Agriculture in Kenya

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of a research done on the agricultural situation of Kilole. Kilole is a small Kenyan village located between Mombasa and the Tanzanian border. Looking at the annual rainfall, it can not be said that there is a lack of it in Kilole. However, because of its poor distribution the year is diverted in two rain seasons and two dry seasons. This has great influence on agriculture, because most crops can not withstand drought very easily. To understand the agriculture, a rainfall analysis has been performed first. With daily rainfall data from over thirty years, all kind of analysis have been performed. A trend analysis showed that there is no trend in the annual rainfall data. The long rain season onset has been determined, which is on average the 112th day of the year. Also a dry spell analysis has been done to see in which way drought occurs within the dry season. This showed that most rain falls within a very limited number of days and that the chance of having no rain for a week is already 78%. After an idea how the rain behaves was obtained it was time for a field trip. During two weeks the village of Kilole and its surroundings were visited in order to gather as much of relevant data. With the help of some semi-structured interviewing techniques it was tried to get an idea of the situation Kilole. It turned out that Kilolean farmers mainly grown maize, cassava and tomatoes. A lot of farmers use irrigation techniques to increase the yields of these crops and to make sure multiple crops can be grown each year. About half of the farmers in the village use irrigation, from which surface irrigation is most popular. Everybody digs holes to gain access to the groundwater. This is generally located thirty to one hundred centimeters below ground level, throughout the year. This means that that is always sufficient water for irrigation and that most crops can flourish, even in the dry season. Some people have the idea that the situation in Kilole should be improved. Improved in a way of higher yields, more crops and more irrigation. A number of initiatives have been seen from which three where pointed out to be of the most influence. The first was a dam that the government built a couple of years ago, together with the village. In the river bed paddy rice is grown in the wet season. The Kenyan government is campaigning for more rice production in the country and therefore financed a dam. This dam created a reservoir from which water could be used in the dry season to produce another harvest of rice every year. Due to a poor constructed dam it did not last long. Farmers were very content with the system, but since it does not work anymore and there are no funds, it is no longer used. The second initiative was a farmer which invested his profits in a well which now can be used freely by the villagers for drinking and irrigation. This shows that many people are willing to invest in the village in order to get higher yields and better welfare in general. The last imitative was a group of farmers which got funded with a micro-credit from abroad. This showed that many people are definitely eager to improve their lives and the village, but that a lack of funds often barricades the road to success. It was concluded that there is a general willingness to invest, produce and put effort to gain more. The only thing that withholds most farmers is a lack of knowledge, awareness or funds. Together with the Kilole Primary School it was concluded that one of the things to get this improvement is to start a educational program on irrigation. Hereby it is hoped to get rid of the lack of knowledge and awareness on agriculture and irrigation. Furthermore, this irrigation project would be a new (small) source of income for the school, which can be invested in better overall quality of the school. To achieve this a small-scale irrigation system was designed. Using harvested rainwater, the system is gravity run. This means that to external (mechanical) energy is needed to keep the system running. The only problem is the transport of water from the rainwater storage tank to the small polytank this is located 10 meters further and 1.5 meters above ground level. The solution is to use the energy of the pupils. Every week one of the three highest classes will have duty and with the hole class water is transported with buckets every day. Having the tank emptied twice a day will make sure the tomatoes will grown their best. Tomato crops are located in a greenhouse, to prevent pests, animals and extreme weather to ruined the harvest. Calculations and models showed that the system worked and that a small profit will be made every year. It can be concluded in the end that there are possibilities for Kilole to improve. People do want this and are willing to. The only problem is the lack of knowledge, awareness and funds. The first two will be taken away in time by the irrigation system at the primary school. Only the lack of funds is still a problem which has to be tackled. Though it is shown that there is a proper solution, micro-credits can only solve this problem completely when more people are willing to invest their money in villages like Kilole.