WEST POKOT, Kenya – To improve food security, especially in Arid and Semi-Arid areas, drying vegetables throughout the dry season is an essential practice.
It enables farmers to store plants like spinach and kales, guaranteeing them a steady food supply even when fresh products are scarce.
It is a sunny afternoon when Y News arrives at Monicah Chepochepkai’s residence. Middle-aged women are gathered on the arid hillsides of the Chemotong area in Chepareria, West Pokot.
Those in attendance are also local agricultural officers and representatives from a local organisation whose goal is to educate the women on drying methods for preserving vegetables.
Due to changing weather patterns and drought, most homes in West Pokot County face acute food shortages.
However, a group of women in this area have banded together and are determined to rewrite the narrative.
Food insecurity, hunger, and extreme poverty plague the majority of people living in the semi-arid county in Kenya’s North Rift region.
However, thanks to a straightforward method of vegetable preservation, women can now give their families a steady supply of vegetables for their meals, even throughout the dry season.
How the Kenyan government is supporting pastoral women
For instance, in Kipkomo Sub-County, 28 women, including Chepochepkai, have formed the Mintri Mother-to-Mother Support Group (MTMSG).
The Ministry of Agriculture and Action Against Hunger (ACF) provides seedlings for high-value crops, helping women learn about kitchen garden farming through Climate Smart agriculture.
The women who have established a communal kitchen garden meet monthly to discuss family health issues and acquire new technology.
After receiving instruction in basic farming methods for short-season crops, the women can now grow fruits, vegetables, and other high-value crops, improving household food security.
“We are overjoyed that this program has taught us how to store our vegetables for later use. As one of the recipients of instruction on vegetable preservation by drying program by Action Against Hunger ACF,” said Chepochepkai, a mother of nine from Chemotong hamlet in Chepareria.
Chepochepkai, like her colleagues, is guaranteed that her children will have a balanced diet through this method.
Chepochepkai noted that they now possessed the knowledge and skills to produce cheap food and even increase their household’s revenue through surplus food production.
Y News understands that vegetable drying maintains nutritional value and intensifies flavour, making dried vegetables essential for sustaining nutrition during drought or reduced agricultural output.
“Since we began our effort two years ago, my children have been healthy. They eat vegetables every day; therefore, they rarely fall sick. This has also helped my children become more active and happier,” Chepochepkai said.
Why pastoral women have embraced kitchen garden farming
The women’s group leader, Regina Chepoisho, observed that they had grown enough vegetables for future use thanks to kitchen garden farming.
“We currently eat sufficient vegetables, which is excellent for our kids’ health. We can now benefit from dried vegetables during the dry season,” she pointed out.
Here, women have successfully trained and built capacity in climate-smart agriculture and are now enjoying the rewards of their labour. They feel that hope grows where opportunities to plant them exist.
Following their training in vegetable preservation, Action Against Hunger gave the women a Dehytray solar dryer, which they use at home to dry and store vegetables.
Y News established that when the vegetables are harvested from the farm, they are sliced into little pieces, combined with salty water, and allowed to dry for a couple of days before being preserved in an excellent, dry location.
Health officials state that well-preserved dried veggies can last up to six to twelve months, providing families with a steady supply of vegetables for their diet.
When the veggies are harvested from the farm, they are sliced into little pieces, combined with salty water, and allowed to dry for a few days before being preserved in an excellent, dry location.
In collaboration with the County Department of Agriculture and Health, the program has improved the ability of eight mother-to-mother support groups, MT MSG in Chepareria and Kodich in Pokot North Sub County, to safeguard and participate in sustainable livelihoods in West Pokot County communities affected by the drought.
Why the vegetable drying technique is revolutionary
The organisation’s Food Security and Livelihood officer, Lucas Matete, stated that the preservation method is revolutionary and a technological advancement that guarantees people consume enough vegetables.
“We want to use Climate Smart Agriculture to help communities—women in particular, who are the backbone of empowerment—build resilience among communities affected by drought,” he stated in an interview.
Women growing high-value short-season crops in kitchen gardens have increased their adoption in Kodich, Pokot North Sub County.
The Topolul Mother-to-Mother Support Group has played a significant role in providing women with training through field trips and information sharing.
In addition, women have established private kitchen gardens from which they sell their produce weekly to the neighbourhoods between Sh 400 and Sh 700.
Mercy Letting, Sub-County Agricultural Officer, was identified by Action Against Hunger through their collaboration. High-value crops, including kale, spinach, butternut squash, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, sorghum, and fruit trees, may now be grown by women thanks to their empowerment.
“We have been instructing the women’s groups in the villages on how to construct stone gardens and sunken beds, which enable them to use irrigation to grow crops all year long,” noted Letting.
She added that in addition to providing training, the program has helped local efforts to maintain and enhance land, soil, and water resources, thereby improving the environment’s human-friendly aspects.
Why childhood malnutrition remains a concern in West Pokot
According to Mary Kapkama, a community health assistant officer in Chepareria, preserving vegetables by drying has aided women and children in obtaining a balanced diet through their meals.
She claims this has significantly aided the fight against childhood malnutrition, which is still a problem in some areas of West Pokot County.
Y News understands that in this region, one in five children under five are malnourished, or too thin, at 11.9 pc, and nearly half of the children under five are stunted, or too short, at 45.9 pc.
West Pokot County is one of the counties impacted by malnutrition and has continued to record poor health and nutrition outcomes.
To monitor any cases of malnutrition in the villages, Kapkama:
“We have also used the women groups to train Community Health Promoters, or CHPs, who do sensitisation programs on healthy diet and breastfeeding among lactating women.”
Against this backdrop, the value addition of vegetables through these modern drying techniques should be embraced. They also allow farmers to charge a premium price, creating an avenue for increasing their household incomes.
