Mid-June this year, President Uhuru Kenyatta assented into law the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) Bill 2017. The WRS act will provide a legal framework for the development and regulation of a WRS to address marketing challenges associated with the grain sub-sector. The WRS is defined as “part of the whole of the process of depositing commodities in a licensed warehouse, the issuance of a warehouse receipt…
By Ann Macharia Agriculture is among the main pillars of our economy; it contributes to 27 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 65 percent of our total export earnings. The increasing human population has resulted in a decrease in the land to cultivate; this has led to scarcity especially due to real estate’s development. This, therefore, demands an increase in production per unit…
By Dr. James Mutegi Legumes are the most important household crops, especially in the drier areas. On average, farmers harvest less than a tonne per hectare while the potential for most legume producing regions could go up to 3.5 tonnes. Legumes require nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulphur and non-acidic soils. On average, a hectare of most common legumes will take up about 150kg of nitrogen,…
Maize is at the center of global food security, as one of the most important cereal crops in human and animal diets worldwide. Together with rice and wheat, it provides at least 30% of the food calories to more than 4.5 billion people in 94 developing countries. This includes 900 million poor consumers for whom maize is the preferred staple. Aside from providing nutrients for…
By Timothy Njagi Maize is the cheapest source of calories among the cereal grains, making up about 65 percent of the total food calories consumed by households in Kenya. To meet this demand, maize is produced on 40 percent of the total crop area—mainly by smallholders. Kenya’s annual production target has been 40 million bags or approximately 3.6 million tonnes. However, over the past decade,…
The TransFert Program From the 16th of June 2019 up until the 21st of June 2019, 40 representatives from Fert and Fert’s professional agricultural partner organizations met in Kenya for the fourth annual meeting of the TransFert program. TransFert is an annual program that brings together Fert’s professional agricultural partner organizations for exchange-based learning in a selected host country. It was initiated in 2015. CGA…
