MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Eco-Friendly communi sustainable farming

One-line solution summary:

Eco-Friendly Sustainable land use to increase food productivity among the small scale farmers within Siaya county, Nyanza region of Kenya

Pitch your solution.

Eco-Friendly Self-help Project is a non-profit (Charitable) organization registered in 2018 by Ministry of East African community, Labour and Social protection. It constitutes a team of volunteers committed to addressing poor farming methods besides solving the problem of uncontrolled and over application of chemical fertilizer by small scale (peasant) farmers without doing soil analysis. This has led to diminishing returns making farming to be unproductive and unsustainable.

The proposed solutions are:

Train and empower 7200 small scale farmers within North Gem Location with Bio-intensive gardening techniques (BIG-T).
Assist the 320 small scale farmers to do soil test (analysis).
Provide the required soil amendments after soil test
Increase crop biodiversity through the use of beneficial indigenous crops/trees.

The expected outcome are:

Increase food productivity and security
Reduce poverty,
conserve the fauna and flora,
Ensure sustainable land use,
60%Increase soil fertility, biomass and woodlot
Reduce soil, Environmental pollution and the pollution of water( springs, rivers, lakes and oceans)

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

The problem of reduced crop yields experienced by small scale farmers due to uncontrolled and continuous over application of chemical fertilizer and continuous mono cropping since time immemorial without soil sample analysis. This has worsened agricultural productivity that has affected 7200 farmers within North Gem Location.

Due the fact that 80% of the community livelihood depend on agriculture. Majority of the farmers within North Gem Location are not aware of soil test or the long term effects of continuous over use of DAP and Urea fertilizers. These coupled with poor farming practices has led to diminishing crop production resulting to food insecurity in Nyanza region.

What is your solution?

The solution involved proper analysis of the soil sample before any chemical fertilizer is used in the garden. This will involve collection of soil samples in 320 small scale farms for analysis in the laboratory.Going by the feedback from the laboratory, the peasant will the be provided with the required amendment. This will reduce indiscriminate and over application of chemical fertilizer some of which are passed expiry dates while others are obtained from unscrupulous businessmen.

Eco-Friendly aims to provide farmers with sustainable methods of enriching the soil through Biodiversity, Bio-intensive gardening techniques and appropriate technology, hence making proper use of the smallest available space with the locally available resources to increase crop productivity while sustaining soil fertility.

This technique will increase productivity by 60% while the cost of inputs will be reduced by 70% once the soil fertility is restored.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

The project beneficiaries are rural small scale farmers (7200 vulnerable peasants within North Gem Location, who lives below poverty line and are exploited by unscrupulous businessmen who loan to them fertilizer and auction their properties when the yields fail, worsening their economic status.

Through meetings organized by the chief, workshops, field visits, day to day interaction with farmers physically and through whatsapp groups and reports, Eco-Friendly Project is committed to engaging with the farmers to understand their plight.

The intervention by Eco-Friendly Project will solve the issue of soil infertility and lower the cost of inputs. This will increase crop productivity.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Support small-scale producers with access to inputs, capital, and knowledge to improve yields while sustaining productivity of land and seas

Explain how the problem, your solution, and your solution’s target population relate to the Challenge and your selected dimension.

The solution is aimed at assisting vulnerable small scale farmers with sustainable methods of enriching the soil to ensure increased productivity while conserving biodiversity by reducing or eliminating practices that bring about the pollution of the soil and water bodies.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Siaya, Kenya

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Growth: An organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several communities, which is poised for further growth

Who is the primary delegate for your solution?

Mr. Charles Muga Nyabola