With five farmers having been trained at Temwa’s Tigwilizane Farming Field School (FFS) in Njiri, they have now implemented changes to farming practices and trained 49 fellow farmers in organic manure produce. 

By focusing on using manure-based fertilisers, farmers no longer need to buy chemical fertilisers, whose prices have drastically increased in the last year. Since this, 65% of the targeted farmers adopted organic manure fertiliser, leading to 70% of them having increased their crop production by 10-15%. 

The FFS group focuses on cattle farming and has received training in compost and Mbeya manure production. The rearing of livestock has diversified diets and improved agricultural productivity while decreasing reliance on expensive chemical fertilisers. Through this increased production of vegetables using manure, farmers in Tigwilizane have reported that they are now meeting daily dietary requirements.

Collectively, they manage a 1-acre field where they have planted maize, using compost as a basal dressing and Mbeya manure as a top dressing. Temwa’s sustainable practices have meant that the group expects to harvest more than 30 bags of maize, with each farmer benefitting from one bag. 

In this vast group, 25 farmers have adopted the use of compost and Mbeya manure, while 10 farmers from this group have decided to join Tigwilizane FFS to learn even more about sustainable agriculture, which is being promoted under the FFS project in the area.

This means, aside from training on organic fertiliser use and production, learning about livestock farming, crop management, soil conservation, water management and pest control. These changes are helping to combat food and income insecurity, by diversifying incomes and helping farmers to become more climate resilient in situations of droughts and flooding.

With your support, Temwa is able to continue to implement training and education programmes on sustainable farming practices that allow communities to diversify their food production and improve agricultural productivity.

Read more about Farming Field School here.