MOOF -Africa works with smallholder farmers in the Mount Kenya region. These farmers are marginalized with little agricultural knowledge, poor, and have no access to agricultural extension services from the government.The Agricultural extension services were greatly affected due to the staff retrenchment programme as advised by the international partners in 1980s in order to cut down on administrative expenditure in the form of staff salaries.
MOOF -Africa provide training to smallholder farmers through farm visits and also encourages farmer-to -farmer extension services. Farmers in this region are prone to frequent hunger gaps due to drought. Farmers and the local community have no means of generating income other than deriving their income from sale of farm produce. In most cases farmers sell their food crops to generate cash in order to address their economic needs. This leaves them little enough food for their families and they are rendered into deeper poverty.
MOOF -Africa is addressing this situation by introducing high value industrial crops integrated with food crops . Farmers harvest and sell the non-food crop to MOOF -Africa for processing and harvest and consume all the food produce and share the surplus with relatives . An essential oil crop Rose Geranium - (pelargonium graveleons) was introduced to farmers in year 2014 by MOOF -Africa.
MOOF buys the fresh material from farmers and process this into high value essential oils for marketing to perfumery and cosmetic companies . This arrangement supports farmers with enough food crop and a cash crop to earn them income.