ASSESSEMENT OF SMALL SCALE AGRICULTURE AT THE SLOPES OF MOUNTAIN
ELGON; A CASE STUDY OF BUDUUDA-MANAFWA AREA.
90% of the society depends on agriculture for food and for living. The region supports both cash
and food crops and both annual and perennial crops. The respondents that were interviewed gave
information concerning the different crops grown. Among them include; Arabic coffee, banana
plantations, beans, maize, onions, soya peas, eggplants, bamboo (malewa), and other vegetables
like sukuma witch and cabbage.
A table that shows major crops grown.
Arabic coffee and Banana
Size of farmer’s plot
(%)
55
Maize and beans
20
Stem tubers
10
others
10
Major crops grown
Source; primary data.
Arabic coffee is the major traditional crop grown in the area and it’s found on each and every
farmer’s plot. It yields above 85% of the income earned in the household. It’s followed by
bananas and beans, and then other crops follow.
Most labor is provided by the family members including children, male and female, of which
female take the big percentage of the members that works in the field
Organic farming is mainly practiced in the area though the community members are not familiar
with the term. In terms of fertilizing their land, they apply manure and urine from the animals to
the fields of coffee, banana and potatoes, through their farming cooperative they make organic
manure out of the rotting wastes from the garden and dung.
Terracing is also carried out along the slopes of the mountain to reduce the rate of runoff that
would reduce the nutrients of the soils.
Mulching is practiced especially with bananas; where dry grass is used to cover the topmost
areas of the land that at end improves soil nutrients and also controls soil erosion.
Crop rotation, involves changing crops from one season to another to prevent lack of nutrients.
Intercropping, where two or more crops growing in the same field. This is evidenced by the
banana and coffee plantation, sweet potatoes and cassava. This is done in order to exchange
nutrients and also control pests and diseases that cold attack the crops. Pests in bananas are
sometimes controlled by the ashes.
Most of the seeds are generated by these very farmers especially coffee, beans, maize and banana
seeds. Others seeds that are purchased are; onion, cabbage, sukum witch among others. Nursery
beds especially for coffee are done on small scale and water for irrigating is got from the river.
Figure 1; A coffee nursery bed in the middle left ground
figure 2; coffee seeds in the columns
Irrigation is practiced on rare cases. It usually happens during dry seasons especially with crops
of cabbage, tomatoes and onions. Water for irrigation is usually derived from river Manafwa and
collected water in tanks and other places.
Other practices done include the contour plowing (plowing opposite to slope direction),
fallowing of the land to enable it reset and gain nutrients again. These two are done on low basis.
Despite the organic farming practices carried out in the area, some farmers apply artificial
fertilizers to some garden fields especially in cabbage, sukum witch and onions. On addition,
spraying of pests is done especially with cabbage and sukum witch.
Farmers join cooperatives for marketing their products especially coffee. Respondents for
example, Mr. Walusimbi Ibrahim, a village resident joined PCU Cooperative Union for
marketing and improving coffee quality. Other cooperatives include; NAMATOTOA Coperaive
society for storing coffee, LUSOLA saving and credit union for proving financial support like
giving loans to the farmers.
Some of the challenges that are affecting farmers are the shorter rain seasons and very long dry
seasons. Seasons are changing in the region being manifested by the severe droughts due to
heavy sunshine and less amount of rainfall in the area. For instance, some respondents said that
rainfall used to happen from March to November but now rains are unpredictable. In 2016,
rainfall ended in October till February.
Most crops dry out due to the continuous heavy sunshine in the area like tomatoes, sukum witch
onions maize, beans and others.
Primary data continues assert that sometimes the area is affected by floods especially when
unfriendly rains happen. Flooding usually take place along the river and this leave some crops
destroyed. Rains sometimes come with heavy storms and wind that put down the crops, this
happened in July 2016. This has made the yields to be less, hence producing for only home
consumption other than trading.
Pests also attack many of the farmers’ crops for example “Masa” a local pest that affect coffee
seeds, squirrels that eat ground nut seeds, butterflies that destroy sukum witch and cabbage
leaves, monkeys, caterpillars among others.