Nairobi nuns swap prayer books for precision farming

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At the heart of Nairobi’s leafy Lavington suburb, where high-rise buildings and busy streets dominate the landscape, a group of Catholic sisters is quietly showcasing how small urban spaces can be transformed into productive farms.

Inside the compound of the Sisters of Mount Carmel Convent, a 0.9-acre piece of land has been turned into a climate-smart agriculture demonstration farm, producing vegetables and fruits while showcasing technologies that could help farmers cope with climate change.

The farm, under the stewardship of Sister Bernadette Wanjiku of the convent, has embraced modern agricultural technologies including drip irrigation, fertigation, greenhouse production, mulching and biological pest management systems.

The initiative is supported through collaboration between CultivAid, AITeC-Embu Farm, Water 4 Mercy and Don Bosco Technical Institute of Africa.

Kepha Mumo, an engineer and agronomist working with CultivAid Kenya, says the farm was established three years ago after the sisters realised their initial passion fruit project was not providing sufficient benefits. “Initially, it was a passion fruit farm, but we realized the sisters were not benefiting much from the crop. That led us to establish a model farm whose first objective was to feed the community. Once their food needs were met, any surplus would be sold to nearby markets,” he says.

The team assessed the surrounding market and found that produce was expensive, especially at Kangemi market, which is among the closest trading centres.

“Since the sisters live in a monastery, it is not easy for them to travel frequently for shopping. We therefore established a vegetable farm to supply their kitchen with fresh produce,” Mr Mumo explains. He says the farm has already recouped its initial capital investment and has since scaled up to commercial production. “We have already broken even,” he tells Seeds of Gold.

The farm is divided into production blocks, with some sections dedicated to supplying the sisters’ kitchen while others are managed commercially to generate income and sustain operations.

The sisters grow tomatoes, capsicum, cabbages, cucumbers, courgettes, beetroot, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach, as well as indigenous vegetables including amaranth (terere), kunde, mito and saga.

They have also planted fruits such as avocado, mangoes, pawpaw, bananas, pixies and sugarcane, which will provide additional nutrition and income once they mature.

Mumo says production is planned in cycles depending on market demand and weather conditions.

“We grow crops in seasons of about three months, after which we plan the next cycle based on what is available in the market and the prevailing climate. We understand that not all crops perform well during rainy or dry seasons, so we plan accordingly,” he says.

The farm operates on a 50-50 model, where half of the produce is consumed by the sisters while the surplus is sold to markets to support the sustainability of the project.

A standard production block measuring 1,000 square metres can produce up to 6,000 kilogrammes of tomatoes over a three-month season, with an average selling price of Sh30 per kilogramme. The same area under capsicum production can yield about 2,000 kilogrammes, according to Mumo, over four months, selling at approximately Sh50 per kilogramme.

Inside their 192-square-metre greenhouse, the sisters harvest about 700 kilogrammes of coloured capsicum, commonly known as hoho, which fetches an average market price of Sh200 per kilogramme.

“For cabbage, a 1,000-square-metre plot can produce about 2,500 heads, each weighing approximately three kilogrammes, and selling at between Sh30 and Sh40 per head after three months,” he shared during the interview at the farm.

However, he noted that without modern technologies such as drip irrigation, yields decline significantly. Tomato production can fall to about 3,600 kilogrammes, capsicum output drops to between 1,000 and 1,500 kilogrammes, while cabbage suffers from poor head formation and fungal infections, reducing harvests to about 1,000 marketable heads from approximately 3,000 planted seedlings.

Mumo says adopting climate-smart technologies has been critical in improving productivity while reducing resource use, especially water. “One of the key technologies we have adopted is drip irrigation because it enables efficient water management, ensuring every drop counts,” he says.

Previously, the farm relied on furrow irrigation, which required long pumping hours from a borehole and resulted in significant water losses.

“With drip irrigation, the entire farm can be irrigated within two to three hours, allowing us to engage in other productive activities,” he says.

The system has reduced water consumption by nearly 75 per cent. Previously, the farm’s 250-cubic-metre water tank had to be refilled daily during dry periods. Currently, the tank is refilled after every four days.

The farm has also adopted fertigation, a technology where water-soluble fertilisers and farm chemicals are mixed into irrigation water and delivered directly to crops through drip lines. “Instead of applying fertiliser manually, we apply it through the irrigation system. The crops receive both water and nutrients at the same time, hence improving efficiency,” Mumo says.

Mulching has also become an important part of the farm’s climate-smart approach. The technology helps conserve moisture, suppress weeds and reduce the spread of soil-borne diseases by preventing direct contact between soil and plants.

The greenhouse further enables production throughout the year by protecting crops from harsh weather conditions and reducing pest and disease pressure.

For insect management, the farm uses biological approaches, including blue sticky traps and pheromone traps. The sticky traps capture pests before they attack crops, reducing reliance on chemical pesticides, while pheromone traps disrupt insect breeding cycles by attracting targeted pests.

Mr Mumo says the project is also contributing to urban greening by proving that food production can take place even within cities. The climate-smart technologies being demonstrated at the farm are largely borrowed from Israel, following decades of cooperation between Kenya and Israel in agriculture, irrigation and water management.

Speaking during a recent demonstration event dubbed ‘Growing Together: A Showcase of Climate Smart Agriculture’, Gideon Behar, Ambassador of the State of Israel to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Seychelles, said the project shows how science, technology and innovation can address climate challenges.

“This is an amazing project where we can see Israeli technologies at work in agriculture,” he said. Ambassador Behar said climate change has made irrigation increasingly important as rainfall becomes unpredictable. “When I look at Kenya and Africa, one of the most pressing issues is to move into irrigation,” he said. He noted that about 50 per cent of agriculture in Israel is irrigated, with much of production taking place in desert areas.

Israel has learned how to produce more using limited water resources. The country also purifies about 97 per cent of all sewage water, which is then used in agriculture. “Wastewater should not only be seen as a problem, it should be viewed as a resource and part of the solution,” he said.

Behar said simple and affordable technologies must reach farmers across Kenya, including those in arid and semi-arid areas.

Mercy Wanjau, Secretary to the Cabinet, said the farm demonstrates the possibilities of producing food in urban areas through precision agriculture and climate-smart approaches.

“Right in the middle of Nairobi, we have had an opportunity to see what climate-smart agriculture looks like. With very little water and technical support, we have seen a wide range of vegetables being produced and the possibility of multiple harvests within a year,” she said.

Ms Wanjau said shrinking land sizes due to population growth require new approaches to food production. “The way we used to farm in the past is no longer sustainable. The solution lies in innovation, adoption of new techniques and growing high-value crops on smaller pieces of land,” she said, calling for partnership among key stakeholders from both public and private sectors to support farmers to cushion themselves against climate shocks.

She added that climate-smart agriculture will be important as Kenya prepares for extreme weather events, including possible El Niño-related impacts. The Government is doing everything it can to prepare, ensuring we harness available water and strengthen infrastructure to reduce destruction, she said.

Reporting originally appeared via Nation Africa. Read the full source for additional context.