Researchers under the auspices of Africa Rice Center have introduced 6 new stress tolerant high yielding rice inspired by the need to tame the high dependence on imports, with statistics indicating that the continent imports about 10 million metric tonnes annually accounting for a third of the total global production. Rice is grown in more […]
Researchers launch high yielding rice variety to tame import gap Read More »
Ugandan farmers are set to benefit from free agricultural training and soil testing, thanks to the acquisition of a mobile soil testing and training laboratory truck which will tour the country’s rural areas with a team of researchers from National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO). The initiative which is a private public partnership is geared
Mobile soil testing trucks to the rescue of Ugandan farmers Read More »
Long buffeted by escalating prices of commercial feeds and unpredictable weather patterns, a group of farmers in Rift Valley are finding solace in alternative feeds and are reporting a halving of feed expenses from their ventures. Hellen Yego, a dairy farmer in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County, began producing her own feed after she realised the
Farmers invest in homemade livestock feeds as prices skyrocket Read More »
Researchers are blending and customizing fertilizers to suit farmers needs as details emerge that the leading cause of soil infertility is wrong fertilizer application. Although most farmers from the developed have adopted the practice, in most parts in the country, the trend is still unheard of among many smallholder farmers who make the bulk of
Researchers blend fertilizers to boost yields Read More »
Over 800 farmers in Trans-Nzoia have benefitted from a project where researchers are using mobile soil testing kits to detect acidity in soils and then giving the farmers lime free of charge to boost soil fertility. This comes at a time when FAO reports that over 60 percent of arable land in the country is
Mobile soil testing kits salvage Western Kenya soils Read More »
A study by the International Livestock Research Institute ILRI is advocating for zero grazing system to contain tick borne diseases as it emerged that free range systems exposes livestock to ticks-increasing the chances of contracting diseases. “Animals subjected to zero-grazing systems had 80 per cent lower chance of contracting ECF than in farms where there
Zero grazing reduces tick diseases by upto 8 times study Read More »
A project by US students is helping East African farmers move beyond subsistence farming by developing affordable, inexpensive greenhouses at a time when the pricey greenhouses have locked majority of farmers from greenhouse farming. “The project aims to bring subsistence farmers to small-scale farming,” explained Arianna De Reus, a project team member and a junior
Project creates lowcost greenhouses for East African farmers Read More »
Researchers are decrying the low uptake of the superior purple tea among farmers despite its high yields and better pricing three years after it was released into the market. In the South Rift, for example, the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) estimates that only a mere one per cent of the farmers have started
Researchers decry dismal uptake of purple tea Read More »
Kimathi Makira an IT graduate enjoys the dangling bananas and the succulent tomatoes in his farm. Though his farm feels not much bigger than a handkerchief, about three quarter of an acre, he has invested on growing a lot with little land even as Kenya grapples with poor land policy. His venture is a radical
Smallholder farmers pay the price of poor farming policy Read More »
The cost and scarcity of high quality seeds in Kenya has held back many smallholders in achieving the highest yields, as well as limiting them in trying out new crops. But the first moves by small, local producers into top quality seed production is now opening doors for agropreneurs to experiment with new, more lucrative
Seed grower targets farmers with Sh10 pack Read More »