A white powdery substance appeared on the leaves of my bucket-grown kale. I took a picture, uploaded it to a farming group and asked “Hey, what is wrong with my kale?” Within minutes I got responses:
“This is a powdery mildew fungus disease. Remedy mix milk and water spray during a sunny day.”
“Apply more water”
“Spray neem oil + baking powder”
And when someone suggested I visit an agrovet to buy a pesticide, another person jumped in “remember we are advocating and practising organic farming” and added “#NoChemicals.”
The farming group is called Sacks and Containers Gardening Tips on Facebook. It is a peer-led community of people who grow in small spaces. In Kenya alone, there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of farming groups on the site.
Online farming communities have everyone. From someone like me who cultivates in containers to people with large acres of land. Some communities are more niche e.g., mulberry or watermelon growers. While not all focus on organic farming, members get farming tips, ask questions and source markets for their products across all such communities.
When the micro-level farmers on Sacks and Containers Gardening Tips set out to farm, organic farming is not a goal but a means to an end – it is accessible and affordable. This is made possible by hundreds of thousands of community members willing to share hacks, tips, and information.
In easy-to-understand language, you learn the benefits of introducing rosemary, onions, or garlic to your spinach crop (biological pest control). Or how to re-use banana peels and eggshells to provide potassium and calcium to crops. In this way, communities eliminate a key barrier to organic farming – knowledge.
Communities dedicated to organic farming become an alternative source of knowledge and information. Typically, farmers rely on other farmers, agricultural extension services and agro-input dealers to advise and recommend farm inputs. Alternative sources of farming advice are particularly crucial for small-scale holders.
Small-scale farmers are responsible for about 70% of agricultural production in Kenya. For these farmers, commercial farm inputs are expensive to access and apply within the recommended guidelines. Consequently, curating organic farming knowledge, skills, and best practices in communities ensures ease of sharing, adoption, and practice.
Communities – online or offline – provide an organic reach (excuse the pun) to the individual. Group psychology through informational social influence, for example, works in favour of knowledge sharing. They promote a sense of belongingness through cooperation and support. Members offer mutual support to ensure adherence to group norms and values.
Communities build inherent social trust. Word of mouth and social proof motivate others to take up action. For example, when a member shares a picture or story of their organic produce, others are inspired to try it out for themselves. This way, communities exchange and market ideas, even complex ones like organic farming and sustainability.
This article was first published by Live Green Magazine, a publication by the Kenya Climate Innovation Center in April 2022. Read it here.