Nakuru urban farmers who have turned estates into their herding fields
Farmer Dick Mwangi with his pigs.
Dick Mwangi has been a farmer for three decades and runs a pig farm in Citizen, Nakuru West Sub-county.
Back in 1992, when he started farming, Citizen estate was still quite rural. But over time, Mr Mwangi has witnessed the rapid development of infrastructure (both private and public).
Despite this, Mr Mwangi and other farmers like him have refused to be squeezed out by the ongoing changes to the estate.
In fact, he says the pigs he keeps are not only good for people, but also for the environment.
"With the current poor drainage system, my pigs go into the rainwater and stir up the sewage with their snouts as they move and roll around in it. This action helps to soften the sewage, reducing its odour, and prevents the water from becoming too muddy, which could cause blockages and hinder the flow," he said.
A pig inside mud water caused by rain.
"Taking care of the environment is important to me, so I've found a way to help by working with other businesses and save some money at the same time. Instead of spending a lot on pig feed, which can cost between Sh3,000 and Sh4,500, I feed my pigs with leftover ugali and vegetables that I get from local hotels. I also get protein waste such as fish guts from fishmongers that they would otherwise throw away. This helps me save on feed costs as I help these businesses reduce their waste, so we have a symbiotic co-existence".
Population growth, coupled with poverty, hunger and a lack of formal employment opportunities, has stimulated the development of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), a form of farming that responds to emerging urban hunger and food insecurity.
But the question remains: are urban and peri-urban farms ready to survive the rapid infrastructural development and population growth that is taking place?
For Anthony Were, a duck farmer in Flamingo Estate for the past 16 years, the story is similar to that of his counterpart.
"My neighbours have learned to live with the ducks because they help mow their lawns by eating unwanted weeds, seeds, roots and grass. Ducks are a great organic pest control method on the farm, eating slugs, worms, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers and other insects that prowl your garden," he said.
"I have been breeding ducks since 2008 and the farm was not as crowded as it is now. Since the gradual increase in population, there have been incidents where the children in the neighbourhood play with the ducklings and end up killing them. There's been a lot of theft and others have been lost in bodaboda accidents."
Pigs and ducks can be extremely noisy and you might think their presence in urban and peri-urban areas would be a nuisance, but their neighbours have learned to live with them as the benefits seem to outweigh the risks.