Farmers are being urged to adopt family farming practices with a strong emphasis on organic farming, an approach seen as a key measure in enhancing food security and boosting food production.

Family Farming is a farming concept that is managed and operated by a family and is predominantly reliant on the family labour of both women and men.

The method of farming, according to Joseph Munywoki from INADES Formation, is the core to food systems both locally and globally as eighty per cent of food consumed locally and globally is produced by a family farmer.

Charity Ndivo a farmer from Makueni avers that since she started the practice in 2017, it has united her family as they are able to share labor costs during farming which could either be livestock, aquaculture or planting of crops.

However, it has its fair share of challenges with climate change biting hard, leading to reduced production, not to mention limited access to the market, technology inputs, and finance.

Despite this, they have developed better strategies to cope with harsh climates, with their focus being on agroecology, organic farming, and water harvesting techniques, which they attest are now keeping their crops well-nourished in the soil.

Colleague Maina Samwel from Murang’a said he has extended the knowledge to his neighbors teaching them family farming concept, this has strengthened the family unit in the region.

Maina, who has been practising agroecology for twelve years, says that extensive learning of the family farming model has enabled his community members to eat safe food. However, pests have become a menace to his crops, but he perseveres in dealing with them.

According to Eustis Kiarie Chair Kenya National Committee on Family Farming the concept which started in 2008 when there was food crisis in the country, a lot has been achieved including development of a National Action Plan for the UN decade of family farming, a shift by many farmers from conventional agriculture, a majority going for nutritious foods and people becoming more conscious on understanding their source of food.

The concept has played a key role as the family and the farm are linked, co-evolve, and combine economic, environmental, social, and cultural functions.

Family Farming was established in 2014 during the international year of family farming and has reached 6 million family farmers and successfully participated in promoting National policies and institutional frameworks for development of United Nations Decade of family farming in Kenya

They were speaking at a Nairobi hotel when they converged stakeholders from nine counties including Murang’a, Tharaka Nithi, Machakos, Makueni among others and members of the Family Farming National Committee to launch a National Action Plan that will be integrated and operationalised into policies, programmes and strategies that support family farming.