Upper Tana Nairobi Water Fund engages farmers on best practices as it aims at providing clean water

The Upper Tana Nairobi Water Fund has pledged to extend the provision of water to counties in which lies water catchments that aid in the supply of clean water to Nairobi County and its environs.

Speaking while on a farm visit to the Maragua Ridge area of Maragua Constituency, Fred Kihara, Director of Africa Water Funds under the Nature Conservancy said that Kenya is a water-scarce country and for that reason, the nature conservancy has been supporting farmers to get water through water projects to help mitigate the water challenge.

He said that the mission of the conservancy is aimed at the provision of enough clean water working in hand with other institutions and counties to help conserve the catchments through the involvement of farmers.

Kihara said that Nature Conservancy is looking forward to supporting more farmers in a bid to conserve the water catchments noting that this will be actualised through the Nairobi Water Fund.

Caroline Wangari, Upper Tana Nairobi Water Fund Murang'a representative added that they have been involving the farmers on best farming practices that wouldn't erode the soil or interfere with water catchments and river reserves, water harvesting in an effort to conserve.

Wangari said that farmers are very cooperative in conservation, and have been showing lots of effort thus benefiting from their consultancy on improved farming practices.

She said that the Nature Conservancy wants to extend the number of beneficiaries from 180,000 to over 300,000 farmers.

Carol Wanjiku, farmer at Maragua Ridge registered her appreciation to Water Fund attributing their support to stability in finances having been able to put up a decent house, put her children to school and be self-dependent.

Wanjiku has made a call to young people to embrace farming.

Peter Kanyotu, is yet another young farmer who switched from being a bodaboda operator to a full-time farmer.

He says that farming yields him good money for the markets are ready noting that many times customers come to the farms to fetch the supplies this more profits for the produce.