By David Jones What follows is a list of highland maize varieties grown in Kenya, their strong attributes and their vulnerabilities, especially to certain pests & diseases. Pannar 691 Still arguably the standard for yield despite being released in 2001. In most highland areas it requires 160 days to maturity. Good disease resistance and as our fungicide trials showed, low response to fungicides. Pannar 683…
The benefits of fertilizers can only be realized when they are used in an efficient manner, that is by minimizing losses and maximizing the gains in terms of the yields. Therefore, as a farmer, how much fertilizer you apply, from which source, at what time and how you place the input on the farm is crucial. There are four rights (4 Rs) in using fertilizer…
By Suleiman Okoth The ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), also known as transgenic or genetically engineered crops (GE), is not only baffling but tantamount to denying smallholder farmers an opportunity to improve their lives and holding hostage the advancement of biotechnology research. While more than a million Kenyans face starvation due to poor performance of the October-December rains, as confirmed by the National Drought…
Farmers have been urged to join hands and work together through cooperatives and associations as a way of strengthening the agricultural marketing systems in Kenya. This was during a public participation forum where the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) presented the proposed draft food crops regulations for public scrutiny at KALRO headquarters on the 14th of March. The draft food crops regulations are anchored on…
Each and every year, farmers get poor harvests because they planted the wrong varieties in their regions. Before you try and new variety, if you had never grown it before, isolate a small portion of land and observe how it grows into full production. When sure that the variety can do well in your region. This avoids the risk of planting new varieties without the…
By Pauline Kairu In the first decade of the 20th century, two German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed a way to produce synthetic nitrogen cheaply and on a large scale. The agricultural industry fell in love with the chemical. Today, according to the United Nations, approximately 250 million tonnes of nitrogen are used around the world. Now, experts say, nitrogen, which is ubiquitous…
By Michael Zappa Below are technologies related to agricultural and natural manufacturing under four key areas of accelerating change: Sensors, Food, Automation and Engineering. Sensors help agriculture by enabling real-time traceability and diagnosis of crop, livestock and farm machine states. Food may benefit directly from genetic tailoring and potentially from producing meat directly in a lab. Automation will help agriculture via large-scale robotic and microrobots…
Vegetables out of thin air? Learn more about this environmentally-friendly approach to food production. Aeroponics Defined Aeroponic systems nourish plants with nothing more than nutrient-laden mist. The concept builds off that of hydroponic systems, in which the roots are held in a soilless growing medium, such as coco coir, over which nutrient-laden water is periodically pumped. Aeroponics simply dispenses with the growing medium, leaving the…
Sorghum is steadily becoming one of the highest potential cereals in Kenya, especially in the semi-arid areas. This is due to its drought-resistant nature and the availability of a ready market. East Africa Maltings Limited (EAML) places its current annual demand at 40,000 MT. Out of the 40,000MT, only about 15,000 MT is being sourced from Kenyan growers. Despite this readily available market and stable…
The levying of Agriculture Produce Cess (APC) is one the most significant barrier to trade for agricultural producers across the country. A study conducted by Dr Daniel K. Karugu in 2017 revealed that multiple and high agricultural cess rates were being charged arbitrarily and with no justification for the rates applied across different counties. Even though the payment of APC is reported to have been…
