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. 

35 year old Cyrose is just one of many thousands of people in the Kitui district of eastern Kenya who are looking forward to a healthy harvest this month, thanks to Farm Africa.

The area is frequently blighted by poor rainfall, leaving families reliant on food aid. Consequently, farmers in the area have been keen to try out seeds for drought-tolerant food crops such as cowpeas, green grams, millet, and sorghum.

Cyrose attended Farm Africa training in March this year which showed her how to cultivate the drought-tolerant crops. She was also given 14kgs of seeds for nutritious grains and pulses by Farm Africa for her to try out on her one acre plot of land.

Feeling confident

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

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

More about our work in Kenya