May 2019

bunch of bananas

Ready banana market relieves frustrated coffee farmer

A harvested green banana bunch. Moseti started with 50 stems, but the number has multiplied as more suckers spout and mature. Photo, Zablon Oyugi. A frustrated Nyamira County coffee farmer, who moved into banana cultivation, has found the new venture more rewarding due to the quick and constant market. Coffee farmers in the country suffer millions …

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Lime application Nyamira

Company launches new fertilizer to fix degraded soils and increase yields

Smallholder farmers in Kenya are set to benefit from a new organic fertilizer that will help fix degraded soils and increase crop yields by 15 to 20 per cent. According to a 2016 research by the Kenya Agricultural Productivity Project on land degradation assessment in the country, soil erosion risk mapping revealed that almost all …

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crop grow

SokoFreshi connects more than 100,000 farmers to local and international markets

Buyers and sellers of farmers’ produce can now trade their produce by using SOKOFRESHI, a mobile phone application that is aimed at opening up the commodity market. SOKOFRESHI has so far linked more than 100,000 farmers to markets across to local and international markets. In this, farmers can sell over 100 products at the comfort …

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sheepgoat feeding on hydroponic fodder

How to grow hydroponic fodder in seven days and save production costs by 70 per cent

Sheep and goats feeding on hydroponically produced fodder. Hydroponics farming uses 80 per cent less water making it ideal for places with scarce water supply. Photo, Hydroponics Kenya Facebook. Livestock farmers save up to 70 percent of their resources on producing feed for their animals in seven days using hydroponic technology, a high-tech method of growing …

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ripe pawpaw fruit

Fresh fruits buyer and supplier looses tender rules to offer market to all producers

Ripe pawpaw fruits. Smallholders across the East Africa region to get market after buyer accepts delivery from all.  Photo courtesy. Unlike other companies which normally place tough-tender rules that lockout cash-starved low scale producers, Fresh a Juici Ltd has loosened the supply tender rules to allow all producers either in groups or individuals to deliver …

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rabbit folia

Rabbit urine can eliminate whiteflies reducing insecticide costs for farmers

 Unconcentrated rabbit urine poured in a backpack sprayer. Photo courtesy. Farmers can reduce the money they spend on pesticide by using rabbit urine to wipe out whiteflies, sap-sucking insects called that attack crops such as vegetables, coffee, macadamia, bananas and avocadoes among others. Alex Maina who has been a rabbit farmer for over four years …

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fish chinese

Kenya’s fish production increases by 10 per cent improving farmers’ income

The total fish output in Kenya increased by 10 per cent from 135,100 tonnes in 2017 to 148,300 tonnes in 2018 according to the 2019 Economic Survey report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. The survey reveals that fish from fresh water sources increased from111, 800 tonnes in 2017 to 124,100 tonnes in 2018. …

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spider plant

Health conscious households drive neglected vegetables cultivation

Spider plant. Photo, Zablon Oyugi. Broad-leaved African nightshade (Solanum scabrum) long vilified by many households across East Africa and relegated to being orphaned crops are now enjoying fanatical uptake thanks to rising prices of exotic vegetables like tomatoes, Kale and spinach and the heightened push by organizations pushing for their consumption. Across East Africa the …

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