Conservation Agriculture
The birth of CA & Artisanry Department in KENDAT dates back to 1998 with the advent of tine based implements from Zambia (the so called Magoye ripper and sub-soiler). KENDAT was a key member of the Kenya Conservation Tillage Initiative (KCTI) launched in 1998 and fully participated in subsequent training workshops, seminars, exchange visits and conferences. KENDAT provided technical back-up and logistical support to the initial RELMA financed on-farm pilot CONTIL trials in Machakos, Laikipia and Rachuonyo and led the task force formed to review past CONTIL efforts in Kenya.
The pilot trials with farmers, attracted growing support from other organizations such as the Africa Conservation Tillage Network (ACT), with GTZ resources and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and private sector operators like Monsanto, which saw the program expand to seven districts. In addition to backing-up the field operations of the expanded program, KENDAT was charged with training of artisans to fabricate the ripper and subsoiler.
Between 2004 to 2006, KENDAT ran its own CA project titled “Advancing Conservation Agriculture through Farmer Knowledge, Experience Sharing and Artisanal Support” supported by Farm Africa through the Maendeleo Agricultural Trust Fund (MATF). At the same time KENDAT was contracted through a Letter of Agreement (LOA) to provide back-up on CA equipment for the FAO of UN (with German Trust Fund) CA-SARD project. Additional undertakings have included training and technical support to the VETAID program in Machakos in community-based DAP system with focus on Conservation Agriculture and Intermediate Means of Transport. KENDAT continues to play an important role in backstopping CA activities countrywide on equipment support and overall capacity building for rapid CA uptake.
In the recent past, the CA & Artisanry department has sought to expand its mandate to include the wider area of sustainable land use and Natural Resource Management (NRM) by working with other like-minded development agencies to engage communities in reversing the ever increasing degradation of natural resources through application of sound conservation principles at landscape level. The major challenge is how the communities we work with can marry food security and livelihoods concerns with environmental concerns.
Addressing environmental concerns calls for multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral approach, hence the department has embarked on the establishments of appropriate networks and collaboration with others as attested by our recent links with Eco-Agriculture and Landcare movements fronted by World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Ecoagriculture Partners (EP) and Africa Landcare Network (ALN) which is an affiliate of the Landcare International (LI). KENDAT is playing a leading role in both movements having been selected to lead the Kenya Landcare Team and to spearhead the ICRAF/EP supported small grants projects in Eco-Agriculture.
