School farm raising future agriprenuers
It’s 4pm at Shisango Primary School in Kakamega County. Classes are done and it's time for co-curriculum activities. From a distance, students can be seen busy as bees on the school farm.
Like the rest of the clubers, members of Kuungana, Kufanya, and Kusaidia Kenya (4K) Club, they are doing a thing or two on the farm.
Some 45 members are watering the vegetables, others are harvesting kales and bananas while the rest are cutting napier for the dairy cows.
This is the daily routine for the 4K Club members nurturing their agribusiness skills at a young age.
The 4K Club patron, Mr Peterson Mutsotso ushers the Smart Harvest team to the school. He says revival of 4K farming has helped pupils become ace farmers.
“At least now they know where food comes from and what it takes to grow it. They have learnt how to treat soil, control pests and diseases without using chemicals.”
No chemicals please!
Mutsotso discloses that soils in Shisango are infested with root-knot nematodes and the club is forced to plant tomatoes in sacks.
He says the tiny worms live in the soil, feed on the roots of crops thus affecting maturity of crops especially tomatoes.
“Before we plant tomatoes, we sterilise the soil using hot water treatment to remove tomato blight. We also use goat droppings, pepper and Tithonia to make natural foliar feed and pesticide,” he says.
Tithonia is special species of flowering plant that is a reliable source of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous for plant growth. The soil in the sacks is arranged in layers from rocks and gravels at the bottom, followed by organic matter, then top soil and finally manure.
Mutsotso says the school has also built special designed toilets where they capture human waste and urine separately.
“The toilets are special in a way that when children go to relieve themselves, ash is added to the droppings to ensure it’s dry before it goes to the collection tanks. The tanks are painted black and they face directly to the sun to make the human waste decompose quickly,” Mutsotso explains.
He notes that as farmers seek organic ways to grow food, urine could be a solution. The human waste is taken to the farm after six months and mixed with the soil. “For urine, it can be used anytime by mixing it with water in a ratio of 1:1 and is excellent in killing weed on the farm and enrich the soil. It can be applied on nappier, maize, beans, vegetables and tomatoes,” he says.
He says urine reduces need for inorganic fertiliser, control pests like banana weevil.
“It’s also rich in nutrients like nitrogen, potassium and phosphate which are all key ingredients for healthy plants.”
The school’s deputy, Stephen Amakove says since inception of the 4k club in 2015 by Rural Outreach Programme Africa organisation, in collaboration with Nestle, learners are producing food at school and home.
“We no longer buy food. The club has enabled learners have a feeding programme, improve their health because of eating balance diet, save money for academic trips and reduce indiscipline cases since learners concentrate on farming during their leisure time,” Amakove says.
Business skills
Amakove says proceeds from planting traditional vegetables, sweet potatoes and maize enabled the school start a zero grazing unit, pay lunch scheme for needy learners and the rest is saved for re-investment.
The school has also been listed as a centre for benchmarking in agriculture following their vibrant 4k club.
“The school has since become a ‘centre of excellence’ where locals often converge to learn various farming aspects. Even when we have a parents’ meeting, many players in the agribusiness sector come and give a talk on Good Agricultural Practices among other issues,” he says.
He says the club members were assisted by the school management to open a bank account where they keep all the proceeds from their farm projects. If this project is anything to go by, indeed 4KClubs are the future to boost the country’s food security.
Prof Ruth Oniang’o, an agriculturalist and a nutritionist who has been a champion on reintroduction of 4KClubs in schools, lauds such programmes.
New technologies
Prof Oniang’o recommends that national and county governments, private donors and organisations support such programmes financially and with expertise.
“There are many schools that have yet to be reached. Climate change and weather variation are adversely affecting these enterprises, as much as the schools try to mitigate the effects. Schools require garden hoses, sprinklers, shade nets and drip systems to keep their activities going,” she notes.
Last year during the Nestle food security programme, 7 schools in Kakamega became “community learning centres” for Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP).
These schools are Lunza primary, Emukangu primary, Manyika primary, Shiyunzu primary, Kilimo primary, Eshikomere primary, and Mulundu primary
They grew OFSP and sold to their teachers and community members. In addition, they set up vine multiplication centres to supply vines to the community.
Boosts self esteem
Oniang’o says given the broad benefits from the agricultural activities, it would be good for county governments to budget for primary school agricultural activities.
The professor says such programmes are unique because the 4K Clubs are run by students and the patron who guides them.
The students select their club leaders- chair, secretary, treasurer, and a parent representative. They decide as a group what activities to engage in, they keep records of production and sales, and they decide how to re-invest their earnings.
In addition, they keep a bank account or Mpesa account managed by the club patron, with the head teacher, deputy, parent rep as signatories. Better still, such programmes change mind sets.
“Our programme intentionally includes bright children in the 4K Cub to remove the perception that agriculture is for failures. Bright students are able to balance studies and extra-curricular activities as well. Needy and vulnerable children benefit greatly from participating in the club. They can get supplemented contribution to the school feeding program, stationery, uniform, and exam fees can be paid from club earnings,” Amakove says.
Oniang’o says learners who go through 4K are able to make good life choices, have high self-esteem and serve as role models to their peers.
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