Noah E. Coleman
Research/Project Report
1/28/19
Jastro Research Award
Moringa Density Trials: Meru, Kenya

My project involved designing and implementing a density trial for moringa oleifera to model alternative production methods to moringa farmers in Meru, Kenya. Our goal was to identify how density impacts yield and labor time. In collaboration with the Research and Innovation Fellowship in Agriculture, Botanic Treasures Ltd, a Kenyan moringa aggregator, and Dr. Carrie Waterman, a researcher at UC Davis in the Nutrition Department, I worked with local farmers to initiate trials at 3 sites across the region and train farmers and colleagues on the data collection and monitoring procedures to ensure project continuation. Funding for this project came from Jastro and RIFA and was instrumental in purchasing equipment and inputs.

    While major challenges included risk management within project implementation and linguocultural barriers, farmers in the moringa cooperative witnessed the increased yields of the intensive moringa production system and are interested in seeing more iterations of data collection. I am currently working on a Land Use System Analysis which will further include a risk analysis and returns to labour which the farmers will be able to use to make a more informed decisions regarding agronomic practices in moringa production.