Dorothy Wendo is a farmer trained as a multiplier in 2021 by PELUM Kenya and Kitui Development Centre through the KCOA-KHEA Project. She used to produce on small scale before the training on value chain and market development, but she has now enhanced. She and her husband have now adopted organic farming to grow their crops. The husband was previously a watchman but left his job and now entirely relies on income from their farm. In addition, she learned and adopted planting calendars, record keeping and sourcing for market before production
She and her husband now sell their produce to local markets and schools. They sell 4 sacks per day of vegetables to Kalundu Market at Kshs 4,000 (33 dollars) per sack on Mondays and Thursdays. Daily, customers buy from their farm around Kshs 500 (4 dollars) per day. They keep their records and have used their income to educate their children, including taking care of one disabled child.
Rebecca has disseminated the organic agriculture information to her husband and other farmer groups. She has trained over 200 farmers in Kithambongi Village with around 120 farmers adopting kitchen gardening to ensure food security. One of the farmers is Martha Ngina from her Wendo Group who has now diversified and planted various crops on her farm, not limited to kales, manage, Kunde, etc. She has also adopted organic practices like compost manure. The produce from her farm is mainly for household consumption with the excess being sold to her neighbours,
Water scarcity which is common in Kitui, however, farmers rely on harvested water from the rains for farming. In addition, they plant drought-resistant crops and pest-resistant crops like onions, dhania, mchicha, etc.
Author: Ratemo Bathseba
KHEA Project Officer - PELUM Kenya
