According to a review of hundreds of international studies conducted between 1997 to 2020, genetically modified (GM) Bt maize was found to be safe for the environment and enhances the number of beneficial insects. The study; “Does the growing of Bt maize change abundance or ecological function of non-target animals compared to the growing of …
Researchers find genetically modified maize safe for environment Read More »
Tired of unscrupulous middlemen who buy their potato at a low price and selling at a higher cost made potato farmers in Shamata area in Nyandarua County start a cooperative through which they earn supply tenders, share transport costs and other labour costs thus helping them in economy of scale. Nyandarwa Farmers’ Cooperative has earned …
Nyandarua potato farmers co-op secures tenders with group farming Read More »
Attending farmers’ workshops, agricultural shows, farmers’ open days and agricultural institutions for training has helped a farmer avert over 50 per cent losses in his poultry farm doubling his profit from Sh400, 000 to Sh800, 000 in a period of three years. Before, he lost money due to poor feeding, attack by predators, and lack …
Farmer workshops help poultry farmers cut losses & balloon profits Read More »
The African Guarantee Fund and responsAbility Investments have partnered to create a Sh607 million ($5M) fund to finance Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the agricultural value chain with a focus on businesses engaged in activities related to crops and farming products or commodities. Most lenders have stayed away from Africa’s farming sector as it …
Sh607M fund set up to finance African agriculture SMEs Read More »
Farmers living near wildlife conservancies are mixing crop and bee farming to fend off errant elephants destroying their produce. The farmers are taking advantage of elephants fearing stinging bees; they have strategically placed hives around their farms as security. Taita-Taveta County’s 57-year-old Kieti Nguli had an impressive harvest, after securing his one-acre cassava farm with …
Bee keeping helps safeguard crops from invading elephants Read More »
Farmers can stop bees from migrating because of the invasion of hives by painting stand posts with grease. Speaking when he visited bee-keeping farmers in Nyamira North Sub-county, agricultural officer David Nduko Atuya said the grease controls crawling insects that invade beehives in search of food. “Sugar-loving ants move up into beehives in search of …
Greasing beehives helps keep them safe from crawling predators Read More »
Makueni-based agro-processing company Burton and Bamber Ltd which works with farmers from Makueni and Kitui counties to secure a market for their orange-fleshed sweet potatoes has set up the country’s first commercial microwave processing plant. Continous-flow microwave heating is an emerging technology in food processing and offers a fast and efficient way to sterilise sweet …
Country’s First Commercial Microwave Plant Secures Sweet Potato Market Read More »
As drought causes losses of livestock and crops in most parts of Kenya in the ongoing prolonged spell, Muniu Ngwau’s bananas are still green as a result of the water she harvested from roads during the rains. It has not rained for more than three months in Kitui County. But the bananas look healthy and …
Kitui farmer keeps farm irrigated through trench water harvesting Read More »
In boosting crop protection against pests for 24 hours, Derick Nyambane in the last season resorted to lighting a kerosene lantern at night in his half an acre tomato field as a way of luring pests to death traps. Beside the lantern is a fruit fly trap device. Nyambane used a metarhizium 69-filled lure, which …
Lighting kerosene lantern helps tomato farmers control fruit flies Read More »
Farmers have turned to laundry detergents in taming deadly fusarium wilt disease that affects potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, and their vegetable relatives. Patrick Njenga, a Kiambu County Irish potato farmer, has successfully used the Jik detergent to clear fusarium wilt from his three quarter an acre after registering losses after a growing season. “I learnt from …
Farmers look to detergent to combat deadly fusarium wilt Read More »
