The Anglican Church of Kenya has started the Green Anglican Movement to spearhead management of the environment and build resilience to climate change among local communities.
The director for the movement at the Nakuru Diocese, Kevin Koech said the Anglican Communion worldwide strives to preserve God’s creation for future generations, hence their major concern in climate change.
He said the movement aims to plant and grow 15 million trees by the year 2026 with at least a million trees every year, to reduce the carbon emissions of Anglican households and institutions through the adoption of 100,000 energy efficient cook stoves, and to develop a culture of proper waste management systems.
Interviewed by KNA Monday, he said the climate action strategy has so far trained communities in semi-arid areas such as Solai in Nakuru County on mulching, minimum soil disturbance, crop rotation and crop residue management.
He said simple acts such as mulching have improved farm yields for poor households by 20 per cent and the farmers who implemented minimum soil disturbance on their farms increased their yields by 50 per cent.
Koech said zero or minimum mechanical soil disturbance was not only cost effective but it maintains soil moisture and nutrient retention and reduces the chances of total crop loss even during prolonged droughts by 50 per cent.
The director said for a long-time, farmers have perceived crop residue, such as maize stalks left behind after harvest and seed pods, as a nuisance on their farms and in most cases, they either burnt it or moved it to the edges.
However, he said they have trained farmers to accept and perceive crop residues as major protection of their farm’s fertility, and an important organic matter to the soil as it decomposes.
He said caring for God’s creation was a prerequisite for the salvation of mankind and the Christian community should be at the forefront in managing climate change.
