FARMER LIVING The Organic Dream

Increasing consumer awareness on safer, quality food and demand for organically grown produce has increased two-fold. This is one of the reasons that pushed David Mugambi, 40, an environmentalist and an expert in natural resource management, to venture into integrated organic farming. His one-and-a-quarter acre farm in Kathigiririni, Tharaka Nithi County, is a spectacle as he grows sweet potatoes, cassava, macadamia, paw paws, bananas, gravelia trees and napier. He also rears 40 chickens and 60 goats. “This being a semi-arid region, a farmer should know better by minimising on the climatic and biological risks while providing a diverse range of nutritional foods to the community as they increase the soil organic matter,” says the father of three. Organic farming ensures long-term fertility in degraded soils while maintaining the organic matter levels and producing chemical-free foods, says Mugambi, who also doubles up as a lecturer at Chuka University. His sweet potatoes not only act as cover crops, but they also help in curbing soil erosion while also earning him good income.

According to Mugambi, organic farming not only produces chemical-free foods, but it also ensures a friendly environment for the farmer while keeping the soils regenerated by offering a continuous supply of nutrients.

Mugambi mainly uses organic manure from both his chickens and goats and practices mulching. This not only helps reduce evaporation, but also helps in suppressing weeds while improving the soil structure.

“The use of integrated farming methods helps to maximise land use, and create biodiversity, attracting a variety of beneficial and predatory insects that help minimise pest and diseases,” he explains, adding that he uses biological methods to control pests.

David Mugambi’s farm is a wonder of organic farming practices that have seen him not only reap big but also farm sustainably : By Caroline Wambui