Sorghum Farmer Field Day in Kitui County
On July 8, 2025, Africa Harvest participated in the Sorghum Field Day hosted by Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) at Scolastica Nduku’s farm in Kawuongo, Kitui County, as a key stakeholder in the sorghum value chain. The event brought together 600+ farmers, youth, and partners to promote resilient farming for improved food security and livelihoods in Kenya’s drylands.
Our County Implementing Officer under the DTCs 4 Youth Jobs Creation Project, Fred Wambua, represented Africa Harvest at the event. Themed ‘Promoting Resilient Agriculture for Food, Trade and Nutrition Security through Sorghum Growing,’ the field day provided a hands-on learning platform to promote innovative sorghum production technologies. It aimed to showcase the potential of improved sorghum varieties—particularly Pato I and Smart Sorghum—that naturally deter birds, reducing crop losses without the need for costly and labor-intensive bird-scaring techniques.
Demonstration plots illustrated the effectiveness of these varieties, with Pato I showing only 5% bird damage and Smart Sorghum as low as 0.6%, even without active bird control. For farmers in Kitui County, where agriculture is vulnerable to pests and erratic rainfall, these innovations presented real, scalable solutions to boost yields and reduce post-harvest losses.
Other stakeholders in attendance included the Kitui County Ministry of Agriculture, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Biovision, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Hand in Hand, and top agrochemical and seed companies like Syngenta, SeedCo, Bayer, and Greenlife. They led technical sessions on pest management, crop inputs, and climate-smart farming.
Farmers engaged in one-on-one consultations, hands-on exhibits, and networking, creating opportunities for peer learning and practical problem-solving. Informational materials on drought-tolerant crops were distributed, and discussions with local youth and potential village-based mobilizers opened doors for new partnerships.
Among the key achievements was the successful sensitization of over 600 farmers and stakeholders on resilient sorghum varieties and production techniques. New networks were formed, particularly with agrochemical companies like SeedCo, laying the groundwork for future collaboration and access to inputs for farmers.
Importantly, several potential trainers of trainers (ToTs) and grassroots mobilizers were identified to spearhead farmer engagement in Kitui – a critical step toward building a strong, local support system that will help scale innovations and ensure sustainability.
The Sorghum Field Day in Kitui underscored the transformative power of community-driven learning, strategic partnerships, and technology in building agricultural resilience. As the DTCs 4 Youth Jobs Creation project continues to scale, these lessons and connections will be vital in achieving greater food security and economic opportunity across dryland regions of Kenya and beyond.
