University of Eldoret Outreach Centre in collaboration with Hand in Hand East Africa and Turbo Self-Help Group organized a Farmers Field Day at Turbo on Thursday 20th June, 2024. In attendance were the Turbo Sub-County Agricultural Officer (SCAO) and Ward Agricultural Officer (WAO).  The theme of the field day was “Sustainable Production and Processing of African Leafy Vegetables.” Dr. Josiah Chiveu from the School of Agriculture & Biotechnology, Department of Seed, Crop and Horticultural Sciences who was the Lead Trainer took the farmers the following important and key farming areas;

1. Production
   Various methods of production focusing on minimizing costs related to production were discussed. These included modern ways of vegetable farming encompassing:
   1. Use of multi-storey/ pyramid/vertical farming. This method is important in maximizing aerial space for farming hence very suitable for small-holder farmers and those in urban and peri-urban areas. 
   2. The training touched on methods that minimize water utilization and optimization on nutrient uptake, hence cutting down costs of production. Some of the methods discussed included: use of fertility trenches and Zai pits in vegetable farming. The farmers were eager to embrace these production methods.
   3. Vegetable volume maximization methods were taught that touch on appropriate spacing, planting new vegetables between rows of the existing but diminishing crop - thus maximizing on space and time.
2.  Challenges with regard to vegetable production
   The various challenges and possible solutions were discussed. The main challenges included: pests and diseases, erratic weather patterns, water scarcity, poor infrastructure, and limited access to markets. Together with other stakeholders, farmers were taught on how to solve some of these challenges e.g. use of solar powered water pumps, biological methods of pest and disease control and new marketing strategies involving post-harvest treatments and value addition.
3. Marketing 
   Market intelligence and identification was one of the key concerns by the farmers. The training opened for them more options of marketing that included tendering for schools, supermarkets and even export companies that carry out value addition. This was besides the traditional methods of marketing that comprises of on-farm (farm gate) selling and selling to nearby stalls.

Following the training the farmers were enthusiastic to implement the new information that they had received.

The stakeholders who attended the event included Corteva Agriscience, Starke Aryes, Maggies Kienyeji, SistemaBio, SunCulture, Global Soil Fertility, GreenLIFE Crop Protection, K+S Fertilizer and DigiFarm.