Location: Makueni County, Kenya
Crops: Maize, beans, black beans (njahe)
Program: TomorrowNow Climate SMS Advisory in partnership with KALRO
In Makueni County, Boniface Mutuko Chengo has been farming for ten years — and he has watched the weather change before his eyes.
“There have been weather difficulties. Usually, there are dates where we anticipate rainfall and we prepare ourselves,” he says. “Sometimes, the rains are late. You’ll find that the maize you have planted has stayed too long (without rain). Additionally, sometimes the rain is too little. This is very challenging for the seeds that are planted because if they don’t grow, they go bad.”
That uncertainty changed when Boniface began receiving TomorrowNow’s agro-weather intelligence/advisory messages. “I have been receiving these messages for a while, and they have truly been helpful. They guide you on how to organise yourself for that period.”
The alerts tell him when to prepare his farm and how to align planting with rainfall. “When we receive the messages, the young workers are sent first to prepare and till the land and second to dig ditches. They then put organic manure as we wait for the light rainfall,” he explains. “When the light rains come, the crops grow… The messages have been very helpful.”
The results speak for themselves.
“There has been a big difference between when we didn’t receive the messages and when we now do. For example, previously, we would harvest two or at most, three sacks from the half-acre farm [of maize]. But now, we harvest more. We get ten or more sacks since we started using the messages.”
Before joining the program, Boniface admits, “We would plant at the wrong time… But since we started receiving these messages, we are told the best times to plant depending on the weather. This time, based on the messages, we planted on the 9th of October. We have hopes that we will yield a greater harvest.”
He says confidence is now part of his routine: “When we receive the messages, we know we will harvest if we follow the messages’ instructions… We are now confident that if we follow what the messages say and plant at the set time or plant the seed advised, we will harvest. We are not taking chances and we know we will harvest when we use the messages.”
For Boniface, weather matters deeply: “You see, rain is free… There are some farmers who use machines to pump water but God is the one who gives rain.”
Thanks to TomorrowNow’s messages, that gift of water now translates into reliable food and income.