Farmers encouraged to embrace agro-forestry through small scale tree nurseries

Thika,

Thursday November 16, 2023

KNA by Hellen Lunalo

Smallholder farmers in Kiambu County have been encouraged to embrace agroforestry as they are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change through water scarcity, nutrient-depleted soil, deforestation, and biodiversity loss because their livelihoods rely on land.

Environmentalist Catherine Muthuri from the International Council for Research in Agroforestry said agroforestry, the practice of integrating trees on farms, would help build livelihood resilience through improved incomes, land health, food, and nutrition security while contributing to national and global climate change and restoration targets.

She was speaking during a training workshop conducted for smallholder farmers at Waturu farm in Kiambu that brought together 77 tree nursery operators and county agricultural officers.

Muthuri explained that small-scale tree nurseries can be incorporated into farms and that they were critical in providing farmers with sufficient quality germplasm and tree seedlings that bear desirable traits that offer multiple benefits.

“We want our farmers to adopt small-scale tree nurseries in their farms so they can produce healthy and suitably adapted seedlings that will help support Kenya’s ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent by 2030 and increase tree cover by 30 percent by 2032 by growing 15 billion trees on 10.6 million hectares of degraded land,” she said.

She further stated that statistics showed that 80 percent of land in Kenya is owned by smallholder farmers and therefore their participation efforts would be quite substantial.

“Agroforestry through plant seedlings also helps prevent soil erosion and improve soil structure and this is crucial, especially in Kiambu where soil erosion and land degradation have posed a lot of challenges for farmers, especially during the rainy seasons where the farmers experience major losses. The farmers also experience better water management because the trees help in maintaining water tables, reducing surface runoff and enhancing water infiltration which is especially important in areas prone to water scarcity,” said Muthuri.

The participants were trained in various topics, including seed sourcing, handling, procurement, tree nursery management, vegetative propagation, and business elements.

The workshop also aimed to help participants identify opportunities for and recognize the value of more inclusive farm nursery management in ensuring successful and sustainable businesses.

The training emphasized the importance of maintaining high-quality standards in seedling production and participants were enlightened on the importance of gaining accreditation and registration from regulatory agencies such as the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate (KEPHIS) and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to achieve recognition as trusted sources and enable them to market themselves as such.

Courtesy; KNA