"Surely working together we are powerful enough to save our planet" (David Attenborough).............."No more Blah Blah Blah" (Greta Thunberg).

Hundreds of thousands are on the move in Eastern Africa. The familiar seasonal patterns have become less and less predictable. Four years of failed rains and failed harvests have decimated their farms. Where cattle grazed now there are only carcasses, the communities have headed for towns and camps for food aid. The social stress leads to civil strife, competition for dwindling resources. Somalia & Sudan are two current examples

Concerned about 3rd.World food security? Climate change? Carbon sequestration? Growing populations and declining farm yields have been met by claiming more and more land from long-established forests and wild habitats.

There is another way! If we could only lift the crop yields achieved by Africa's smallholders towards the levels achieved in India we could meet all the world's need for nutrition without felling any more forests.

Here's an opportunity to pitch in at grass roots level. Our project supports local farmers in Kenya as they trial new crops and new methods in the face of volatile weather. We welcome financial contributions of course, however modest, but we are just as open to advice, ideas, and practical help.

Time for action!

Benjamin 'Benmak' Wandera, the man in the photo, farms a 6-acre smallholding in the foothills of Kenya's fertile Western Highlands. Typical crops have been maize and beans. Benmak is also the leader of CLIMATE ACTION. Not a charity, not a government organisation or NGO. No admin overheads, no 'syphoning'. Just a local network of farmers supported by an informal group of advisers, all with a common aim.

PROGRESS TO DATE:

Benmak has leased enough land for a long-term trial of deeper rooted nut and fruit trees, interplanted with vegetables.

The land has been fenced.

A 115m borehole has been drilled, a pump, storage tanks and irrigation pipes installed.

An orchard of fruit & nut saplings has been planted. with the help of local schoolchildren.

Trials of different vegetables are underway.

Benmak's WhatsApp group shares lessons learned with the local farming community. Twelve other smallholders have joined Benmak's project, each willing to put aside a portion of their land towards crop trials.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

Soil analysis by the labs of Kenya Agriculture & Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) advised Benmak to apply several tons of manure or compost to each acre of land. Too much for a man with a wheelbarrow! Instead, a small area was fertilised and planted with maize. Results were encouraging. Most of the yield declines seen over the last 60 years were corrected.

The soil analysis has been extended to cover each of the 12 participating smallholdings in thr Climate Action Network ("we CAN"). This plus a 'baseline' survey conducted by Benmak gives us the important start point every development project needs. Results were discussed in detail at a local conference, with analysis from a local agronomist recommended by KALRO.

Benmak's family have taken the initiative to start building a modest 3-room 'farmhouse' mainly using timber and murram clay sourced on site.

Chip in if you're interested and think this project is worthwhile. For the price of a take-away meal you can help these farmers secure a lifetime of sustainable food security.

If you want to follow Benmak's blog on his WhatsApp group or to contribute in other ways too, get in touch. petersbed@aol.com

And if you agree this makes sense, why not share this page around?