Nairobi, June 24 -- When a prolonged drought wiped out his crops, Kennedy Macharia faced a choice familiar to many farmers in Kenya's drylands: keep gambling on unreliable rains or find a crop that could survive without them. He chose the latter.

Today, the former construction worker harvests up to 400 kilogrammes of dragon fruit every month from a quarter-acre in Joska, Machakos County, proving that even in one of the region's driest areas, the right crop can turn adversity into profit.

"In 2003, land in Joska was cheap because the area was undeveloped. I was working as a casual labourer in the construction industry," he recalls. He bought an acre for Sh600,000 and today, the parcel of land hosts a thriving dragon fruit farm.

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