246 T.C. DAVIES, M.M. IKIARA, A.M. KARANJA, C. FUREDY
acquiring waste from external sources. It may also mean that farmers with larger
holdings are wealthier and can thus afford to buy manure and fertilizers Urban farming
relies largely on family labour with up to 60 percent of all farms using this form of
labour for applying organic waste. The average labour cost per farm or household is
KSh. 5,687.50 (US$ 74). On average, labour cost is 21.3 percent of the income from
farming, which appears rather high.
Problems associated with handling and reuse of urban organic solid waste
Major constraints with respect to the reuse of urban organic solid waste put forward
by respondents in our survey were lack of capital, long transportation distances, high
production costs and difficulty in storage of waste (Table 12.1).
The farmers who do not apply urban organic solid waste say they fear contamination
of their soil as they do not know the origin of the organics, which might come from
mixed municipal wastes. The only other problems that were cited as significant were
difficulty in obtaining the waste, labour unavailability, high costs of sorting, long
transportation distances and the associated health risks in handling the waste.
Solutions for tackling the solid waste problem as seen by farmers
The 195 respondents covered in our survey presented wide ranging solutions for
combating the solid waste problem. The striking revelation is that privatisation of
garbage collection is not viewed as an important solution. Also rather striking is that,
in spite of its record of lethargy and apparent failure to deliver services, farmers
believe that the NCC is still the best agency to deal with the solid waste problem.
Nearly 50 percent of farmers believe that proper collection and transportation of solid
Table 12.1 Constraints on the use of urban organic waste
among urban and non-urban farmes in NairobiConstraint Percent of respondents (n = 195)
Difficulty in storage of waste
Long transportation distances
Economic
Too much rains
Farm too small
Lack of transport
Lack of know-how
Contamination
Have enough from farm
Lack of understanding with dealers
Lack of labour
Others (unspecified)
30.0
23.3
18.4
13.3
10.0
6.7
6.7
6.7
3.3
3.3
3.3
6.7