‘Not afraid to invest in the future’

A story about how even small support can lead to magnificent changes

By Nico Janssen, Programme Manager Agriculture Livelihoods

Cluster farm

In August 2019 I visited the programme we’re supporting with the World Vegetable Center in Kenya. This organisation is setting up what they call ‘village business networks’ in vegetable production. We visited a cluster farm run by a group of young entrepreneurs, in their 20s and 30s, who courageously started vegetable production on a piece of land from their families. Luckily it was growing season, so we saw a lot of green and a lot of action. A lot of people working, a lot of vegetables growing in the fields. A group of seven young people welcomed us. They told their story with an enormous amount of passion and pride in what they have achieved.

Rapid development

They told us how they had very quickly and very smartly combined their skills and resources, managing this as social enterprises within an ecosystem. Some got involved in production, others in processing and others in trading. They used their skills to add layers to their businesses, instead of the classic project approach we often see – where everybody is doing the same thing. I was impressed by the rapid self-development that they went through. As a group, they decided how they were going to invest and reinvest in freezing machines, drying machines and business contacts. They went from nothing to leasing land within a year because the business was doing so well. In many East African countries, there’s a lot of intergenerational tension. Parents are scared to hand over family land to the next generation because they’re afraid their children are going to sell it. But in this case, the opposite happened. The younger generation received a bit of support from the project and a bit of support from their own families. The parents said: “Guys, go ahead, do this”.  This has led to new joint ventures between parents and kids.

It’s a new kind of relationship between farmer parents and their children, with the parents saying: “OK guys, here, you have a piece, start experimenting. The land remains ours for the time being, but you have the freedom to do whatever you want with it.” Seeing the pride of both the parents and the children in being able to say, “Hey look, we’re finding the next level development”, left me walking away with a huge smile on my face.

Just a nudge

Funnily enough, all we’re giving them is a bit of training. To see the things that they’ve developed was amazing. They’re investing in a black soldier fly enterprise to produce their own fertiliser and in biogas to turn animal manure into reusable products. They’re not afraid to invest in their future. I think we need this. Seeing not only the material results, but also a group of proud people taking development into their own hands, with a little nudge from our project, makes me really grateful. I hope to see many more of these examples in the future.