Pupils in Bomet County have established a library at their school using profits from their bean farming venture. The 4K Club students at Gorgor Primary School began farming as part of their club activities and discovered that their venture was unexpectedly profitable.
Thanks to their dedication and hard work, the students converted the proceeds from their bean farming into a valuable educational resource by setting up a much-needed library.
Albine Lang’at, a senior teacher at Gorgor Primary School, shared that they planted the high-iron Nyota bean variety in 2021 and 2022, earning Sh70,000 from their harvest, which was used to purchase storybooks for the library.
The 4K Club, established in 2021 with 120 learners planting Nyota beans, has since grown to 180 students. “We harvested 560 kilos from 0.7 acres and saved the money after selling the beans to Abosi Top Hill Cooperative Society Limited in Sotik Subcounty, Bomet,” Lang’at said.
As the 4K Club patron, Lang’at receives support from the school management, which provided land for farming. The learners are organized into groups of about 20, competing to see which group produces the most.
“The parents and school management have supported us by providing a room for the library. Well-wishers also contribute by donating more books,” Lang’at added.
The library currently has books worth Sh300,000, and the school is seeking additional support from within the country and abroad to enhance the library for their learners. Their goal is for all students to become fluent in either Kiswahili or English. Lang’at hopes to expand the library in the future to accommodate community members as well.
This initiative aims to promote the culture of farming. Lang’at emphasized the importance of engaging youth in agriculture, noting that many are leaving farming to the elderly, which could pose a future food security crisis. “We want learners to understand that farming is a viable job that provides both income and food,” he said.
“We are keen on bean production because initially malnutrition rates in Bomet were at six per cent, and we had to do something to reduce this,” Sienei said.
The county has strategies to reduce malnutrition and address the problem in schools.
“We are doing this using three strategies. The first is to promote beans in schools where they have enough land. We have started this and are rolling out the programme in at least 50 county schools, 10 schools per subcounty,” he said.
“The second strategy is to promote bean farming to the parents who can take beans to schools as fees payment. Third is to do contract farming. Two cooperative societies in Danae ward have been doing this and farmers are reaping the benefits.”
More than 500 households are producing the high-iron angaza beans, making Bomet the leading producer of the variety.
“We have had many visitors coming to benchmark on bean farming,” Sienei said.
Besides promoting bean farming in schools, he said they are also using the Kilimo Kanisani intervention to create awareness about bean production. “We have realised that most farmers, especially women, listen to religious leaders more than anybody else. That is the reason we are introducing this programme through the churches and encouraging farmers to join groups and cooperatives,” he said.
The market for beans is valued at Sh2.5 billion.
“There is a ready market and we have off-takers locally, in Nairobi, and even for export. The market is huge and that is why I am urging all other counties to come in and adopt these beans,” he said.
Jean Claude Rubyogo, Global Bean programme leader of the Alliance of Biodiversity and CIAT, said beans are an important crop and are a superfood.
“It has plant-based proteins, micronutrients like iron, zinc, carbohydrates, and several vitamins. It also has fiber, which is important for digestion,” he said.
They are also important in improving finances for smallholders.
“Beans are also good for the ecosystem because they can be integrated or intercropped with other crops like maize, cassava and banana. So, you can have layers of these tall crops and beans in the middle,” he said.
Beans mature faster so they provide food and cash to the communities before maize or other crops.
They also fix nitrogen, which improves the soil, and are good for the climate because they mature fast and use water efficiently.
Rubyogo is also the director of the Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance, which brings together national research institutions in 31 countries in the bean programme and the value chain actors.
They work with national research organisations like Kalro to test the bean materials in their agro-ecological areas and for different consumers. Then they identify the varieties best for each county.
They also aim to increase the resilience and productivity of farmers by developing varieties and genetic materials that are good for the climate.
“We bring several innovations, like the corridor approach, which links the research, the utilisation and the users through demand-led research systems,” Rubyogo said.
Once the varieties are released, they develop partnerships with other seed producers, grain traders, schools, and counties, as in Kenya.
“This is so they can expand the technology to many communities, and the private sector can produce en masse. Through the Pan-African Bean Research Alliance, we develop these technologies based on the consumer and farmer demand,” he said.
“We also have a component of education on nutrition like the high-iron beans, which are more nutritious.”
