September 2021

Meru potato farmers increase yields fourfold through conservation agriculture

By employing conservation agriculture in growing potatoes, farmers across Meru County have been able to more than quadruple their output while lowering the cost of inputs and reducing weeding frequency. According to The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a farming system that keeps soil disturbance to a […]

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Government tea reforms lead to record 40% price rise

By George Munene According to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya the average prices of smallholder teas have jumped 40 percent at auction owing to the minimum reserve price put in place by the government in July this year. The recorded increase is from an average of Sh209.38 to Sh293.13 per kilogram from the sales of

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EU project trains, links young farmers to export markets for in demand crops

By George Munene The Farm Africa Growing Futures project is helping over 4,000 young farmers in western Kenya acquire the skills to grow vegetables that are in high demand then linking them to domestic and international markets. The funding is focused on western Kenya where 80 per cent of the unemployed population is under 35,

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Catfish farmers opt for concrete ponds to curb cannibalism and hasten growth

By George Munene Catfish culture in concrete greenhouse ponds is a new innovative alternative to use of outdoor pond liners that helps to curb cannibalism which eats into up to 42 per cent of the profits of catfish farmers. The warm weather inside the greenhouses also encourages faster growth of the fish. Concrete ponds are

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Kiambu medium-scale farmer rakes in millions from flowers

By George Munene At NjabinI, Kinangop Samuel Mbugua has built a seven-acre flower farm that rakes in Sh5M per season. “Having spent most of my adult life working in the flower sector; I have been a supervisor at flower farms for five years. I mastered all things flowers—from their growing to the market dynamics and

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Kitui mango farmer doubles harvest through grafting

A Kitui County farmer is enjoying improved annual yields from grafted mangoes in his one acre farm from 500 fruits per tree to 1000 fruits after abandoning growing local varieties of mangoes Stephen Musyoka who used to grow traditional variety of mangoes is one of the beneficiaries of free trainings on grafted mangoes offered in

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Cost effective ways of improving soil fertility & prevent soil borne pests & diseases

Recent researches show that plant resistance to insects and diseases is linked to optimal, chemical, physical and biological properties of soil. According to a 2017 review on Current Status of Soil Contamination in Kenya published by International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, the main sources of soil contaminations are anthropogenic activities are among other

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Eldoret seed propagator develops passion fruit yielding 3 times existing varieties

By George Munene Lamech Kabuti a passion fruit farmer and seed propagator in Eldoret has self-selected and introduced a high-yielding passion fruit variety, Mkulima Wonder, which yields three times more than available traditional passion fruits. “With Mkulima Wonder I harvest up to 50 tonnes from an acre piece of land compared to the 20-25 tonnes I would get from conventional passion

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Farmers can double earnings with hass avocados

Hass avocado farmers in Kenya can earn over two times as compared to their peers growing other varieties such as feurte, keitt, and pinkerton among others due to the variety’s high demand in the international market. can Data from Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) indicates that, in 2018-2019 financial year, the country exported around

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Former pilot helps farmers raise profits with drone aided agriculture

By George P. Munene After 13 years in the aviation sector, retired Captain Dan Ng’ong’a has meshed his newfound passion for agriculture and his aviation background to help farmers master precision agriculture that helps them raise their yields and cut on costs. “A drone fitted with an 18-liter tank can cover five acres of farmland

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