More than 200 farmers in Kwa Vonza area of Kitui County, are gearing up for the second planting season following the introduction of the highly successful new farming technology in the area. The technology commonly known as ‘Zai Pit’, was introduced 2 years ago as part of mitigation efforts against perennial food insecurity in the area due to unreliable weather patterns. Speaking when he visited the area, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) Programme Officer Stephen Kimani said that the farmers are currently consolidating the gains made in phase1 . “We want to consolidate all the gains made in the 1st phase of Kwa Vonza that focused on food security by diversifying livelihood in the project area”, said Kimani. He added that through the project, they will endeavor to ensure that farmers do not sell the food meant for household use. The farmers were also facilitated to construct water pans that were used to harvest rain water for domestic use and irrigation of high value crops.
Last year, the farmers in Kwa Vonza recorded a bumper harvest after many years of food scarcity. Zai-Pit technology is a sustainable agriculture and food security technology which is widely practiced in sahel west Africa, a densely populated semi-arid region bordering the Sahara desert. Zai pit technology has been the missing link in Kenya’s endeavor to achieve sustainable agriculture and food security for all.
The sustainable agriculture technology has been used to grow bananas, sorghum, maize and millet successfully, especially in the drier parts of the country. It is a low cost sustainable agriculture and food security technology that can be applied by all farmers. The technology involves harvesting and conservation of rain run-off and soil fertility restoration.
