Kajiado farm leads in AI technology

Clouds of dust and idle pockets of land dotted with shrubs and thickets feed your eyes as you drive to Kilimo Hakika Farm in Mashuru, Kajiado County.

The farm is approximately 60 kilometres from Nairobi and 100 kilometres from Kitengela. Just metres from the farm and the narrative gets sweeter. The air is crisp and fresh, the vegetation is green. Most farms here are lush with fresh produce.

“Like my wife and I, some Kenyans discovered these fertile unoccupied lands were great for farming during the Covid-19 pandemic. They approached the owners, leased the lands and started farming,” Dr Boniface Akuku, the brains behind the farm, says as we approach the gate.

“It has been a tough journey. Some gave up but we soldiered on.” What sets Kilimo Hakika Farm apart is the expanse of greenery. Dr Akuku has embraced technological solutions. The agriprenuer has leased 60 acres and divided the land into plots, with tomato as the main crop on 33 acres.

The tomatoes are segmented in various stages of growth. There is a section on cabbages, maize for seed production, capsicum, onion beetroot and two large greenhouses where seedlings are developed, all for their propagation and commercial purposes.

But that is not the icing on the cake. Dr Akuku, popularly known as the “Grandfather of Digital Agriculture in Africa”, has used his IT background to infuse digital architecture on the farm to boost efficiency.

He is a former Director of ICT at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation, where he is credited with introducing digital transformation in the agency.

He was the brainchild of several digital innovations and apps that help smallholder farmers take their ventures to the next level. With a rich background in digital agriculture, Dr Akuku’s is not just another ordinary farm in the semi-arid Kajiado.

It is a modern, community-driven farm that integrates technology like Artificial Intelligence, weather intelligence and weather-triggered advisories. The farm provides ground for adaptative research, enabling farmers learn and apply Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs).

His model is that of a social enterprise that gives part of the profit to the community.  To achieve the goal, Dr Akuru established knowledge lab and demo farm for training in partnership with different organisations.

“Farmers learn and get first- hand experience and training with the practical application. This community-driven approach is a testament to the farm’s commitment to shared success,” he says. Kilimo Hakika is testing a WhatsApp AI chatbot on GAPs with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in Mexico to develop solutions for challenges that hinder farmers from achieving their full potential.

Through the feedback, the insights form part of the farmer’s voice, a playbook used to improve the development of AI engines and farmer user interfaces. The farm is also developing a playbook that bridges technology development. It will act as a guidebook to help smallholder farmers run their businesses profitably.

Dr Akuku is working with other organisations to test, validate, and scale digital solutions such as apps for smallholder farmers. Kilimo Hakika, for instance, is working with Cabi International to scale digital tools to farmers. These include a knowledge bank, PlantwisePlus toolkit/fact sheets, crop sprayer app, bio-protection portal, fertiliser optimiser app, cabi e-learning course and time-to-action alerts or early warnings on pests and diseases.

“We are testing AI technology to reduce the gap in extension services. Extension services reduced, leaving a gap in the knowledge chain where farmers could get valuable information,” explains Dr Akuku.

His farm, which has five permanent staff and hires almost 60 casuals, plans to digitalise every process. “Once we secure funds, we will train more farmers and support scaling more digital technology in communities facing similar challenges,” he says.

“We will also invest in an irrigation system with moisture sensors that can send alerts and notifications through an app when the soil is dry. When there is enough water, it switches off. This way, we can monitor efficient water usage and save on wastage, which can happen when careless farmhands switch on the irrigation pumps and leave them unattended.”

One notices that the stems of the young tomatoes are firmly tied to poles with green strings. “This is staking technology. Tomato is a delicate crop that needs tender care and enough aeration. When they are growing, the fruits tend to drop and rot when in contact with the soil bed or excess water. This exposes them to fungal diseases like Anthracnose,” farm agronomist Martin Mutisya Ndole says.

Though staking technology is expensive, it is a worthwhile investment in the long term.  Everything is in great working order on this digital farm but has it always been Christmas?

“Absolutely not! The farm is around three years old. We’ll soon start reaping the fruits of our labour,” Dr Akuku says. “Years One and Two were difficult. We soldiered on because of passion.” And what almost broke his spirit?

“There were rogue brokers everywhere. Penetrating the market was tough. There was a time we had mature tomatoes. I hired a lorry, alerted the middlemen and they assured me of a buyer,” he adds.

“I made my way there. The broker was missing. We made huge losses.” Having learnt the hard way, he bought a truck. After market research, the farm got a more reliable and trusted broker. The farm also sells produce to organised markets, supermarkets and resellers.

He advises new farmers to do thorough market research lest their fingers get roasted. To address the challenge of losses that come during glut season, the strategy of Kilimo Hakika Farm is timely planting. “We grow tomatoes in different stages so that there is a tomato crop on the farm every time of the year,” Ndole says.

For those interested in farming as a retirement project, Dr Akuku has a parting shot. “Start now and build the structures step by step. There is no instant profit or success in farming. 

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