Climate Action

Climate Justice and Restoration of Degraded Farm Lands

Smallholder farmers in Kenya are pushed by the demands of big business-agriculture to plant monocultures of cash crops, at the expense of the farmers themselves. Monocultures degrade soil by draining nutrients and, over time, the land produces less and less of the cash crop. Worsening yields significantly decrease the quality of life for farmers and their families in two ways, as they depend on cash crops to both eat and generate income. Furthermore, the current agricultural system for food production is unsustainable for the environment, as monoculture systems degrade the land and contribute to increasing deforestation. Even though only 7.4% of land in Kenya is forested. In parts of the country, farming and livestock eliminates fields worth of trees every minute, resulting in lost soil, arable land, water, and biodiversity.

The problem affects smallholder farmers in Lake Victoria Basin (Migori and Homa Bay Counties) in the sugarcane growing belt. The challenge was identified during our work with the Lake Victoria communities and lived experience growing up in a farming family. We have documented many smallholder farmers' challenges over a period of two years.

Our innovation responds to the above challenge by teaching rural smallholder farmers how to restore degraded agricultural land into thriving Forest Gardens. The training and assistance involve farmers planting green walls around the perimeter of their land along with fast-growing nitrogen-fixing trees inside the plot during year 1. During years 2 and 3, farmers plant high-value vegetables, fruit, nuts, and timber trees, and learn more advanced skills and techniques to help manage their Forest Gardens for the future. During year 3, farmers learn to adopt advanced Forest Garden planting and care, integrated pest management, grafting, and increased soil conservation techniques for the long-term health, productivity, and profitability of their land. The training and benefits seen through the Forest Garden Approach constitute an innovative way of expanding agroforestry and its proven benefits to rural smallholder farmers, ensuring that they can continue their farming livelihood to provide for them and their families for generations.