The Outreach Centre in collaboration with Hand-in-Hand East Africa (HiH-EA) organized a 4-days training workshop for HiH’s trainers. HiH-EA works with the farmer groups in six (6) subcounties within Uasin Gishu on the leafy vegetables value chain. All the groups are under the management of a trainer from HiH. Since not all the have a background in agriculture, there was need to take them through a training that would enhance their capacity in order to make them more efficient. The training was schedule as follows:

Day 1: Soil Testing and Fertilizer Use
This session was facilitated by Dr. Abigael Otinga from the Department of Soil Science. The trainees were taken through the importance of soil testing as a way of ensuring proper management of this resource for optimal production. They trainer also covered soil sampling and testing and the tests that are done, detailing both the macro and micro elements that are analyzed. They were informed that the results then are used in recommending the type and quantity of fertilizers that can be applied on the farms. Further, they were taken through the types of fertilizers available; both organic and inorganic with the explanations of how each could affect the soil health and crop yield.

Day 2: Horticultural Best Practices
This session was facilitated by Dr. Daniel Chebet and Dr. Josiah Chiveu from the Department of Seed, Crop and Horticultural Sciences. Various topics were covered including types of horticultural produce, conservation and regenerative agriculture, climate smart agricultural strategies and the contributions of this sector to food and nutritional security, besides economic benefits. Further, they were taken through water harvesting and conservation techniques such as use of zai pits, fertility trenches and refilling of underground aquifiers. Crop protection was also addressed where some of the common pests and diseases and their control was addressed.

Day 3: Post Harvest Handling and Value Addition
This was facilitated by Dr. Heka Kamau and Dr. Emmanuel Ayua from the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences. This session was structured in two sections. Section 1 introduced the concept of food waste and post-harvest losses, detailing how this could have an effect on food and nutrition security. Topics such as food distribution and utilization, difference between food and nutrition security were addressed and the magnitude of food losses globally and locally highlighted. The second section addressed the common causes of post-harvest losses and simple technologies and/or strategies that can be adopted to prevent such losses. The trainers were also trained on techniques used in early detection of deterioration of harvest. Lastly, they were taken through value addition techniques that can be adopted by smallholder farmers such as drying and dehydration.

Day 4: Groups and Group Dynamics
This was facilitated by Dr. Grace Mureithi from the Department of Development Studies. This session was important given that HiH-EA works with farmers in groups. The objective was to equip the trainers on group dynamics. Topics covered included definition of groups and teams, their importance and how to maintain effective teams. The trainer also highlighted how leadership is a pillar of success and discussed how emotional intelligence is utilised in a team. Mr. Hillary Ketem from OISC provided case studies of groups that failed to achieve their objectives, sensitizing the trainers on the pitfalls they need to look out for in order to ensure success of their farmer groups.