Winners from seven different award categories were awarded in this year’s Elgon Kenya Ministry of agriculture National Farmers Awards, now in its second year, in a glamorous event presided over by Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cecily Kariuki. The event which seeks to celebrate farmers for their pivotal role in […]
Farmers award fetes Kenya’s agricultural finest Read More »
Kenyan youth are minting quick money with tomatoes and capsicum which have become the latest high valued crops due to their fast maturity and their growing demand with some youth earning as much as Sh500,000 every harvest.Capsicum and tomatoes are both fast-maturing, taking about three months on the farm before one starts harvesting money. The
Tomatoes and capsicum lift youths’ fortunes Read More »
Behind the over three decades of flower growing, 4500 employees and 230 hectares that produce some 380 million flower stems every year, is the heartwarming story of Oserian Flower Farm that traces its history from humble beginnings as a French bean farm. It is a journey which has metamorphosed into a flower producing giant that
Flower farm shines at farmers awards Read More »
Desire to protect the environment which is already scarred by destructive human activities like wanton destruction of forests is inspiring a new breed of farmers growing food organically in a move credited with reversing the sorry state of affairs. The farmers are taking this venture so seriously that they are even attending schools to equip
Farmers correct climate change mess organic farming Read More »
A growing Kenyan middle class keen on their health and with an affinity for spending is driving the cultivation of horticultural produce especially by small holder farmers. Data from Bridgenet Africa, a not for profit Agricultural Organization working with smallholder farmers in Africa shows that 2013, demand for horticultural commodities from fruits, vegetables and pulses had
Companies step up war on horticultural pests with new innovation Read More »
A meteoric rise in demand for fresh produce grown organically by a health conscious middle class in Kenya is opening a window of opportunity for farmers. The middle class is willing to part with anything so as to get the organic fresh produce. Whether tomatoes, kales, fish or any crop the appetite for the organic
Market for organic produce Read More »
Kenya plans to introduce an improved variety of sorghum in 2016 that has a 20 percent more yield compared to conventional breeds, officials said.Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Principal Investigator for Sorghum David Karanja said that field trials will be concluded by February 2015. “The national performance studies will then be conducted for one
Kenya bets on high value sorghum to boost yields Read More »
Kenya flower farmers are increasingly feeling the heat of exports markets rejecting their flowers with most of them arriving in export destinations spoilt. The situation is so dire that one company reported Sh50million loss last year after its entire flower consignment meant for export was destroyed due to spoilt flowers. The situation is further exacerbated
Low cost pest arsenals rescue Kenya flowers Read More »
Ronald Nyagaka is a class four dropout who earns a minimum of Sh30, 000 a month from his two acre farm. This, coming at a time when most young people his age have moved to urban areas in search of better lives but are still struggling to make ends meet as jobs become elusive. For
The class four dropout who found money and fame in soil Read More »
Rows of towering green maize stand next to banana plants sprouting from the earth like magic beanstalks. On the other side of the farm, stems laden with cascading bunches of green bananas hang just out of reach. The air is heavy with humidity, the muddy ground strewn with the tangled remains of fallen leaves and stalks
Former civil servant turns farm into award winning food basket Read More »