How farming is enhancing lives of women living with HIV

Bending in unison, they brave the biting cold to harvest beans on a one-acre farm as they celebrate their bumper harvest with songs. These four women share a common goal: to eliminate hunger and poverty in their families.

The four are members of the Anding'o support Group, which comprises 27 women. It was formed in 2018. The four women have joined one of their own, Ms Damarys Libise, a 38-year-old mother of four, who owns the farm. These women were stigmatised and isolated by the community due to their HIV status.

But that did not kill their spirit as they devised ideas to soldier on with life by engaging in agribusiness to put food on the table. Their efforts are actively contributing to five of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals - SDG 5, (women empowerment), SDG 1 (reducing poverty), SDG 2, (reducing hunger and malnutrition), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17, (partnership for development).

"I supply the school with beans and maize and this has enabled me to pay school fees for my daughter, who is in Form Three," says Ms Libise.

Jerusha Kwamboka, 50, the group leader, says the crops they grow support their overall health and help boost the immune system. According to experts, good nutrition also helps people with HIV to maintain healthy weight and absorb HIV medications better. “I plant amaranth, finger millet and sorghum. I also keep dairy cows. I was thin before I got into farming because we always lacked food in my house and depended on buying from others,” says Ms Kwamboka, a mother of four. However, the group laments that the lack of enough land remains a big challenge.

"I started a kitchen garden. I grow my own vegetables and sell surplus. I have a large family and buying vegetables costs a lot of money, which I did not have. I use manure from my animals and poultry," says Monica Akinyi, 42, a mother of nine.

The group’s farming activities got a boost when the government provided them with improved varieties of beans, millet and sorghum through the Restoration of Food Baskets in Households project. This is a two-year project run by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) in partnership with Migori County and other partners.

“These varieties of crops grown by these women are resilient to climate change because they matuaays Dr Simon Omondi, an assistant director at KALRO. According to Lucas Chacha, Migori Agriculture executive, the devolved unit has committed to supplying certified seeds to farmers.

“Sorghum is a crucial food value chain that will cushion our farmers against food insecurity and therefore as a county we shall endeavour to make sure the seeds are readily available to the farmers,” said Mr Chahcha.

Apart from their resilience to climate change, these improved crop varieties are also bio-fortified with zinc and iron to enhance the diets of farmers and their families.

“These women need protein to build their immunity systems and the minerals and vitamins to address their health concerns,” says Dr Martins Odendo, chief agriculture economist.

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