Sokopepe Newsletter: Enhancing informed farmer decision making

By Bob Aston

We are pleased to present issue 2 of Sokopepe Newsletter. The issue is a joint effort between Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) and Sokopepe Ltd.

This is an exciting third year for Sokopepe. We welcomed 2017 with a strong commitment and enthusiasm. This year promises to bring a lot of success for Sokopepe owing to the magnificent work that we did in 2016.

Sokopepe Newsletter issue 2

For close to 2 years, Sokopepe with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Feed the Future Kenya Innovation Engine (KIE) has been piloting the Farm Records Management Information System (FARMIS) innovation to 5 and then 9 Sub-counties in Meru County.

Our FARMIS innovation provides the evidence base that farmers need to make an informed decision. Our dream is to make FARMIS the planning tool for county governments in Kenya and work with partners to create a regional ‘ food map’ as part of the agriculture transformation.

We believe that improving food security requires us all to join forces. We want partners and farmers to believe with us. Join us and let us work together to make a difference in farmers lives.

We believe that FARMIS data when aggregated overtime and wider usage offers potential of growing a big database which will aid the Government and value chain actors in designing interventions that would improve crop production as well as develop appropriate solutions to meet the peripheral challenges that hamper food production.

The change of farmer attitude and in embracing record keeping is what motivates us. We are glad that farmers are realizing the importance of record keeping in agribusiness.

Our phenomenal team in Meru County has started the year on a high note. It is an incredible feeling to know that our team is still eager to work with farmers and ensure that they use farm records to increase productivity and profitability.

It is our hope that readers will find the 2^nd issue of Sokopepe Newsletter as informative and that it would give them a deeper understanding of what we are doing. You can download a copy of the newsletter here.