More than 40,000 small scale farmers are registering in their wards to receive cheaper seeds, fertilisers and grain storage bags through an ongoing EU funded programme that aims to increase their yields by 60 per cent.
Over 80 per cent of smallholder farmers in Kenya do not use improved certified seeds and still depend on seed sharing to grow their crops. Also, only one-fifth of farmers use fertilisers on their farms every season. This means that most farms produce way below their potential, sinking more than 2.99 million of smallholder farmers in Kenya below the poverty line.
The European Union Funded Boosting Sustainable Food Production in Kenya (BOOST) program that is running from November of last year to September 2026 will benefit farmers in Homa Bay, Migori, Bungoma, Kisumu, and Kisii counties.
Each registered farmer will get a set number of maize, bean or sorghum seeds as well as fertilisers, pesticides and grain storage bags each growing season with varying discounts.
For farmers planting DK831 maize seeds as an example, they can only buy10 kilograms in one growing season. With an approved price of Sh1,000 for each two kilogram pack, they will save 100 to 200 bob when they buy the maize seed from an agrovet that works with the BOOST programme. For Kalro’s Yellow KAT B1 beans they get an upper limit of four two kilogram packs each costing Sh750. This is up to Sh250 less than they would have spent purchasing the seeds from regular agrovets.
These agriculture inputs can only be bought from the 100 agro dealers in the counties the program is running in.
“To be enrolled in the BOOST programme farmers get a form from their Ward Agriculture Office which they voluntarily fill and return to the more than 500 Ward Extension Officers under the boost program.
These forms are screened at the Ward and Sub-County level to determine who would be the best farmers to enrol and In Homa Bay for our first screening we picked 2,618 farmers,” explained Maxmillah Malongo the BOOST Desk Officer in Homa Bay County.
Musango Perpetua, a farmer in Ndhiwa got to know of the BOOST programme from posters that were put up urging farmers to enrol. The poster set a date for farmers to visit the Kabuoch North Ward Agriculture and Ward Administration Offices if they wanted to know more about the project.
Once they gathered she explained that they were trained on the BOOST programme and given the instruction to join. These included:
- Having a National ID Card
- Having a KRA Pin
- Be a farmer willing to open an account with the Equity Bank
Once Equity Bank receives the details of the farmers they counterchek the details given and carry out a farmer enrollment route plan going to where the farmers are. The farmers fill in their forms, have their photos taken to open their account and are issued with an Equitel sim card. It importantly has mobile banking functionalities but can be used to call and text. The farmers are also trained on how to use mobile banking and also sensitised on how to avoid potential cons.
Once farmers are on boarded they deposit the 10 per cent contribution and the bank credits them with … Once the money is deposited in the account it is locked for use only at designated agro dealers which are listed in the Equitel line menu.
“Once we deposited the 10 per cent into our accounts, the ward agriculture officer notified us that now the products were ready for pickup from the agro dealers and he sent us the price list of the products on Whatsapp. We were then called and notified that the products were available and once we got to the agrovets with our Equitel lines we could pick the products,” Perpetua explained.
For the seeds or chemicals, there are different varieties of maize, sorghum, and bean seeds as well as various fertiliser or pesticide brands. BOOST, which targets an ambitious 60 per cent increase in the maize, sorghum and bean yield of farmers in the five counties, compiled the list of seeds that perform the best in their wards or counties by engaging ward and county agricultural officers and selected lead farmers.
“ From Equitel’s pay goods and services section which is similar to Safaricom’s buy and services section, we have an option to buy agricultural goods. These are chemicals, seeds, and equipment,”said a farmer in North Kabuoch Ward, Ndhiwa Constituency.
For Rose Angira, a lead farmer in Rachuonyo, the program presented her first opportunity to use both basal fertiliser and biofertilisers and she is eager to see the yield difference to before. Aside from increasing farmer yields today, BOOST also aims to enhance sustainable agriculture by improving the long term health of soils. This is being done by training agrovet owners who are enrolled in the program on how to instruct farmers on using organic fertiliser as well as ensuring their shops are stocked with organic fertiliser for BOOST farmers.
After farmers get their improved harvests, the program targets to reduce the cases of aflatoxin on their grains by 30 per cent.
This is helped by partnerships with grain storage companies. Farmers can buy 6*4 Grain Pro hermetic tarpaulins to store their grain without any fear that they will be eaten by after-harvest pests. These cost Sh2,500 in the selected agro dealers, 500 bob less than the normal market price.
Farmers can also opt for Mavuno Bora bags which do better than just seal the maize from weevils. They have an odour and a bitter taste that repels rats. This was made for farmers in areas with heavy rat infestations and where the rodents frequently attack stored gain. This scent is however not smellable to human beings and the taste is also not transferred to grains.
Photo Courtesy: ©ECHO/Martin Karimi