as outlined by the report to the UN Secretary–General by the Jeffrey Sach’s UN Millennium Project.  At this point is worth noting that almost every successful development experience has been based on a Green Revolution at an early stage.

 

CULINKE works in western Kenya where the climate hot and tropical occasionally humid, rainfall is erratic and unpredictable. Main economic activities here are fishing and little farming. In some areas we have sugar-cane growing, but with heavy losses in this sector and mismanagement the impact is all but negative. In another area-Ahero, the government recently rejuvenated rice cultivation through irrigation results are slow in coming. Families are large and as with other areas in Kenya women bear the brunt of the difficult economic hardships- feeding and caring for families. This area is home to Kenya’s highest number of HIV/AIDS incidence and so naturally orphans, and has one of Kenya’s poorest provinces, Nyanza province. Inherently therefore hunger compounded by poverty is the major cause of child vulnerability.

 

 

 

There are very few industries here and so the population must rely on the little agriculture to feed themselves and sell the very little remaining “surplus” to earn an income. But with the high incidence of HIV/AIDS, productive labour force has been depleted worsening the already deplorable agricultural productivity. The resultant negative impact with it’s multiplier effect lands on:-

1.  Children who end up in the streets;

2. On the industries who lose the productive labour force;

3.  On women who take care of the families;

4.  Even worse on grandparents who must now play parenting roles yet with no strength of even little farming.  

Once on the streets some children are forced into prostitution, severe depression-alcohol/drug abuse, crime, violent behaviour, child labour-difficult child labour leads to transactional sex and teenage pregnancies and eventually leads to vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

 

With an integrated approach of HIV/AIDS awareness including a comprehensive component on reproductive health education and services, women’s empowerment or gender equality and the initialisation of a community-driven participatory green revolution we can make a rapid difference in just three years. As clearly indicated in the Millennium Project report to UN secretary General in the book “Investing in Development” there already are proven methods and strategies to achieve rapid results and put countries on track to achieving the MGDs.

 

One is about a massive effort to build  expertise at the community level;

Two is the technical support but in this instance to committed NGOs and;

Three to remain in a constant state of consultation and openness with all technical agencies locally and internationally, governmental e.g. Agricultural Extension Officers and NGOs.

 

Only then can the slow diffusion of latest and other older, proven traditional agricultural skills be disseminated to the impoverished farmer at the grassroots level.

 

The intervention methods CULINKE practices are already in use here and in other parts of the Third World and including Kenya. 

 

1. Slow diffusion or dissemination of the methods and technologies;

2. The technical support to reach the grassroots with the same, e.g. transport-poor roads, vehicles, seeds and the high cost of fertilisers;

3. Far fewer indigenous agricultural-specific Non State Actors or Non Governmental Organisations;

4. Very little direct funds to the few Agricultural Non State Actors;

5. Ineffective government employed agricultural extension officers due to government bureaucracy, motivation and poor infrastructure;

6. The prohibitive cost of well-researched hybrid or improved yields seed from government research stations;

7. Too much boardroom and elitist conceptualisation of policies by agricultural bodies;

8. Harsh agro-climatic conditions and lack of an effective rural water and irrigation policy;

9. Need to mainstream agricultural development into the key instruments of development in relation to the MDGs or in other words give agricultural development, water and sanitation the same seriousness as HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness has been;

10. Total ignorance of and lack of perception by leaders at both grassroots and national level of the interconnectedness between wealth creation, food security and nutrition to the Green Revolution.

 

• Promoting the planting of genetically engineered food for food security;

• community-owned poultry farming of either free range or grade birds;

• promoting cross-breeding of cattle for increased meat and higher milk production;

• promoting environmentally acceptable natural manure as fertilizer;

• promoting the work of extension workers and services like initiating community-owned cattle dips;

• Initiating farmer schools for demon stations and marketing in strategic locations;

• Forming of farming marketing cooperatives to market the produce and lobby for better prices.