Promoting climate-smart agriculture

FAO, 2010 – Defines CSA as “Agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, enhances resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes GHGs (mitigation) where possible, and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals” (MOA, 2017)

There are three main pillars of CSA. These include;

• Productivity
  Sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes from crops, without having a negative impact on the environment

• Adaptation
  Reducing the exposure of farmers to short-term risks, while also strengthening their resilience by building their capacity to adapt and prosper in the face of shocks and longer-term stresses

• Mitigation
  Involves CSA practices that help to reduce and/or remove greenhouse gas (Emissions)

Food availability, diversity, access and safety are being affected by climate shocks and stresses.

Encouraging crop diversification and the planting of indigenous foods can help reduce emissions, optimize land and water use, increase biodiversity and require less pesticides.

FtMA in Kenya has partnered with the Participatory Approaches for Integrated Development (PAFID) to train small-scale farmers on Conservation Agriculture (CA). Through the award-winning television programme: ‘Shamba Shape Up’ focused on climate change adaptation and promoting good agronomic practices. All these improve resilience and increase market access among smallholder farmers.

Across the countries, farmers have been trained in conservation agriculture techniques, resulting in an increase in the amount of land planted using these techniques.

Access to climate information — by training farmers to measure, record and disseminate rainfall data— helps them to make the right decision on what crops to plant and when.

Promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture
Agri-nutrition is a key area for FtMA. We aim to sensitize and enable small- scale farmers produce and consume nutritious foods. Our specific objectives include:

•  Creating awareness to FtMA farmers and their families on the benefits of growing and consuming nutritious foods which can also be sold to generate income.
•  Ensuring farmers and their families have adequate supply of easily accessible and available nutritious foods at a fair cost.
• Working with the private sector, industry stakeholders and development partners to fully integrate and develop the identified value chains through the FtMA Farmer Service Centres (FSCs).

FtMA is leading the efforts in encouraging the production of nutritious crops, linking farmers’ produce with millers and processors, and using capacity development efforts as a platform for nutrition education and awareness-raising.

In Kenya, FtMA identified High Iron Beans as priority items in the food value chain introduced in 2021. The High Iron Beans are also a good rotation crop, replacing maize, which is grown by majority of farmers. If grown commercially, they are steady income earners.

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