Tomato farmers in Kenya are set to benefit from a new variety that is resistant to wilting launched by Bayer East Africa. The disease causes 50 to 100 per cent loss yield in affected crops. The variety called Seminis Tomato Ansal is resistant to bacterial wilt, mosaic virus, verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, tomato leaf curl virus […]
Bayer East Africa launches new wilt resistant tomato variety Read More »
Michael Arum, SUCAM coordinator The sugar sector employs over 250,000 Kenyans and supports six million livelihoods. Yet it has become one of the country’s loss-making ventures. Not because the industry is not viable and that farmers don’t have the experience and skills to farm the crop, but because government policies are overriding a free and
Free market far more advantageous for the sugar sector than a heavily regulated regime Read More »
A man pulling a cart full of goods towards Busia border point. Photo courtesy. Small-scale farmers at Busia, Kenya- Uganda border have teamed up with smalls scale traders to share the cost of transporting their produce to various towns in the interior parts of the countries using hired trucks. The move has seen individual farmers
About 200 farmers in Bahati constituency of Nakuru County are earning up to Sh500 per kilo of culinary herbs such as basil and chives, a classic example of how high value crops can multiply farmers’ revenues. This follows an initiative by Premier Seeds, a vegetable seed company which have seen them drop loss making maize
A leading hotel chain in Kenya is looking for supply of green grams from all-comers across Kenya. “We are looking for five tonnes of green grams and anyone willing to supply, can contact us on +254-726760002 or mkariiyu@superiorhotelskenya.com,” said Mercy Kariiyu, the head of operations at the hotel. “It is the first time we are looking
Leading hotel chain in Kenya buying green grams from all-comers Read More »
Jackson Mwangi, a Kenyan smallholder avocado farmer in his avocado farm. Photo courtesy. Kenya’s avocado has seen farmers abandoning their traditional crops in favour of harvesting the popular fruit, with the demand for avocados increasing in recent years due to its perceived health benefits. Kenya’s fertile soil and temperate climate have made it ideal for
CNN’s Marketplace Africa highlights Kenya farmers’ shift to avocado production Read More »
Kenyan farmers especially smallholders are now accessing international markets thanks to the growing number of agribusiness companies and startups which are pointing the farmers who have been growing traditional crops and selling them to local markets to high value crops for export. According to a last year report by Africa’s start-up portal, Disrupt Africa, Kenya
How agribusiness startups are pointing farmers to international markets Read More »
Jael Ochanji in her sweet potato farm at Kabondo in Homa Bay County. Photo courtesy. In 2015, Jael Ochanji took the risk of resigning from Brookside Dairy Limited as a sales representative within Nairobi region, a job which was earning her between Sh50,000 and Sh100,000 a month to join her mother in sweet potato farming, a
Former Brookside employee earns up to Sh200,000 an acre from sweet potato farming Read More »
Benson Maina planting strawberry seedlings at Jaick Agricultural Produce seedlings propagation site. The company contracts farmers to grow chandler strawberry variety. Photo courtesy. Jaick Agricultural Produce (JAP) Company, specialists in horticultural farming and export is looking for more out-growers to produce chandler strawberries fruits under contract to meet increasing demand in the Middle East among
Before the invention of mobile phones, smallholder farmers had to rely on traditional methods for generations to predict events such as rains. With the rise in technology, apps such as iShamba have been launched to help farmers get tips on crops and livestock, market prices and weather updates at the comfort of their homes. According
Mobile app gives farmers tips on crop and livestock, market prices and weather updates Read More »