Furrows in the Desert is a community-based long-term agricultural development programme
Aim
To introduce agriculture in the ASAL area of northern Turkana (Kenya) as a means of food production towards food security in the area, and as an income-generating activity through the marketing of agricultural products.
Activity
FiD is a joint program of the Missionary Community of Saint Paul the Apostle (MCSPA, Kenya, Caritas Lodwar) Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES, Israel), and local semi-nomadic communities of north Turkana. After 11 years of operation, FID programme has graduated 273 farmers after completing a 6-month course in desert agriculture in Lobur Training Centre, and has trained a further 728 farmers through on-the-ground training, reaching a total of 1001 farmers trained. Currently, 679 men and women from 50 different communities in Turkana are living as self-employed farmers. The families of these farmers, totalling approximately 4,074 men, women and children, are benefiting directly from eating and generating income from their farm produce. Around 15.000 people from all around Turkana have improved their food security and nutrition thanks to the produce from the gardens of FID farmers.
FID is providing monthly follow up and extension services to the farmers. These includes: maintenance of irrigation systems, agronomic advice, agribusiness guidance and moral support.
Outcomes
We believe that the development of sustainable agriculture can offer a complementary or alternative solution for those in the Turkana community that are in transition from their pastoralist traditional way of life. FID provides the local population with a means of sustaining themselves in their homeland as an alternative to living in extreme poverty and depending on food aid.
