Families face the triple challenge of malnutrition, separation and even death. High cost of farm inputs, unpredictable weather patterns and disenabling environment are some of the key factors that undermine the efforts of farmers to cope with and recover through shocks and stresses. The combination of gender roles, intra-household dynamics and decision-making processes as well us inequality in terms of political or private sector investment, restricts women, youth and people with disability from achieving the most out of their farming efforts. This, in turn, undermines their ability to anticipate and prepare for major disasters and shape their susceptibility and exposure to climate extremes. CREDEE program has recruited 60 household heads for climate smart induction.
The process seeks to demonstrate cost effectiveness by providing subsidy linkages to probable opportunities such as 1-Acre Fund, and making available farm equipment, supplements and marketing support to cash crop farmers to establish and expand a sales network in the program. Those who do horticultural farming for cabbage, Kales, Osuga, Boo, Onions need to have enough farm land, preferably located along consistent water points due to irrigation needs. Farmers are encouraged to implement relay farming to ensure spaced harvesting to meet market needs for poultry or vegetables and sustainability.
We have coupled crop production with animal husbandry since 2016, designing and implementing small ruminant and poultry programs across Magina, Rongo in Western Kenya with an aim of improving the food security by incentivizing milk, manure for kitchen gardens and assets to cushion against family emergencies and associated costs of schooling. The 2 years program aims at identifying families with potential to thrive small ruminants and poultry, helping to construct structures, distribute birds (10-15 per farmer/2 cocks and 13 hens). Each farmer with goats is required to transfer the first kid for next family in line while poultry keepers give back 15 chicks of the second hatch for rotational farming. We encouraged dairy goat farming because of its nutritional benefits, quick spacing and resilience to illness. Inbreeding among goats is discouraged, this will increase food security and adaptive capacity of households and the resilience of the entire community. The CREDEE Program empowers families to contribute to the achievement of DfID journey towards building resilience.