Ndivo is part of a rapidly growing community of smallholder farmers confronting climate change effects such as erratic rainfall, through agroecology; a holistic approach to agriculture that emphasises soil health, environmental conservation, biodiversity, and reduced reliance on expensive chemical inputs.
As erratic rainfall slashes yields in the wake of climate change, smallholder farmers are turning to indigenous knowledge and agroecology to stabilise their food systems.
"We no longer need food aid," declares Charity Ndivo, a farmer in Itulu Village, Makueni County.
On her three-acre farm overlooking Kalaani Hill, the mother of two cultivates red and yellow maize, dolichos lablab, mung beans, cowpeas, pigeon peas, and assorted bean varieties long believed to be extinct. She also grows bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes, citrus fruits, mangoes, sorghum and a black finger millet variety hailed by nutritionists as a powerhouse of carbohydrates, dietary fibre, and plant protein.
The trained teacher's operation is a model of self-sufficiency.
Alongside her crops, she keeps indigenous chicken, cows, and goats and raises tilapia in a pond fed by harvested runoff water.
For Ndivo, the value of indigenous crops is clear: they mature quickly, require minimal rainfall, and are naturally resistant to pests, making them ideal for semi-arid regions.
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Her bulk work involves multiplying assorted indigenous seeds in a controlled environment to avoid contamination after collecting them from aged farmers who have carefully protected them over the years.
"Our grandparents were often food-secure because they preserved their choice seeds in gourds and granaries. Unfortunately, we have exposed ourselves to the vagaries of climate change by dropping our guard," Ndivo tells Healthy Nation.
She adds: "The government does not always come through when we expect it to provide us with seeds. That is why the rainy season often finds farmers unprepared." To counter this, she has set up a makeshift seedbank by upcycling used liquor bottles.
"We engage youth to collect them for Sh10 each," she explains. "Seeds stored in these bottles don't need pesticides and can last up to three years."
Her homestead has become a learning centre for farmers from across the country.
Ndivo is part of a rapidly growing community of smallholder farmers confronting climate change effects such as erratic rainfall, through agroecology; a holistic approach to agriculture that emphasises soil health, environmental conservation, biodiversity, and reduced reliance on expensive chemical inputs.
This shift is urgent, explains Prof Alex Awiti, a principal scientist at CIFOR-ICRAF. "The conventional model of agriculture which relies heavily on external inputs such as fertilisers, chemical herbicides and pesticides is unsustainable, especially in tropical soils which are old, weathered, and have very low levels of soil organic carbon," he says. This carbon is critical for water absorption and nutrient retention.
The reported decline in agricultural productivity linked to climate change has sparked a surge of interest in agroecology. Makueni is the latest county to enact an agroecology policy, joining Murang'a, Nakuru, and Vihiga.
In Vihiga, where the county government has assumed a leading role in promoting agroforestry, mixed farming, diversification, intercropping, cover cropping, and crop rotation in the protection of soil health and biodiversity, agroecology champions are upbeat.
"A typical market day in Luanda Township is characterised by numerous trucks ferrying assorted foodstuffs from all over the country. Some come from Uganda. This is worrying," says Mika Mukoko, a retired wildlife conservationist trained in organic farming at the Rodale Institute in the United States.
He adds: "Over the years, our soils have become acidic due to the use of synthetic fertilisers. They also lock out many farmers from their benefits since they are expensive. The solution lies in organic fertilisers."
Scientists agree. Prof Awiti warns that continuous fertiliser use leads to secondary acidification, causing the agronomic efficiency of applied nutrients to collapse.
"Through continuous use of fertiliser, our soils tend to get to a state called secondary acidification. This acidification further compromises their ability to respond to applied fertilisers. Without a consistent process of practices and production of bio inputs that add organic carbon back to the soil, we are getting very little return on fertiliser investment."
This scientific reality adds sustained pressure on the government to rethink the effectiveness of its subsidised fertiliser programme.
Mukoko, 79, has converted his two-acre piece of land near Luanda into a vibrant agroecology living laboratory, which is hailed by scientists as a living blueprint for Kenya's agroecological future.
When he is not overseeing the collection of food waste from the trading center for composting, he supervises a team making biochar from crop residue and bones collected from local eateries. He crushes these materials and mixes them with wood ash and human urine in careful ratios to formulate a bespoke organic fertiliser.
His set of demonstration plots illustrates the promise of striking a delicate balance between traditional and modern farming practices.
"We grow composite maize varieties in a nursery before transferring them to seedbeds to fast-track growth. We use homemade organic fertiliser and biopesticides. Once the maize has fully set grains on the cobs, we cut off the tassels to direct the nutrients to the grains. The result has always been oversized cobs, which are full of grain.
Also read: 'Give me any food waste, and I will turn it into organic fertiliser'
However, these methods are labour-intensive and cannot be deployed on a large scale," he tells Healthy Nation.
To protect his cassava from mole rats, he plants it in mounds and intercrops it with Tephrosia vogelii shrubs, whose roots repel the rodents.
His farm is a biodiversity hotspot, featuring everything from bamboo, assorted shrubs used to formulate bio pesticides and foliar fertilisers, cocoa and a nutrient-rich nut crop called Sacha Inchi.
David Mwangi, a local businessman, is also growing Sacha Inchi for its valuable oil. "A 50-millilitre bottle goes for Sh 600," he says, demonstrating a thriving market for these unique products. He also grows apples, which he sustains exclusively using organic inputs.
To stay ahead of the agroecology curve, scientists work closely with farmers such as Ndivo, Mukoko, and Mwangi to co-create and disseminate knowledge, recognising the wealth of indigenous knowledge possessed by long-time land users.
A growing consensus that conventional agriculture contributes significantly to global warming is adding urgency to the agroecology movement. Following last year's African Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit in Nairobi, there is a renewed commitment to invest in organic resources.
Ngunjiri Kihoro, a sustainable development expert at Participatory Ecological Land Use Management, an umbrella organisation which brings together agroecology actors, and Prof Awiti,, stress the supremacy of agroecology in unlocking agribusiness opportunities through safeguarding soil health.
"Multiple studies and publications indicate that agriculture is responsible for approximately 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Through agroecology, we can make agriculture climate negative," Prof Awiti asserts. "It has both climate adaptation and mitigation benefits. We use fewer farm inputs with a fossil fuel footprint, and enhance the soil's capacity to absorb water, creating resilience to dry spells."
He and other experts are now calling on the government to incentivise agroecology champions and set standards for the organic fertiliser industry, ensuring that this return to ancient wisdom becomes a cornerstone of Kenya's food-secure future.