Israeli model farms to boost food supply

Plans are under way for Israel to donate model farms that use little water and inputs like fertiliser to achieve greater yields.

The model farms, measuring an eighth or 12.5 per cent of an acre are used to grow food for sale, and can generate up to Sh200,000 each six- month season.

The earnings dwarf those of crops like maize, where one acre produces an average of 15 bags. At the current cost of Sh2,300 per 90 kilogramme bag, it means it would earnings of Sh34,500 for a season.

The model farms, some of which have been distributed are part of the country’s agriculture technology transfer from Israel to Kenya.

Israel will distribute 11 such model farms across the country, with each province getting at least one.

“We hope that at the end of it, more of these farms can be used by more small holder farmers,” said Israel Ambassador to Kenya, Jacob Keidar.

The model farms are expected to play a dual role of helping to ease rural-urban migration, a challenge currently facing Kenya. One of the causes for the migration is that the youth do not want to engage in agribusiness, because they find it not financially rewarding.

Statistics indicate that the average age of small holder farmer in Kenya today is 60 years. This means that in the next 20 years, a good number of these farmers will have died, yet the aging generation is not interested in farming.

The model farms, with the ability to generate income comparable to that of cash crops like tea are seen as part of the solution to taming the exodus of the youth to urban areas with their high income turnover expected to attract the youth into agribusiness.

The model farms are already being sold to individual or farmers groups through Amiran Kenya, an agriculture inputs and services vendor with roots in Israel.

Earlier this year, Amiran Kenya and Equity Bank partnered to launch a scheme where farmers would be loaned money to invest in farms that use small greenhouse technology and drip irrigation.

Farmers are offered quality seeds, fertilisers, agrochemicals, and tailored training from Amiran’s agronomists, all packaged into the Amiran Farmer’s Kit (AFK).

Farmers can grow vegetables or flowers which Amiran Kenya will assist in marketing. The company will also offer extension services to the beneficiary farmers.

One greenhouse farm goes for Sh145,000 meaning that its cost will be recovered within the first season.

Ambassador Keidar said if used widely, the farms could set up Kenya to become a food exporter to Israel.

Although Israel is food sufficient because of using irrigation to grow food, the cost of production there is becoming higher because of high labour costs. The cost of scarce arable land is also high.

“Supplying food to Israel is a big business opportunity that Kenya can take advantage of,” said the Mr Keidar. The farms will also increase Kenya’s capacity to make effective use of water resource for agriculture.

The model farms are equipped with drip irrigation system which feeds water directly to the plant. The system is timed to drip only the needed water, making it use least amount of the resource.

About 99 per cent of Kenya’s agriculture is rain fed and shortage of rainfall has caused severe food shortage ravaging the country today. The wide use of these farms is expected to lead into culture change as farmers see the value of storing water.

But farmers need to be educated on how to harvest rainwater, said David Mbugua, the chairman of Kenya Rainwater Association.

Farmers can use simple containers to capture water and store it for future use or make small dams by digging holes and lining them with polythene bags to capture and store rain water.

Henry Kinyua of Technoserve, an organisation that works to empower small holder farmers, said in areas where farmers are growing bananas using drip irrigation, there has been a “100 per cent yield difference with their counterparts who are not using irrigation.”

“Irrigation doubles yields,” he said. It also makes the farmer promise the market to deliver because there will be not rise of crop failure because of lack or shortage of rainfall.