Sunflower shields Kenyan community from COVID-19 and harsh climate

What started as a simple thought when the COVID-19 pandemic hit is proving to be a blessing for many a family in Kenya.

The partnership between the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), the edible oil Giant Bidco Africa and farmers was meant to cushion communities from harsh impacts of climate change and the pandemic that had already ravaged communities, throwing millions into immeasurable hopelessness.

It has opened the eyes of farmers to the quick returns they are guaranteed in the sunflower project. Acres of land under sunflower, in the initiative dubbed Tujiinue Tena (Kiswahili for Building Back Better), are today the beauty of the areas where the farmers once stared as unpredictable rains took long to appear and the market for a lot of their crops was not guaranteed.

Several farmers in other parts of the region, who have relied on miraa (khat), had the market for the crop diminish with the restriction of air spaces as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The flowers are all grown, tall and towering. Even six-feet tall persons walking in the plantation cannot be seen once they go past the first few rows. Only their loud happy chats, exclamations expressing their shock, giggles and laughter can be heard from deep within the farms when farmers and field officers from PACJA and Bidco tour.

The aroma is undeniably sweet, and bees can be seen picking nectar. For sure these flowers are doing more than can be documented in a single piece of writing. And this is humbling to the PACJA team, confident how far this is doing to the cause of climate justice advocacy, putting to practice what the organisation preaches all over Africa and in the global pedestal.

 PACJA recently joined a consortium of organisations spearheaded by the Global Commission for Adaptation (GCA) and Washington D.C.-based World Resources Institute, promoting an initiative dubbed “Locally Led Action Track” whose goal is to spur funders and intermediary institutions to expand financial resources available to local governments, community-based organizations, and other local actors. The initiative also seeks to help create structures that support appropriate subsidiarity and give local groups greater influence on decision-making.

“ Our support for Locally-led climate action aligns with PACJA’s overall goal to spur “bottom-up approach in climate change intervention where those at the frontline of climate crisis should be accorded more space to determine their solutions”, Says Mithika Mwenda, the PACJA Executive Director, “ for the past two decades the top-down intervention model has failed to bring meaningful change desired to build the resilience of farmers and pastoralists in rural areas, but this will potentially be overturned if all embrace the spirit of locally-led climate action.”

A palpable testimony on the success of this concept of locally-led climate action is seen from the “Tujiinue tena” Project benefitting thousands of farmers, the main beneficiaries who cannot fully express their joy enough.

“When PACJA came up with this idea it sounded a joke and another hoax as we have been promised heaven in the past only to be abandoned later in despair,” says Boniface Maore, a beneficiary of the pilot project that was also meant to catalyse and showcase the success of private sector partnerships in the fight against the climate crisis. “We were desperate. The miraa (Khat) sales had gone down because of a glut and loss of markets due to COVID-19 and diplomatic tiff between Kenya and Somali. Everyone had more than enough because there was no exporting anymore. Our sons were back home with us; they had lost their jobs and income as a result of the economic meltdown.”

More than 3,000 farmers in the semi-arid belt of Meru County bordering Isiolo and the Meru National Park benefited from the sunflower initiative, which is aimed at cushioning smallholder farmers from the adverse effects of climate-induced droughts and COVID-19. PACJA mobilised and distributed sunflower seeds to the farmers, where the organisation partnered with Kenya’s main seed producer, Kenya Seed Company, to provide support on husbandry, including free training a to the beneficiaries as the crop continues to grow.

Bidco Africa, which also seconded its staff to provide continuous technical and agronomy support has assured farmers of a guaranteed market as the company requires at least 10,000 metric tonnes for edible oil production per year. This, to farmers, is good news as the entire value-chain of the fast-maturing and the drought-resistant crop is improved and assured.

“This is quick money. The good thing about this sunflower is that we can mix it with other crops. It does not interfere or threaten our initial cash crop’s existence, especially for those who are attached,” Lorna Ithula, also a beneficiary, said when journalists from a couple of media networks visited to document the progress of the Project.

Some of the youth, who despised Agriculture, are now changing thought. “I am forever grateful. I am changed. I am more hopeful. I will be a farmer forever. There is no need of returning to the city to work for KSh15,000 ($150) a month and consume all of it in transport, rent in a shack and not even good food,” said Erick Mwongela, who was a casual labourer in Nairobi before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and was forced to return to the rural area in Meru North, within Kenya’s Meru County.

Other than the expected economic returns, the sunflower crops have made the area more beautiful, and scientists may one day tell the level of cleaning of the atmosphere that such plants can achieve for the just above three months they take to grow.

The area manages several crops, some of which are seasonal. But the main problem, according to local farmers, has been lack of ready market. “PACJA and BIDCO brought us sunflower seeds with a ready market…this is a godsend. And they were here with every time to build trust assuring us of the plan to buy the seeds. This will truly help us,” Norman Gitonga, a farmer, said.

According to Kirimi Munoru, the overall Project Coordinator, the choice of sunflower was appropriate for the area because the crop is drought resistant.

Munoru himself has been carrying numerous visits to the farms, and more frequently since the plants started flowering, and says it is near self-gratification to see a farmer, once lost for direction after the pandemic hit, express so much hope that within only three months they are seeing a turn-around.  

According to James Mwinzi, BIDCO technical person for the Project, the returns are instant. “We will buy all that they produce in what we call Contract Farming model,” he says.

The planting was done in mid-October and by mid-January farmers expect to harvest. The output, according to Mr Mwinzi, is expected to be at least 1,000kg for every one acre under the crop.

An advantage of sunflower growing is that it is not costly to manage and matures faster than several other seasonal crops.

Jenipher Kakane, a farmer who is part of the project, says she is amazed that the crop has grown faster than the others she had planted. “In another farm I planted corn, and the corn has not even flowered,” she says.

Kakane was motivated to plant when she heard there would be a ready market for the flowers. She has previously planted green grams, millet, corn and others that have no ready market.

“I ended up not making money,” she says” “A lot of the time you harvest when everyone has the same crop, and so you cannot sell to anyone. Now I can advise farmers to think of sunflower.”

Sunflower also tolerates variable climates. Several other crops in the region are wilting, and only the sunflower seems to be coping well with the dry sunny climate between October and January.

A guaranteed market means farmers can both cope with harsh climatic conditions and the impact of COVID-19. Money from growing sunflower, Kakane says, will come in handy for those that were devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic. “This will help with school fees and also fund the harvesting of the other crops. As sunflower farmers, we are already smiling,” she says.

According to Loise Gatwiri, a youth who also planted the sunflower, she has not used much labour and expects at least $600 from two acres.

The teacher, who was rendered jobless for the time schools were closed because of the COVID-19pandemic, now calls upon the youth to make themselves busy, venture into such activities as sunflower farming and earn from it. “I thank PACJA for opening our eyes when all seemed gloomy,” she says.

Munoru, says the partnership between PACJA, Bidco and farmers has sustained the livelihoods of many, who had been put out of work by COVID-19.

“Farmers have confirmed that the sunflowers are fast-growing. Others have not matured. They are harvesting in two weeks, so we know it will come in handy. We expect farmers who did not join the pilot project, who were waiting to see what the daredevils would earn from the project, to come rushing. We will continue till we change the lives of as many people as possible,” he says.

At least 3,000 farmers were involved in the project that has close to 5,000 hectares under the crop. The Tujiinue Tena is a post-COVID resilience project.

Mwenda says PACJA’s work involves advocacy, and to ensure governments acknowledge the effects of climate change on their people, including pastoralists, farmers, indigenous communities, youth, women and all. PACJA is turning policies into action.

“Looking at these sunflowers, there is an assured source of income when they sell to Bidco. Some of those who planted maize may not even harvest. Their corn has not even flowered,” he says, adding: “This is locally-led climate action. We are not starting from Nairobi, AU or even New York. This is led by women, youth and farmers here. Instead of looking for jobs in the city, those who ventured here are going to smile to the bank”.

A minimum guaranteed price per kilo for the farmers is already secured, so they know what to expect. “You don’t have to look up to the government for solutions to these climate problems, you can provide solutions and create employment,” Mwenda, adding that many partners have expressed desire to join the Project as the organisation the pilot phase ends in January.

The crop is adaptive and may do well in different types of soil and climate regimes.

The Meru farmers did not use fertilizer. “This is all organic,” said Munoru, as the team from PACJA Secretariat toured the sunflower farms when the crops began to flower.