Why I no longer search for a white-collar job, young farmer speaks about sustainable farming GOALAN project

Gabriel Mwangi, a youth from Lake Naivasha Basin, picks ripe tomatoes in his greenhouse. Gabriel is one of 146 farmers who were trained by WWF-Kenya on sustainable farming through the Green Horticulture at Lake Naivasha Basin project. PHOTO | LEOPOLD OBI | WWF-KENYA

Five years ago, the Aberdare Forest was battling deforestation, Lake Naivasha whose streams and rivers originate from the forest flickered on, threatening to dry up.

Hundreds of smallholder farmers in the basin who were beset by poor farming practices through unsustainable water consumption and the overuse of fertilisers and pesticides also struggled to make ends meet.

These unsustainable farming practices affected the quality and quantity of freshwater sources, particularly River Malewa, the main water source for Lake Naivasha.

Then in 2018, WWF-Kenya with support from European Union in Kenya and Switch Green Africa Phase II, we introduced the Green Horticulture at Lake Naivasha Basin #GOALAN project.

#GOALAN project, a sustainable agriculture initiative, targeted smallholder farmers in the upper and the lower catchments of the Lake Naivasha Basin, to grow vegetables sustainably while conserving the environment.

Working in close collaboration with other stakeholders such as Horticultural Crops Directorate, Equity Bank Kenya, Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock Development, Global Link, Nyandarua County Government, County Government of Narok and Nakuru County Government — Official, we trained farmers on sustainable production, integrated pest management, record keeping, enterprise farming, financial credit access, market linkages and post-harvest management.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ldL5yKwWww&t=197s

We also provided the farmers with greenhouses, solar-powered water pumps, water tanks and certified planting materials to enhance their production.

Later, we supported 146 smallholder farmers to get KS 1758 certification, a Ministry of Agriculture standard for food safety.

In June 2022, we established #VashaGreens, a solar-powered grocery along Naivasha highway to provide a ready market for the GOALAN farmers.

Today, the basin is recovering from deforestation, the beneficiaries’ incomes have increased and consumers can hope for safely produced vegetables that pose no risk to their health.

By Leopold Obi.