Dryland Farming Techniques

80% of the population in Machakos District, Kenya, depends on agriculture for their food and income. As extreme weather conditions, such as drought and floods, increase in frequency and severity across the region, it is these farming families who are most severely affected.

Many families are only able to provide themselves and their children with one meal a day. In addition, a large number of children cannot attend school as they are needed to carry out work on the land or collect water.

This project will enable people living in agricultural communities to farm their land as efficiently as possible, particularly in the face of climatic changes which are making farming the land in this area even more difficult.

This will be done by providing training in dryland farming techniques such as planting more drought-resistant crops; ploughing techniques which preserve soil moisture and nutrients; cereal transplanting (a technique which provides crop assurance in low rainfall areas) and community draught animal power schemes which mean the amount of time that people spend preparing their land is vastly reduced. 

The photos below show the difference in the growth of crops planted using traditional methods (left) and using the methods which VETAID has introduced (right).

Through this project, VETAID will also encourage farming families to earn their living from a variety of sources such as poultry production, agro-forestry beekeeping activities and fruit tree nurseries. They will therefore be less reliant on purely agricultural activities, making them less vulnerable in times of crisis such as drought and flood.

As access to water is critical in enabling people to farm their land effectively, VETAID will also help the community to construct and manage shallow wells to increase the availability of water and decrease the time spent on water collection.

VETAID will work alongside local government staff and other non-governmental organisations to ensure that drought-preparedness is considered when planning future projects. This means that the knowledge and learning which VETAID gains from this project is passed on to those working in this field.

The project will increase the income of some of the poorest people living in Machakos district and the neighbouring districts which have the same climatic conditions. The use of labour-saving techniques, the increased provision of water and improved income generation will also enable more children in these vulnerable households to return to school.