Abstract:
Government policy expects small-scale farmers in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya to concentrate on food security rather than commercial agricultural production, for the good reason that drought and famine continually threaten them, making them not only among the poorest of people but also at constant risk of starvation. A case in point is the sorghum and millet improvement programme (SMIP) instituted by the Kenya agricultural research institute (KARI) which develops drought resistant grains for subsistence farmers in the ASALs. Yet several evaluation studies have shown that the target farmers operate within the cash economy, and therefore prefer commercially viable crops such as maize. The ASAL poor have to pay cash for most of their basic needs such as food, education and travel. Unfortunately their efforts more often than not meet with failure because their preferred crops do not thrive in the ASALs. However it is possible that a solution can be found in suitable programmes that combine commercial farming with subsistence farming. However successful commercial farming in the ASALs is a considerable challenge given the constraints and the competition. It would most likely require a competitive edge such as a novel product. One possibility is medicinal plants of which Africa has a wide variety, many of which are found in the ASALs. By and large these plants are harvested in the wild rather than cultivated but given that global trade in medicinal plants exceeds 30 billion dollars (US) per annum, and that many face extinction if the status quo continues, this is an area that deserves serious attention. Commercial production of medicinal plants would ease the cash requirements of subsistence farmers in the ASALs, thus allowing them to concentrate on food security. This paper will review the findings of two evaluation studies on the SMIP project and explore medicinal plant production as a solution to the dilemmas facing farmers, agricultural support services and policy makers.
