Farmers in Tigania west district on the slopes of Mount Kenya are adopting agroforestry, using biogas for energy and harvesting rainwater to cope with changing weather patterns and a degraded environment.

Daily Nation reports on how the area used to produce enough staple food to feed the entire region and beyond but deforestation, loss of soil fertility, drying and silted rivers and increasing droughts are producing low yields and threatening food security. Poverty has increased and communities are encroaching into the forest to gather firewood and timber for sale.

With the help of Caritas and other charities, community members have banded together to pilot bio-farm projects that incorporate the production of biogas, rainwater harvesting, agroforestry, organic farming and zero grazing. The initiatives aim to provide alternative sources of energy which prevent further deforestation and provide climate resilient farming options for smallholders.

It is hoped these ‘bio-farms’ which make use of locally available and simple technologies can be replicating in other arid areas.

Read the full story: Bio-farms help rural farmers cope with climate change