Backpack Farm Agriculture Program

Promoting sustainable BOP agriculture & value chains
Sustainable Agriculture
Nairobi
Kenya

More than 14 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of international food aid. At the same time, Africa has the agricultural potential not only to feed the continent but also the world. During the 2010 World Food Conference, Kofi Annan said: "improving the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of smallholder farming is the main pathway out of poverty in using agriculture for development." In response to these efforts, the Backpack Farm Agriculture Program (BPF) is designed as an all-in-one canvas backpack packaged with all the essential agriculture inputs needed for small landholders to standardize both the quality and quantity of agriculture production during an annual growing season, to mirror semi-commercial rates of production. Most important, farmers receive training on how best to use the backpack tools as well as build their core capacity.

 

Eco-Inclusive Impacts
The Backpack Farm Agricultural Program (BPF) provides not just biological farming supplements and training but a complete 5 phase program ensuring smallholder farmers to increase their harvests and improve their qualities of life. 
  • Offering smallholder farmers access to eco-friendly farming agri-tech inputs and training. 
  • Provide greater nutrition to populations suffering from nutritional deficits. 
  • Reducing time in the field to manage and water crops and improving literacy and education of women and the girl child.
  • Disseminating information on better land and water management by packaging eco-friendly agri-tech (e.g. certified seeds and water-soluble basal fertiliser pastes). 
  • Reducing the water input by using efficient drip irrigation systems and countering the impact of droughts which are reinforced through rainwater harvesting.
  • Improving the income of smallholder farmers and rural communities - specifically women, who produce 80% of food reserves in East Africa.
  • Developing sustainable agriculture value chains capable of supporting local, regional and international marketplaces. 

Partners

This initiative enables food autonomy for rural communities by providing small landholders with a dynamic set of agricultural tools, comprehensive training and monitoring delivered and distributed in a canvas backpack.

Medea Group Limited incubated and financed Medea Group Limited incubated and financed the entire project and is responsible for the overall project coordination.

Lachlan Kenya supplies and packages the agritechLachlan Kenya supplies and packages the agri-tech for each Backpack Farm.

Irrio International manages the supply chain ofIrrio International manages the supply chain of the irrigation products.

Sandstorm Kenya designed the backpacks and is responsible for their production.