Harvest time has arrived in Kitui, eastern Kenya

04 July 2013

Photo: Cyrose and her husband Titus receiving her seeds from Onesmus, Farm Africa’s project officer. 

Like many thousands of people in the Kitui district of eastern Kenya, 35 year old Cyrose is looking forward to a healthy harvest this month.

Poor rainfall frequently leaves families living in the area reliant on food aid. Farmers have, therefore, been eager to trial seeds for drought-tolerant food crops such as sorghum, millet, green grams and cowpeas.

In March this year, Cyrose attended training in how to cultivate drought-tolerant crops and was given 14kgs of seeds for nutritious grains and pulses by Farm Africa for her to trial on her one acre plot of land.

Feeling confident

She is right to feel confident. Other farmers in the area already using the drought-tolerant farming techniques and seeds provided by Farm Africa have seen their harvests double.

Having previously struggled to feed her family, Cyrose is now looking forward to earning enough money to pay school costs for her children, buying her own ox plough and being able to “keep the family smart”.

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