Since 2021, Fert and CGA have been working to support CGA member farmers in becoming more resilient to climate change.
In December 2023, 40 relay farmers (RFs) specializing in agroecology were trained in various agroecological practices, including the production of a variety of organic inputs using locally available resources.
To facilitate the development of a sustainable organic input production service for members of their local FOs, the PRs were equipped with a “starter kit” including worms for vermicompost production and plants and seeds useful for organic input production.
After several months of post-training support, the adoption of the practices taught has been uneven.
A study conducted between July and September 2024 identified the main agroecological practices implemented by these PRs and the difficulties they encounter in producing organic inputs: Tithonia tea appears to be the main organic input produced and used by PRs (73%), followed by pepper tea (53%) and compost (40%).
The main difficulties mentioned are:
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- Lack of tools and equipment to facilitate production,
- Financial constraints preventing access to equipment,
- Lack of raw materials for the manufacture of inputs,
- The heavy workload involved in the production of organic inputs, which may require additional labor,
- Insufficient knowledge about the production or use of different inputs: this is particularly significant for the production of vermicompost, which is a new technology for producers and requires a certain level of technical expertise.
Few PRs mentioned the lack of a dedicated market as a constraint.
This study also found a variety of locally produced tools and equipment that could facilitate the production of organic inputs (straw choppers) or the adoption of conservation agriculture (manual or animal-drawn direct seed drills, manure spreaders, etc.).
These results and the analysis of the various tools were shared with the relay farmers and leaders of the three counties concerned. The discussions provided an opportunity to gather their suggestions. Strengthening specific skills in certain practices (vermicomposting, accelerated composting, etc.) appears to be a key issue. The joint purchase of straw choppers or other tools, as well as requests for government subsidies for organic inputs and the promotion of organic products among the population were also mentioned.
