Kenya: Roots of Resilience

Priscah Mwadime, a 43-year-old farmer from Bondeni village in Voi, Taita Taveta county, Kenya, understands the hardship of a failed harvest all too well. Farming in an Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL), her efforts to cultivate a three acre piece of land have consistently been limited by over-reliance on rainfall, conventional farming, and the use of expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

In 2024, she suffered the hardest blow when her total harvest from assorted cereals yielded only five bags, just a subsistence provision for her family. Priscah grows cereals (maize and pulses: beans, green grams, cowpeas, and groundnuts), fruits (pawpaw, mango, and citrus) and harvests approximately 12 bags annually.

Solidaridad East and Central Africa in strategic partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kenya implemented the Roots of Resilience: Restoring Biodiversity for Food Security project. The project reached 14,887 small-scale producers in Taita Taveta County. The project is addressing food insecurity and unsustainable production through ecological restoration.

To complement habitat restoration, the project trained farmers like Priscah on sustainable pest management approaches, championing timely scouting, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), biological pest control, and biostimulants, approaches that reduce dependency on synthetic pesticides while safeguarding pollinator populations. 20 demonstration farms were equipped with IPM toolkits (including pheromone and sticky traps, biopesticides, and biostimulants). These approaches reduce utilization of harmful pesticides, hence improving ecosystem health, food safety, and human well-being.

Restoring Biodiversity through Pollinator-Friendly Farming

Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects play an essential role in crop production, yet their habitats have dramatically declined (FAO, 2023). Johnson Mkala (52), is a lead farmer from Kiteghe village, Taita Taveta county, Kenya. Like Priscah, he too suffered the effects of harsh climate farming. However, his turnaround came after a training on beekeeping and integrating pollinator-friendly plants.

He has integrated bee forage crops including sun flower. He plans on purchasing improved langstroth hives to replace traditional log hives, hence expanding his beekeeping venture to improve on income and pollination services. The ROOTs of Resilience project, led by Lawrence Mulei, a project officer at Solidaridad East and Central Africa, attests to a great shift in attitude from recent training, Johnson Mkala was by far among the first farmers to practice bee-keeping.

Initially, individual farmers were practicing beekeeping, characterized by traditional log hives, poorly equipped, unsustainable harvesting methods and poor harvest occasioned by environmental degradation and losses to wildlife (honey badgers and wax moths). Inclusive community-led beekeeping coupled with integration of forage plant species and capacity building of farmers emerged as a transformative livelihood avenue.

The ROOTs Of Resilience Project supported the establishment of 60 beehives, equipped 15 women and youth-led farmer groups and trained 318 farmers on ecosystem-based enterprises to spearhead biodiversity restoration. To motivate adoption and guarantee sustainability, the project required all beneficiary groups to be engaged in table banking activities. This provided a graduation model where the groups would start with 4 beehives, learn the enterprise and scale using funds from the enterprise while accessing affordable financing from their table banking venture.

The groups were also linked to Agriwell Kenya limited for the provision of quality beekeeping equipment and a ready market for their produce. Bees colonized are 20 of the 60 beehives increasing pollinator counts within the farming landscape. By linking conservation efforts to economic resilience, this enterprise not only enhances ecosystem health and pollination services, but also creates new revenue streams from bee products with both health benefits and cultural significance.

Through targeted training, 14,887 farmers were trained on ways of integrating pollinator-friendly species like sunflower, moringa, millet, and sorghum into their farming landscapes, alongside agroforestry. These interventions increase floral diversity and lay a strong foundation for improving the ecological stability of farming landscapes, which will contribute to improved yields and enhance food security.

Revitalizing soil health for climate-resilient agriculture

Holiness Wache (45) is a vegetable, maize and beans farmer and a TOT from Wesu village, Taita sub-county, Taita Taveta County, Kenya. She began farming in early 2023 when most farmers had one crop for subsistence use in the household. Through the Roots of Resilience: Restoring Biodiversity for Food Security project, Holiness has adopted organic farming through earthworms and vermicompost to improve her soil quality.

Under the Roots of Resilience: Restoring Biodiversity for Food Security project trained 64 Trainer of Trainers (TOTs) on practical regenerative techniques such as vermicomposting, composting, crop rotation and the use of plant-based liquid fertilizers. Holiness, one of the ROOTS project TOTs received specialized training in these methods, enabling her to cascade knowledge across communities and sustain learning beyond the project duration.

Under the Roots of Resilience: Restoring Biodiversity for Food Security project trained 64 Trainer of Trainers (TOTs) on practical regenerative techniques such as vermicomposting, composting, crop rotation and the use of plant-based liquid fertilizers. Holiness, one of the ROOTS project TOTs received specialized training in these methods, enabling her to cascade knowledge across communities and sustain learning beyond the project duration.

To fast track farmer-led peer-to-peer learning, the project supported the establishment of 20 demonstration sites, de-risking innovation while providing a platform to experiment with the innovation. Earthworms offer a wide array of benefits by improving soil structure, providing nutrient rich vermicompost, stimulating soil biology, increasing moisture retention by increasing soil carbon and reducing reliance on costly chemical fertilizers.

To ensure farmers like Priscah, Joshua and Holiness make informed decisions, the project facilitated soil testing of 42 samples and linked over 1,621 farmers to soil testing and interpretation services. This enabled households to tailor soil amendments to their specific field conditions, a step that significantly improves productivity in the long term. Brochures on climate-smart soil management were widely disseminated, reinforcing learning even for those beyond the project area.
 

Amplifying knowledge through community engagement

Awareness creation efforts through local radio stations, community forums, tailored knowledge materials and peer learning ripple effect enabled the project to reach approximately 7,000 farmers indirectly. These campaigns strengthened public understanding of biodiversity conservation, highlighted economic opportunities for women and youth, and encouraged whole-community participation in restoring degraded landscapes.

A model for sustainable future, farmer-driven transformation

The Roots of Resilience project achieved far more than a set of outputs; it catalyzed a lasting shift in how communities perceive and interact with their environment. By empowering farmers with knowledge, resources, and practical tools, the project strengthened ecosystem health while promoting equitable and climate-resilient livelihoods.

The inclusion of marginalized populations including women and youth, played a pivotal role, ensuring that the benefits of ecological restoration extend across generations.