Watermelon farming in a drought (African Agriculture)

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http://www.africanagricultureblog.com/2011/12/climate-change-adaptation-watermelon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+africanagricultureblog%2FNaEx+%28African+Agriculture%29

Climate change adaptation: watermelon farming in a drought

by Isaiah Esipisu

On a Sunday evening, a track loaded with 10 tonnes of watermelons leaves Geoffrey Ndung’u’s homestead in Kanyonga village in semi-arid Eastern Kenya. It travels past a village shopping centre were people have formed a queue to receive food aid because of a prolonged drought in the area.

While his fellow villagers are feeling the effect of the drought, Ndung’u has turned it into a business and his harvest will earn him 2,000 dollars, from farming just 1.2 hectares of dry land.

“It is now two years since I learnt how to co-exist with the drought, thanks to support from ActionAid International and the Ministry of Agriculture,” says the 56-year-old father of five.

A host of humanitarian organisations in partnership with the government have undertaken to train people from drought-stricken areas in Kenya on how to take advantage of worsening conditions. “We have introduced a new project known as ‘Drought Coping Training’, where we train members of communities from arid and semi-arid areas on how to co-exist with the ever-changing climatic conditions,” says Francis Njoroge, the officer in charge of ActionAid International – Kenya in the larger Embu region.

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