CHIFEN

This is a pilot project that aims to organize farmers in Trans Nzoia into Family Farmer Groups (FFGs) and empower them by improving their farming capacity.

The main purpose of the FFGs is to make farming attractive for the youth by providing training of skills, market access, and advocacy training to ensure sustainable farming practices that contribute to fighting poverty, increasing food security, and enhancing active citizenship. Furthermore, the groups will provide a system where farmers can share knowledge and training with each other, both during and after the intervention, and thereby promote a sense of collaboration rather than competition. The intervention also aims to find and systemize effective ways of establishing FFGs, as these types of groups often become inefficient or turn dormant. Through a combination of trust-building, financial training, and capacity building, this intervention will attempt to create functional and active groups.

The capacity building of the farmers is focused on improving their productivity, for example by investing in irrigation systems. Due to the regular droughts and general lack of access to water in Trans Nzoia, this is essential to increase food security and the long-term success rate of the FFG’s. Both Anglican Development Services North Rift Region (ADS-NRR) and Momentum Trust (MT) will aid the farmers in installing and using the irrigation systems effectively. Furthermore, the intervention seeks to improve the farmers’ economic conditions by introducing new crops and providing market access, specifically through the cultivation of chia seeds and sorghum.