Sustainable Banana Farming in Kenya: How Farmers Are Boosting Yields

Key Takeaways

• Frenciah Kinyua practices sustainable banana farming using minimum tillage and drip irrigation.
• Cooperatives have helped farmers sell bananas at Sh 18 per kilogram, cutting out brokers.
• Regenerative farming prevents soil erosion and boosts biodiversity in Mt. Kenya.
• Programs like CHEF train farmers on certified seeds, financial literacy, and better farm practices.
• Sustainable banana farming in Kenya is improving farmer incomes and conserving the environment.

Since the 1990s Frenciah Kinyua has been a farmer growing a variety of crops. Back then she used to plant several varieties of crops with little knowledge on good agricultural practices which includes efficient use of water and environmental conservation.

In her farm located in Kariga Sub-location, Kirinyaga County she has planted two varieties of bananas which are Plantains and Grand Naine. She says the two varieties do well in the county since the climate suits the varieties.

However, Frenciah says her farming fortunes came as a result of training that she received on farming and environmental conservation from Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape (CHEF) program.

“I used to practice farming with little knowledge on environmental conservation. We would till the land so much to the extent of leaving the soil so loose. Nowadays we practice minimum tillage. With banana farming, I have learnt how to grow it and benefit from it,” Frenciah says.

She continued: “I grow good varieties of bananas and it gives me good produce which we sell through our cooperative. We are selling directly to traders from Nairobi at Sh18 per kilogram. When we formed a cooperative, it has really helped us to negotiate good prices. Back in the days brokers would buy a whole bunch of bananas for as low as Sh100 which was too low yet we have to wait for 18 months for bananas to grow and ripen,” she says.

Banana farming and conservation of environment

According to her, she has been able to grow bananas profitably as well as being environmentally conscious since she is using drip irrigation which enables her to save water.

Doreen Chirchir, the coordinator of CHEF program says that 65 per cent of rangelands in Mt Kenya region have been eroded as a result of poor farming practices which has led to erosion of rangelands whenever it rains.

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To solve the problem, she suggests that farmers in highlands of Mt Kenya should practice regenerative farming which involves efficient crop production while conserving the environment. This ensures reduction of soil erosion and efficient use of water by using drip irrigation.

“In the uplands there is a lot of degradation because farmers practice monocropping which reduces yields and contributes to biodiversity destruction. We are encouraging farmers to do minimum tillage and to grow crops like avocados which helps in holding the soil and at the same time enabling farmers to grow other crops within avocado farms. Farmers who’ve adopted this practice are reaping the benefits,” she says.

Good agronomic practices

While environmental and biodiversity conservation is critical, the need to ensure farmers are benefiting from their farming cannot be overlooked and therefore good agronomic practices plays a vital role.

Peter Njima, the project officer at Micro Entreprise Support Program Trust (MESPT) says that conservation efforts are accompanied by education of smallholder farmers to equip them with knowledge on good farm practices, including clean planting, selecting of seeds, agribusiness development, record keeping and financial literacy to enable them to increase income. 

“We educate farmers on the importance of using certified seeds  because seeds determine the yields . We also support smallholder farmers to increase productivity and income by giving agribusiness development and good agriculture practices and financial literacy,” Njima says.

Conservation of water in Mt Kenya region

Elkanah Kipkoech from Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development (CETRAD) is optimistic that using meters to track water usage by farmers will lead to saving of water which in turn ensure water flow from the highlands to the rangelands so that farmers and wildlife can get water as well. CETRAD is training  Ngusishi Water Resource Users Association (NWRUA) on best water use practices.

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He says that there has been pushback from farmers and they had to do training and sensitization of farmers so that they can understand the need to use water efficiently which involves drip irrigation in farms.

“We train farmers on efficient water usage so that we can ensure water can flow from upstream to the rangelands for use by wildlife and for conservation purposes. End user water metering is an emotive issue. At first there was a lot of resistance. However we have been able to show people the benefits of meters in saving water,” Kipkoech says.