GOALAN Success Endures: Farmers in Nyandarua Thrive a Year On

Jamleck Macharia, a farmer in Geta Nyandarua County, poses with bags of freshly harvested potatoes from his farm before they are transported to Wakulima Market in Nairobi. PHOTO| LEOPOLD OBI|WWF-KENYA

Slightly over a year after the conclusion of the GOALAN project, about 200 smallholder farmers trained in climate-smart agriculture continue to thrive.

Agriculture, the foothold of Kenya’s economy providing direct and indirect employment to over 70% of the nation’s labour force, struggles under climate change, limited access to farm inputs and market barriers further worsening the plight of already frustrated farmers.

WWF-Kenya through the GOALAN project, a five year project funded by the European Union under the Switch Africa Green Phase II, trained over 190 smallholder farmers from the Lake Naivasha Basin on climate-smart agriculture with a focus on sustainable production and consumption practices, enhancing farmers’ knowledge on financial management and access, and establishing market linkages.

In February 2024, we caught up with Jamleck Macharia, one of the project’s beneficiaries from Nyandarua County in Central Kenya.

“As a smallholder farmer in Nyandarua, my journey in potato farming has seen a remarkable transformation over the past five years, thanks to the GOALAN project. Before this project, accessing high-quality potato seeds was quite daunting. WWF-Kenya introduced us to sustainable consumption and production practices where we were not only trained on proper farming and agribusiness techniques but were also provided with clean certified potato seeds of Shangi varieties. We collectively bulked and multiplied the seeds before distributing them amongst our group members.

This collaborative effort significantly boosted our agricultural productivity as I am now expecting about 30 bags from my half-acre farm. I grow my potatoes in Geta Forest in the Aberdares under the Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) where as we farm, we also care for young trees. Even though the GOALAN Project ended a year ago, its impact continues to resonate in our daily lives as we reap the benefits of increased yields and sustainable farming practices.”

By Leopold Obi — Communications Officer, Kenya Rift Lakes Landscape