With the shift in the paradigm of climatic conditions around the globe, food security remains one of the greatest world concerns.
As a matter of fact, ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition as well as promoting sustainable agriculture is among the world’s Sustainable Development Goals.
With it being goal 2, it seeks to achieve sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its forms by 2030 and achieve food security by ensuring readily available good-quality food to lead a healthy life.
As it stands, food security in most sub-Saharan countries has been hit as inflation on food prices stands at above 5 per cent. This has been attributed to climate-insensitive agriculture leading to poor harvest.
In Kenya, devolving the agriculture sector was one move aimed at achieving sustainable solutions to hunger by ensuring improved productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers.
This also aimed at promoting equal access to land, technology and markets, sustainable production systems and resilient agricultural practices through co-operating with support groups.
In response to this, Migori County has devised approaches to bring together stakeholders in order to champion forward the realization of climate-smart agriculture.
Ripple Effect Kenya has been key in the struggle to realize the mechanization process of agriculture by majoring in value addition.
In conjunction with Migori County Government through the Department of Agriculture, the organization has been able to turn tables in the county in terms of evidence-based agriculture value addition.
Through a project dubbed Enterprising Migori, the organization has been in existence for the last five years to promote smart agriculture in the region.
This has been through the creation of exhibitions to teach farmers ways of smart agriculture as well as allowing beneficiary farmers to showcase their farm products from the smart agriculture products.
The organization in coordination with the County Government of Migori, through the Department of Agriculture, has partnered with the goal of mechanizing agriculture in order to boost the produce.
By involving small-scale farmers, the program aims at creating awareness among them of the need to use additives in agriculture.
To achieve this, they have organized an exhibition program themed ‘promoting climate-smart agriculture by promoting innovations’ which aims at promoting measures that promote climate conservation.
According to Titus Sagala, the director of Ripple Effect Kenya, promoting climate-smart agriculture is a sure way of addressing climate change in order to address food security.
“We believe in climate-smart agricultural activities to address food security, and it is through this direction that we shall achieve the goal,” says Titus.
Ripple Effect Organization benefits about 375,000 people which translates to about 65,000 households in Kenya.
According to Alfred Juma, the program and support manager, Ripple Effect Organization’s mission is to create confidence and to give them hope of meeting farm household needs.
“The organization has been at the forefront in creating interventions that bring answers to food, nutrition and income security, as well as enhancing social capital developments,” explains Juma.
The organization has also been a key player in linking farmers to service providers which has ensured that farmers have adequate, safe and nutritious foods.
According to Lucas Mosenda, the County Executive for Agriculture, there is a need to align the agricultural production systems and technologies to favour climate change.
As Migori County government, there are already measures in place to increase productivity even in the face of diminishing land due to population pressure.
“This is one among other many exhibitions that we normally organize so that our farmers are exposed to the new agricultural technologies,” said Mosenda.
Charles Onindo, a beneficiary farmer from such a program says that due to value addition, there is increased income due to surplus production due to the use of additives.
According to Onindo who rears livestock, there is need to add more emphasis on climate-smart agriculture which will ensure more food security in our homes apart from more sensitization.
“As far as I am concerned, there is still need to create more awareness to farmers who are still not exposed to such smart ideas,” says Onindo.
As the country makes strides towards achieving food security, climate-smart agriculture remains the way to go, and with Ripple Effect Organization in place, Migori County is a step away to become the hub of agriculture.
KTMN Reporter 
IAN BYRON