Through capitalising on the demand for the indigenous spider plant (saga/saget) in neighbouring Kisumu and Eldoret counties, the Nyamira North Women Sacco has been able to earn its members Sh77,500 weekly. Saga, as it is often known, is among the many previously abandoned but nutrient-rich traditional African vegetables that have found their way back onto […]
Nyamira women make Sh77K a week from spider plants Read More »
Five thousand kilometers apart, Soko Fresh in Kenya and Colb Hubs in Nigeria, are using solar-powered cold stations to store and preserve horticultural produce. This is helping farmers in both countries reduce their post-harvest losses by over 80 per cent and increase their earnings by at least 20 per cent. Though less highlighted, Africa’s fruit
Nigeria, Kenya horticulture farmers raise incomes 20% through cold storage Read More »
Climate change is decreasing available soil moisture which has major impacts on sub-Sahara Africa’s food production. 10 per cent of currently arable land that previously didn’t lack moisture is expected to be affected. This will reduce farmers’ yields and increase farming costs by necessitating investment in irrigation. Further, if not well managed temperature-driven decline in
Decreasing soil moisture cuts size of Africa’s farmland Read More »
The continued spread of four potato diseases has led to a 62.5 per cent decrease in Kenya’s per-hectare potato production from 22.4 tons in 2008 to just 8.4 tons in 2022. This is despite the increased availability of improved potato varieties and access to information on the best agriculture practices. With a global average output
Four diseases decrease Kenya’s potato yield 62%, decimating food security Read More »
Launched on September 2023, the sunflower promotion project has purchased 570 metric tonnes of sunflower seeds from Zambia to be distributed to farmers in 24 counties. It also targets a 50-fold increase in sunflower acreage by the end of this year to 200,000 acres from the current 4,000 acres. These free and subsidised sunflower seeds
Kenya recruiting new army of sunflower farmers Read More »
First reported in Kenya in 2020, the invasive apple snail has quickly become one of the leading pest concerns for Mwea rice farmers reducing yields by 14 per cent and incomes by 60 per cent. The spread of this highly invasive pest which affects paddy-grown rice could have dire consequences for rice production and food
Rice snail cuts farmer incomes 60% endangering Kenya’s food security Read More »
Savvy green maize farmers are utilising maize transplanting to beat other growers to market, doubling their profits. Over 90 per cent of Kenyan farmers rely on the rains for irrigation. This means that there’s a definite farming calendar. “The next bulk green maize harvest or mukohoro as it is often referred to in markets will
Green maize farmers double profits through transplanting Read More »
Despite one-fifth of the world’s sugar now being gotten from sugar beets and most of the world’s industrialised nations using it as their main sugar source, its adoption in Kenya, as with most of Africa remains limited. However, given that it is more economical to produce than sugarcane and can also be used as high-quality
Sugar beet farming offers solution to Kenya’s sugar & fodder woes Read More »
The price of local Kenyan hard wheat is set to rise 40% on limited supplies, as that of imported soft wheat tumbles due to record harvests in Russia. Kenyan retail wheat and flour are made up of a blend of 70 per cent soft wheat– largely from Russia and 30 per cent locally souced hard
Markets: Local wheat prices to rise 40% on limited supplies, as imports fall Read More »
While most Kenyan farmers grow coffee in open sunny fields, others have embraced shade-grown coffee. This is a form of coffee production that grows the crop under a tree canopy. Previously thought of as limiting production, this form of coffee growing is proving beneficial in climate change mitigation, natural pest reduction, provision of essential nutrients,
Growing trees with coffee arrests oncoming climate change doom, among numerous benefits Read More »