Farmers can boost their livestock’s nutritional content by up to 60 per cent by growing various sets of easy-to-grow shrub feeds, unlike the less productive common nappier grass. Apart from increasing yield on average by two litres per day, the shrubs would save farmers the large sums of money spent on commercial feeds. The best …
Shrub feeds boost livestock nutritional content 60% Read More »
In meeting household and livestock needs, one farmer has resorted to intercropping fodder and food crops to beat the shrinking land while increasing milk yields with the protein-rich purple vetch feed. Joseph Maina, who is a mixed farmer, owns seven dairy cows. In cutting the cost of protein supplements in commercial dairy meals, the farmer …
Farmer intercrops fodder and food crops to utilise shrinking land Read More »
Avocado farmers, who have poor access to markets, can extract cooking oil from ripe fruits for sale to save on rotting using a cheap manual pressing machine from Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation, KALRO. The machine extracts pure cooking oil from ripe avocados, which can be packaged and sold upon approval from regulatory authorities …
Manual oil extractor averts avocado farmer losses Read More »
Research has shown that disposed aloe vera peels can be used as a natural insecticide to safeguard staple foods from insects. Dr. Debasish Bandyopadhyay, a physiologist at the University of Calcutta, and his colleagues showed how aloe vera peels can act as a natural insecticide, staving off insects from crops such as maize or millet. …
Research shows aloe vera peels useful as natural insecticide Read More »
Smallholder farmers are leading scientists in documenting some of the local interventions they are applying in combating changes in weather which have insulated them even as crop production falls. Research scientist Sarah Ogalleh Ayeri has been canvasing the villages of Laikipia County documenting methods used by peasant farmers as they attempt to adapt to changing …
Local Adaptations: Smallholder Farmers Leading the Way in Climate Change Resilience Read More »
Soya bean is positioning itself as a lucrative commercial crop in Mumias with over 1000 farmers cultivating it thanks to empowerment by research groups and ready market from Promassidor. The leguminous crop is also being hailed as a remedy to the soils that have become ‘tired due to over use. Organized under Mumias District Federation …
Soya growing breaths life into dying Mumias soils Read More »
By George Munene A study conducted on invasive alien pests (IAPs) has identified 120 species not currently present in Kenya but could be introduced and become invasive in the future threatening the economy by impacting on agriculture. The research conducted by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) identified these as the most dangerous …
Scientists warn of threat from 120 new pests on Kenya’s agriculture Read More »
By George Munene According to a guide on The Use Of Urine In Crop Production by the Stockholm Environment Institute, urine is a well-balanced nitrogen-rich fertilizer that can replace and normally gives the same yields as chemical fertilisers in crop production. In field research done in Burkina Faso, the yields from urine-fertilized crops did not …
Human urine gives equal crop yields to chemical fertilisers Read More »
The rise in temperatures due to climate change is leading to the proliferation of the coffee berry borer, one of the crop’s most devastating pests, leading to losses in coffee production at a time when coffee has started to gain its lost glory, scientists at International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology have warned. Researchers …
Rising temperatures lead to proliferation of coffee diseases Read More »
The chronically acidic soils of Western Kenya has meant endless woes to the farmers in the area, but a new method of applying lime to the tired soils is changing fortunes and rekindling hope to thousands of farmers who had abandoned farming. In 2008, Isaac Ochieng Okwangi from Nyangera, Siaya harvested just two 90kg bags …
Liming improves yields of depleted Western Kenya soils Read More »
