By George Munene Whilst rabbits are adaptable and hardy animals, their diseases often prove fatal due to the lack of drugs dedicated to their treatment, a dearth of veterinarians with any rabbit-specific background, and a paucity of information on their treatment. As a result, easily communicable ailments such as colds and diarrhea can easily wipe […]
Fact Sheet: Common rabbit diseases and their treatment Read More »
By Brian Moseti A farmer in Kilifi County has dramatically improved the output of her two-acre cassava farm by adopting modern multiplication techniques. By using the minisett techniques, Caroline Mwafungo has increased the number of new plants growing from each cutting to 60 instead of 10 using traditional methods. The minisett technology was popularized by
Kilifi farmer triples cassava yield through minisett multiplication technique Read More »
By Eric Kimungunyi The coronavirus has moved crop protection to a new status as super-critical to ensure we have enough food this year. For national and global measures to head off mass infections have brought our trading system to a halt, removing the safety net that existed for all nations of importing on shortages and
Food must be a critical priority in defining what’s ‘essential’ Read More »
By Eric Kimunguyi If any of us were given a warning by an alien, in a language we didn’t understand, with symbols we had never seen before, we would not emerge warned – which is a fact that is now driving legislative reform in Kenya to ensure warnings on pest control products are understandable to
Government draws up new regulations on pest control safety labelling Read More »
Brian Moseti Six years ago, Solomon Mulema was preparing to shut down his dairy farm in Vihiga County, after unsuccessfully trying to turn a profit following consistently low yields. Mulema, who had taken up dairy farming after retiring as a school teacher, spent most of his pension purchasing six expensive cows, some costing up to
Dairy farmer shares lessons learnt after recovering from near shut-down Read More »
By Brian Moseti After a disappointing stint trying to commercially raise chicken, Glady’s Wangui made a turnaround to focus on exotic birds, a decision that proved important for the success of her farming venture. Five years down the line, Wangui’s Goshen Birds Farm in Nairobi’s Utawala estate is a popular source for different kinds of
Nairobi farmer’s foray into ornamental birds business pays off Read More »
Banana farmers in Nyamira, a county in Western Kenya, are making great savings using neem seeds extracts as opposed to commercial pesticides to fight the black banana weevil. Also known as the root borer, the weevil is the most destructive banana insect. The pest interferes with crop establishment by drilling through the corm, weakening the
Banana farmers find value in neem as botanical pesticide against black weevil Read More »
After graduating with a degree in environmental biology in 2015, Benjamin Lemoi had two options: to join the formal employment run like his peers and others before him, or to return to his pastoralist Maasai community and try to raise herds of cows, sheep and goats. He chose a third option, which he had held
Biologist changing Maasai community fortunes through beekeeping enterprise Read More »
By Jenny Luesby The Cabinet Secretary for Trade and Industrialisation Hon Betty Maina has announced the exemption of cargo flights from the current entry ban for foreigners, and additionally made arrangements for foreign flight crew lay-overs, in a bid to reopen the country’s fresh produce trade routes. The new measures, announced by the Kenya Civil
Kenya moves to reopen air cargo flights Read More »
By Grace Munyi In the last one week, demand for mushrooms from the hotel industry and direct consumers has ceased, in a demand shock triggered by the Coronavirus outbreak in the country. “Normally, we supply 100kgs to hotels and restaurants, 200kgs to supermarkets and 16kgs to direct consumers through home deliveries every week. However, we
Mushrooms sales suffer sudden drop on hospitality close-down Read More »