the tilt net technology to reduce the effects of the sun on the seedlings as well as enhance water retention. Other than the pump driven borehole, the group also operates a mechanical wheel borehole. Away from the group, members run individual farms cultivating vegetables, beans and bananas.


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DAVID MAGUT ESTHER CHEPKWONYTea Cash Crop | Bananas | Sugarcane | Dairy Farm Tea & Coffee Cash Crop | Dairy Farming | Kitchen Garden

David owns 1.7 acre piece of farmland with tea cash crop, banana plantation, sugarcane, Napier grass and two dairy cows. He was inspired to grow sugarcane in view of the assured return on investment through ready markets from nearby schools. Sugarcane is a healthy, sweet and affordable break time snack for school children. For David’s family, It is also a source of well needed nutrition before meals or whilst taking a break from work on the farm. Bananas: He cultivates bananas for sale and subsistence. His farm extends to the main road leading to the market, therefore, he has special arrangements with some of the vendors who pass by and collect the produce on their way to the market. The strategic partnership saves him time and transport costs. TEA CASH CROP: Tea supply to the collection points afford David a payslip at the end of every month and the proceeds received at his Equity Bank account. With these records, he has secured loans. He feels that tea farming is gradually becoming expensive looking at the Ksh.20 per kilo before factoring in labour and transport to the factory. He has been warming up to coffee farming as a viable option. The area is conducive for coffee growing and Kabonyeria coffee factory down road provides ready market for the produce. Every so often, the coffee factory brings together coffee experts to facilitate seminars to train farmers on best practices and new technologies. David has been taking advantage of this information source to prepare for the launch into coffee farming. DAIRY FARM: David is among smallholder dairy farmers supplying milk to a local wholesale supplier. This buyer pays all suppliers including David every end month. Farmers have developed a rapport with him allowing them to access minor loans for farm and personal upkeep. David uses loans to offset school fees and every so often to buy an additional head of livestock. His plan is to increase the land holding as he finds his farm somewhat squeezed. The extension will be used to cultivate short season quick maturing crops for sell and to supplement his domestic food budget. Lack of ready markets for farm produce continues to be a big challenge. He registered with a We-Farm representative to gain access to the platform for marketing purposes. His mobile phone is used to send and receive money, receive notifications on payments and withdraw cash. Given access to a loan, other than investing in his farm, David would build rental houses for the teaching staff from nearby schools.

Esther owns 4 acres of land. Tea and coffee cash crops take a lion’s share of the holdings complemented with dairy farming, poultry farming and a vegetable kitchen garden. She has partnered with a tender holder to supply milk to the tea estate and a local guesthouse. Her tomatoes, indigenous vegetables, Kales and Spinach are on demand at the market in Nandi Hills. The tomatoes are cultivated on a separate farm to ensure easy pest control, defrosting and harvesting. She gets information and general knowledge on tomato farming from AMIRAN. She keeps records of the milk supplies to her tender partner and the coffee farm to discern when to prune, apply fertilizer and harvest. Esther has taken a loan with Equity Bank where she runs an account that receives her tea payments and bonuses. Of course, she uses this account’s records as collateral whenever the need arises. Her phone is primarily used for communication, processing loans and making withdrawals. As a registered member of We-Farm, she uses the forum to get information on queries relating to livestock and crop management, disease prevention, best animal feeds and generally interacting and sharing information with other members. Given an opportunity to improve her farm, Esther aspires to gain financial literacy and increase her livestock stock.


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OVERVIEWBroadly grouped into 5 categories with some overlapping properties, smallholder farmers’ challenges cited in this report generally lean towards lack of water and unpredictable rainfall patterns; poor infrastructure; poor record keeping; non adoption of improved technologies; detrimental value chains; and lack of smart farm inputs.

UNPREDICTABLE RAINFALL PATTERNS & CLIMATE CHANGE

The effects of climate change continues to be felt by smallholder farmers in Nandi hills especially due to their dependence on rain fed agriculture. Changing and unpredictable rainy seasons have greatly affected their ability to plan ahead. In the end, drought and crop failure leaves many at a disadvantage.

WATER SHORTAGE

Closely related to unpredictable rainfall patterns, is water shortage for irrigation agriculture. To mitigate climate change and unreliable rainfall patterns, some farmers have had the foresight to sink boreholes to exploit irrigation farming. Again, as a result of unreliable rainfall, water tables have sunk lower and most of these boreholes run dry or are overrun by soil / collapse because farmers are forced to dig deeper.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES & MODERN TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

Most farmers do not have access to relevant information related to crop management. Farmers considered to have ‘more knowledge’ do better than their counterparts. However, they do not have a means of easily sharing this information in the spirit of the promoter farmer project. The agricultural sector extension services in conjunction

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04FARMER’S CHALLENGES


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with farmer organizations play a pivotal role in knowledge dissemination, technology adoption and linking farmers with other players in the value chain. Extension services are critical change agents required to transform the fortunes of smallholder farmers. However, limited access to extension services in Nandi hills hinders many farmers from keeping pace with changing technological advances. Outdated technology. Use of modern technology in agricultural production by farmers in Nandi hills is still limited. Of course inadequate research-extension-farmer linkages to facilitate demand-driven research means these farmers will continue to use outdated and ineffective methods like paper records which are easily destroyed and lost when compared to digital record keeping.

ACCESS TO FINANCE

Whereas access to finance is not a means to an end for smallholder farmers we interviewed, it remains critical to provide funds for farm investments in productivity, improving post-harvest practices, smooth household cash flow especially for paying school fees and enabling better access to markets. Farmers primarily produced coffee and tea cash crop to access finance from banks and farmer cooperative. However, because of lack of and poor record keeping, many farmers are unable to account for other produce in their farm and therefore unable to access loans through this alternative crops.

READY MARKETS

In Nandi hills, all smallholder farmers prepare, cultivate and harvest similar crops at the same time. When harvested, the market is flooded and this drives prices down. In addition, brokers have infiltrated the value chain. From our research, it emerged that most smallholder farmers generally have several market options depending on crops they grow. Farmers with tea or coffee cash operate in established value chains with strong well established relationships with cooperatives and factories. Farmers

who grow staple crops sell surplus in local markets, while subsistence farmers produce crops for household consumption. In all these relationships, it is clear that middlemen, brokers and factories are opportunistic rather than relational. The reason is simple, prices are always driven by demand and supply.

FARM INPUTS

Many farmers lacked information on the right types of farm inputs and the appropriate time of application. Costs of key inputs like seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and vaccines are high and therefore most farmers do not use them.

SOIL NUTRIENT DETERIORATION

Just like many areas of Kenya, rising population density in Nandi hills has contributed to subdivision of land to uneconomically small units. The reduction of fallow periods and continuous cultivation has led to rapid depletion of soil nutrients and declining yields therefore, farmers need information on sustainable practices. Most of these challenges can be solved, avoided and circumvented by access to information and knowledge. We believe that the following chapter succinctly captures these propositions.


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any if not all of the solutions we recommend will adopt the Internet of Things (IoT) opportunities in agriculture. Therefore, the following general assumptions suffice:

Using intelligently connected devices and systems to harness data gathered by embedded sensors and actuators in farm tools or appliances. These sensors and actuators will collect data and aggregate it into a network for processing and storage through the Internet via wireless or wired connection, Bluetooth, SMS and USSD. These solutions will improve decision making and productivity among smallholder farmers in Nandi hills.

Majority of farmers in Nandi Hills use feature phones. Communication will be via SMS or USSD interface.

In view of limited electrical power penetration in the communities we visited, the IoT kits we recommend will adopt the following secondary features for wider adoption:

Battery powered sensors

Solar powered Gateways

Sensors and Gateways using highly efficient Low Power Long

Range modules

SOLUTIONS RECOMMENDATIONS


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mallholder farmers in Nandi hills depend on rain-fed agriculture which is highly unpredictable due to climate change. With farmer organizations and agricultural extension services encouraging farmers to diversify in horticultural crops, lack of irrigation infrastructure and applications

remains a big challenge. On farm soil moisture sensing, combined with weather data can enable better irrigation management decisions and management.

Using the above sensors together with crop models for determining water requirements at any given time is an alternative option of ensuring farmers provide the right amount of water a crop needs in addition to saving water. This is applicable to farmers who depend on rain as their main water source. The system also uses prediction methods to provide farmers with an early warning drought period.

andi hills is a livestock farming area that provides numerous IoT opportunities in agriculture. Livestock wearables like smart Cow Collars are designed to monitor behavioural activity and temperature then use this information to infer the general health and wellbeing of an animal.

Overall, they play a crucial role in assisting farmers to optimize animal husbandry operations and improve the herd’s heath. They are equipped with temperature sensors to monitor health and fertility conditions in livestock. Inbuilt microphones monitor animal feeding patterns like grazing and chewing cud; sleeping patterns; and, detect gait or lameness. They work in extreme temperatures from minus 40 to plus 80 degrees Centigrade.

These sensors, in conjunction with the IoT, interpret this data and send farmers actionable recommendation on:

Oestrus

Early illness and disease identification

Determine milk yields

Location and tracing - detecting livestock theft

SOIL MOISTURESENSOR

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mart irrigation is ripe for farmers with drip systems or any other source of water that involves extraction from a given point, incorporating intelligent systems to manage water use. It utilizes fixed timers, drawing data from sensors, weathers forecasts and plant-care databases to

determine watering needs and deliver just enough moisture at the right time. This simplifies farm water management and reduces eventual crop production costs, allowing farmers to check on their crops using mobile and web apps as well as get the most out of their farms.

s a wearable device, E-Tags are opportune advanced biometric and behaviour-tracking ear tags monitoring health and fertility conditions in an animal. They constantly monitor for sick livestock and alert farmers. Flagged livestock show up on the user mobile platform and assist farmers to

attend to affected livestock on time. The application of Ear Tags is enumerable to farmers including:

Ear Tags in conjunction with the IoT supports the storage of data storage and access in secure cloud bases servers. This allows farmers to access and run meaningful reports from collected data.

Lower death loss as a result of early detections

Increased efficiency of heath and labour management

Proactive stress management from weather and disease outbreaks

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Conclusions

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INTELLISOFT PLUSFOR


digital farm - oi engine · 2017-06-15 · lastly, this report synthesizes the lessons learned into...

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