Mwangi Mumero

Pearl millet is suitable for young girls....!

2020-05-26T00:43:00.000-07:00

Pearl millet and teenage girls by Mwangi Mumero

Researchers at the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have launched a study to out how groundnuts and pearl millet can be used to alleviate iron deficiency among teenage girls.

Anaemia caused by iron deficiency is a major cause of death among the 16-19 year teenage girls due to their monthly menstruation cycles.

This is especially acute in semi-arid regions across the world where sources of iron are scarce.

Known as ‘FeFa Girls’, the project will address iron deficiency and poor dietary fibre intake. A key aspect of iron-deficiency anaemia prevention and control is promotion of diets containing adequate amounts of bioavailable iron.

Currently, the project has been launched in India but its findings will be used across the globe to address the glaring challenges of iron deficiency.

Intensive approach to health and wellbeing is important for development of adolescent girls, according to researchers.

“Our approach is to use practical food-based solutions using crops rich in iron and dietary fibres. We aim to achieve overall improvement of iron supply naturally in adolescent girls with mild to moderate iron deficiency,” observed Dr Peter Carberry, Director General, ICRISAT.

A study on pearl millet published in Journal of Nutrition shows that pearl millet bred to contain more iron can supply young children with their full iron needs

Pearl millet is an important staple food in semi-arid regions of India and Africa where iron deficiency is common.

The results indicate that less than 160 of the iron rich pearl millet flour daily is enough to provide women aged 18-45 years with more than 70 percent of their daily iron needs.

In a related research , use of biofortified high iron pearl millet cab reduce significance iron deficiencies and improve nutrition and cognitive performance.

Researchers note that poor diets lacking in iron reduce brain development and capacity- hampering individuals’ potential and societies.

This is especially common in poor third world nations where iron deficiency also leads to anemia in children and women.

Societies that are vegetarian are particularly at risk of iron deficiencies especially if green vegetables are lacking, observes the study by Oxford University.

“If we can improve adolescents’ performance in school by improving their iron status we may also have longer term impacts in terms of their ability to secure a good job, or be admitted to a college program,” says Dr. Samuel Scott, Associate Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, lead author of the study. (ends)

Smart digital solutions for agriculture in Kenya and the East African region

2020-05-26T00:41:00.000-07:00

Smart agricultural solutions by Mwangi Mumero

New smart solutions were recently unveiled to solve emerging challenges in agriculture at the Agri-Food Trade and Investment (AFTI) Summit held the Radisson Blu hotel in Nairobi.

Most of the new ideas involved the use of mobile devices to access information that is vital to the farming business.

“Working with the government of Kenya, we have been able to develop a SMS platform where farmers can receive timely information on the fall armyworm. Farmers send and receive messages on their phones which will assist them to make vital decisions on the pest,” observed Emmanuel Bakirdjian, Director for Precision Agriculture Development during his presentation.

According to Mr. Bakirdjian, the SMS messages cover various topics including monitoring, identification, non-chemical and chemical control measures and best practices.

Farmers send and receive free messages through Safaricom and Airtel networks, Kenya’s largest mobile telephony firms.

The messages are available both in English and Kiswahili.

The special messages have been developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KARLO), Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, Kenya Plant and Health Inspectorate Service, and Pest Control and Poisons Board.

Precision Agriculture Development (PAD) has registered 363,000 users have registered on the platform since its launch last year.

It also provides actionable, customized, and high-quality farming advice for maize, beans, and potatoes to help farmers increase their productivity.

According to Mr. Bakirdjian, PAD is an Iinternational NGO operating in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

On its part Liquid Telecom Kenya has worked closely with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KARLO) to launch an e-service platform and three mobile apps for chicken, pasture seeds and dryland crop farmers.

Through these platforms farmers can receive real-time updates from meteorological agency and research labs.

“Delivering new technologies through the internet based infrastructure is changing the way farmers produce crops and livestock. There is need to adapt to new methods of accessing up-to-date data on crop varieties and farming methods. We believe our involvements in this area will ensure food security and improves diets of millions of Kenyans,” noted Adil Youssefi, CEO of Liquid Telecom Kenya during his presentation.

According to Mr. Youssefi, his firm recognizes the role of technology in research, generation and creation of new knowledge, which is vital in national development.

“KARLO’s new e-services will be driving our common vision and goal of restructuring agricultural and livestock research into a dynamic, innovative, responsive and well-coordinated system,” he observed.

Already, Liquid Telecom Kenya has installed a Wide Area Network and VSAT internet connection offering up to 100 bps across 42 KARLO research stations.

For instance farmers can now access information on feed availability, diseases as well as other chicken information on the Indigenous Chicken app. Kenya is estimated to have at least 32 million indigenous chicken which produce most of the poultry meat consumed in the country.

On the other hand, the ‘Range Pasture Seed Production App’ avails information on soil and water management technologies as well as seed varieties tolerant to drought, pests and diseases.

Water availability and sources for agriculture also proved an important area for developers of smart farming solutions.

“Our solutions are able to collect information on underground water sources available to farmers. They can also advice farmers on soils and synchronise data in relation to water and climate information”, observed Andrew Denu, Products Manager with Sun Culture, a firm that develops irrigation solutions.

The company’s ‘Rainmaker 2’ is a solar powered irrigation solution which uses artificial intelligence to collect information on water sources for farmers. The solution can also provide water both for domestic and irrigation purposes.

The firm has also developed ‘Agoptimised farmer Sensor’ app which is available on smartphones.

“The app helps farmers to build weather models, helps in crop yield monitoring, pests and diseases data as well as map out water sources data”, noted Mr. Denu during the presentations.

The app provides real time data on possible drought conditions and is valuable for government and development organizations especially those with activities in arid and semi arid regions.

Another smart solution presentation was done by WeFarm, a global network that offers free SMS to farmers seeking answers to their farming activities.

“Our app analyses the SMS received from farmers and provides viable answers across the value chain. It connects farmers across borders and allow them to discuss common problems affecting their farming activates,” said Mr. Mwiti Mwika from We Farm, a body that globally connects 1.6 million farmers via the short text messages (SMS).

According to Mr. Mwika, WeFarm maps out possible diseases and pests in the field giving vital information on possible crisis areas. Through the network, farmers can reach suitable markets for their products –boosting their returns.

Financed through venture capital, WeFarm registers at least 80,000 farmers into the system monthly according to Mr. Mwika.

With the success of M-Pesa, Kenya’s premier money transfer application, fintech organisations have moved to fill the gaps in farmer financing.

Using the ease of M-Pesa app in simple phones, microfinance organizations have been able to loan farmers cash to purchase farm inputs among other needs.

Repayment of the loans by farmers takes place with mobile transfer service M-Pesa.

“We dispense at least Ksh 20,000 to farmers to purchase farm inputs such as fertilizer through their mobile phones. This has helped to reach the rural populations that are far from commercial banks”, observed Stanley Munyao, chief executive officer with Musoni, a Kenyan microfinance.

Through their mobile apps, farmers can apply and get loans within 24 hours- improving financial inclusion as well as reducing the gaps in agricultural financing. (ends)

Using zebra smell to controlling trypanosomiasis (Nagana)

2020-05-26T00:38:00.001-07:00

Zebra smell in controlling nagana by Mwangi Mumero

Trypanosomiasis, African’s deadly livestock disease may be managed through the use of zebra odours, researchers from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe) and their partners at the University of Pretoria now report.

Trypanosomiasis can be transmitted from animals to humans. It is known as nagana in animals and sleeping sickness in humans.

Writing in the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases Journal, the researchers report that zebras, found in African rangelands produce smells that repel tsetse fly, the main vector for the diseases.

“Previous research has shown that tsetse flies avoid, and hardly bite zebras, even though zebras are commonly present in areas infested by the flies. Until now, the reason for this evasion has been unclear, with speculations that the zebras’ striped skin is a contributing factor. However, the zebra stripes are only visible to tsetse flies at about 5–10 metres. Beyond this distance, zebras appear uniformly grey to the flies,” explained Olabimpe Olaide, a Nigerian scholar who conducted the study as part of her PhD research at icipe, registered at the University of Pretoria.

Found only in Africa, tsetse flies and the diseases they transmit are one of the major constraints to livestock and agricultural production, land use, nutrition, incomes, and overall development in Africa.

Control of the flies with synthetic insecticides is expensive and harmful to people, livestock and the environment.

According to Ms. Olaide, the study established that zebras produce certain scents that repel tsetse flies. A blend of three of these odours enhances the effectiveness of existing tsetse management tools, including the icipe tsetse repellent collar technology and traps.

The tsetse fly traps use colour or smell to attract flies after which they are killed

The highly successful tsetse repellent collar technology exploits chemical signals obtained from the waterbuck, an animal that has also been found to repel tsetse flies.

A blend of these chemicals has been packaged in innovative dispensers which, when worn as collars around the neck of cattle, essentially make cattle unattractive to tsetse flies.

“In comparison to the waterbuck repellent, the chemical blend identified from zebras appears to offer a comparable, longer lasting and more affordable alternative, although this potential requires further research,” says Baldwyn Torto, Head of icipe Behavioural and Chemical Ecology Unit, and co-supervisor and mentor of Ms. Olaide.

In recent years, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has published an atlas indicating the prevalence of trypanosomiasis across Africa to help curb this menace that kills 3 million livestock animals annually in the Africa continent.

Known as the Atlas of African Agriculture Research and Development , it comprises a series of maps and short analyses on Africa’s diverse agricultural challenges and opportunities.

Among the key pages is the illustration containing information on the location of cattle and production systems.

This information is combined with the distribution of tsetse fly species in the area to estimate the presence and absence of trypanosomosis, a parasitic disease transmitted by the tsetse fly.

These maps are a boon to researchers, farmers and government officials involved in its trypanosomiasis control.

Nagana also affects rural development and livelihoods more generally by limiting options for mixed farming and hindering a balanced use of natural resources.

Another related map shows the estimated benefits to livestock farmers expressed in US $ per square kilometre if there is total eradication of trypanosomiasis.

According to the maps, benefits in the Horn of Africa would amount to nearly $2.5 billion, discounted at 10 percent over 20 years to account for the opportunity cost of funds— an average of approximately $3,300 per square kilometer of tsetse-infested area.

The maps also indicates production systems- where for instance mixed farming is heavily dependent on the use of draft oxen in Ethiopia, areas of Sudan and South Sudan where oxen use is much lower, and the strictly pastoral areas of Somalia and Kenya.

Other than livestock, the atlas covers seven topics. They include political, demographic and institutional classifications.

Others areas include the footprints of agriculture, the the role of water in African agriculture, drivers of change in African agriculture, access to agricultural trade and human welfare.

By presenting a broad range of geospatial data and explanatory text, the analysts hope the Atlas will serve as a reliable and up-to-date guide for informed decision-making, which can help speed, broaden and sustain Africa’s agricultural productivity.

The 30-plus map atlas is a collaborative 5 year-work that has included many experts and organisations.

These organisations include the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Other partners were McGill University, HarvestChoice, IFPRI, Welt Hunger Hilfe and Concern Worldwide. (ends)

Vaccines for malignant catarrhal fever for Maasai cattle

2020-05-26T00:34:00.001-07:00

Cattle fever vaccine by Mwangi Mumero

Researchers at the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with global partners have developed a vaccine to control malignant catarrhal fever (MCF), a fatal disease passed from wildebeest to cattle and sheep.

While the world has its eyes focused on the annual wildlife migration in the Maasai Mara Game reserve, livestock herders are forced to move their animals to prevent them from getting this deadly disease.

The virus is transmitted to cattle during the wildebeest calving season.

This causes a dilemma for the Maasai pastoralists.

If they move their cattle to avoid the wildebeests, they incur costs from lost opportunities to consume and sell milk and meat, and the labour input needed to move the cattle.

If they stay in the wildebeest grazing zones, they are at risk of losing approximately 10 percent of animals from their herds, which represents a significant loss to their livelihoods.

The vaccine has shown to offer a safe and effective method of protecting cattle against the disease with a vaccine efficacy of 80 percent.

Researchers from a number of organisations came together at the Kapiti Research Station located in Machakos County, Kenya.

The 13,000-hectare research station has approximately 2,500 cattle, 1,200 sheep and 250 goats coexisting with wildlife including wildebeests, giraffe and zebra as well as lions, hyenas and cheetahs.

The unique mix of livestock and wildlife at the research facility enables scientists to test the dynamics of disease transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface, which is a critical step towards understanding the ecology of livestock diseases.

Five years ago, a severe outbreak of the disease at ILRI’s Kapiti Research Station as well as in the plains of Maasai Mara highlighted the economic impact of the disease and the need for an effective control measure.

“We are happy with the result of the trail which show the vaccine is safe and effective for controlling the disease in cattle”, observed Dr. Elizabeth Cook, a scientist at ILRI and the lead author of the study.

Dr. Cook however notes that current limitation to the roll out of the vaccine is that it is produced on small scale for research purposes only. A partner to scale up production and marketing of the vaccine in both Kenya and Tanzania is being sought, according to the researcher.

Funding for the research work came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Aid. (Ends).

Kenya's macadamia rolls on in the local and international markets

2020-05-26T00:28:00.002-07:00

Macadamia markets by Mwangi Mumero

Rising global demand coupled with sector regulation has boosted Kenya’s macadamia production and earning in the last few years.

Global trends towards plant-based oil products as well as health conscious consumers have anchored increased demand- boosting farmers’ earnings.

Used as food, macadamia nuts are rich in unsaturated oil, iron, manganese as well as vitamins A and B. It also has the cancer- fighting antioxidants. In the cosmetic industry, it is used as a face scrub.

In the last two years, price of macadamia nuts have shot from Ksh 50 to Ksh 150 per kilo at the farm gate.

Unpredictable earnings from coffee has endeared farmers to shift to less risky but lucrative crops such as macadamia- salvaging the fortunes of mostly small holder farmers that live in the rainy Central Kenya and western highlands.

Production is mainly done by over 11,000 smallholder farmers in 16 counties unlike in the market leaders, China and South Africa, where macadamia in grown in large scale farming.

Kenya is the third largest macadamia producer with 20 percent of the market share.

Kenya has about 200,000 small farms that currently produce an estimated 42,500 tonnes of in-shell nuts annually.

But with the soaring demand of the nuts, farmers are increasing acreage under the crop.

According to Kenya’s Economic Survey 2018, the area under macadamia rose to 16,153 hectares in 2017 compared to 15,512 hectares the previous year, leading to an additional production of 1.443 metric tonnes of nuts over the period.

The total value of crop rose from Ksh 4.3 billion in 2015 to Ksh 5.1 billion in 2017 due to rising global demand.

While the majority of the farms are located in the Mt. Kenya region in the counties of Murang’a, Kiambu, Nyeri, Embu and Meru, farmers in non-traditional areas are taking up the crop.

Farmers in Uasin Gichu, Elgeyo Marakwet and Nandi counties- traditionally Kenya’s food baskets, known for their maize and wheat production- are moving to macadamia.

Even in traditional macadamia producing regions, there is an observable move to the crop.

“Macadamia farming is far better than coffee. It has fewer risks and overheads. Less bureaucratic marketing channels translates to better and more reliable returns,” said Mrs. Julia Wanja, a farmer in Mumwe area in Nyeri County and one of the pioneer macadamia farmers in the region.

Regulation of the macadamia sub-sector has however been the major catalyst for increased interest in the crop.

Previously, farmers would harvest the raw nuts and sell to brokers and smugglers across the borders- prompting rising thefts, low prices and demoralized farmers.

Banning of this practice has seen increased production of mature nuts from 11,000 metric tonnes to over 45,000 metric tonnes in the last decade.

The number of nut processors has also shot from 4 in 2009 to 30 in 2018- indicating the increased prospects of the sector, according to the Nut Processors Association of Kenya (NutPAK), the umbrella body that bring together processors.

The government regulator, Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has also set the timelines for harvesting to safeguard the quality and curb entry of raw nuts into the market.

“Regulation and surveillance in crop areas deter early harvesting. Premature harvesting increased losses on farmers as buyers leave some nuts during selection,” observed Charles Muigai, NutPAK chief executive officers lauding the government on its role in streamlining the industry.

NutPAK has also developed a code of conduct to ensure that its members harmonise quality of nuts and safeguard the Kenya’s international market, according to Muigai, whose members include 90 percent of the processors.

Farmers have also been supportive of the increased regulation of the previously chaotic marketing.

“We are establishing nut collection centres in villages across Kenya to weed out middlemen who exploit farmers. The law prohibiting exportation of raw nuts has been a boon for us farmers,’ said Edward Maigho, the national chairman, Macadamia Farmers Association of Kenya, which links up 10,000 members.

Over 98 percent of Kenya’s macadamia produce is sold globally.

Key competition for the Kenyan produce comes from China, South Africa, Malawi, Australia and Vietnam, according to NutPAK.

These nations have put in place harvesting practices as well as other code of regulations to also safeguard their market share.

Global production is estimated to increase from the current 200,000 tonnes to 276,000 tonnes in 2020.

Experts say that a mature tree of macadamia can produce 80kg to 300 kg of nuts although most farmers get a maximum of 50kg mainly due to poor crop husbandry practices and weak clones.

“Production of nuts depends on the amount of rainfall and will fall especially where farmers have no access to irrigation water. An acre of land can hold up to 71 trees,” noted Dunson Munene, a field operations officer at Afrimac Nuts Company.

Kenyan tomato farmers make a hefty profit

2014-11-19T03:27:00.000-08:00

Tomato prices by Mwangi Mumero

Urban households have been forced to go without tomatoes in their dishes even as farmers across the country make a killing from the good farm gate prices.

In some Nairobi estates, a tomato fruit is selling at Ksh 10 a piece –making the vegetable inaccessible to many homes. A kilo has been retailing at Ksh 100.

“We have been forced to abandon tomatoes in our sauces as price shoots. Alternatives such as capsicum have also proved rare and highly priced in the local markets”, observed Joyce Otieno, a resident of New Valley estate, outside Kitengela.

Tomatoes are important components of local dishes. They can be fried with green vegetables and eaten with ugali. The fruits can also be made into desserts and eaten with roasted meat. Ripe tomatoes can be eaten raw and are a good source of vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Scarcity of tomatoes has made the prices of roasted meat rise as cost of ‘Kachumbari’ shoot.

But even as consumers in urban area decry increased prices, tomato farmers are smiling all the way to the bank as demand and farm gate prices soar.

“It has been a good season for tomato farmers. We have been able to make about Ksh 40,000 from the sale of tomatoes grown on half-acre plot”, said Paul Muchuka, a farmer in Kiamburi village in Kinamba location, Laikipia County.

He added that were it not for some few teething challenges such as diseases like blight, tomato production and profits would have been higher.

Farmers who had planted their crop in December last year and used irrigation over the dry January- March season have made a killing from their crop.

Overall, the price per crate has ranged between Ksh 3,500 and Ksh 5,000 giving the farmers a chance to recoup their investments and make good profits.

The Ministry of Agriculture monthly report on commodity prices indicated that in April, prices of tomatoes across Kenyan cities ranged between a high of Ksh 6,000 per crate in Nairobi to Ksh 5,700 in Mombasa.

According to Mr. Muchuka, farmers in Laikipia have harvested a good crop that is being sought by buyers from across the region.

“Buyers have been flocking this area from Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Nyeri seeking tomatoes. We are quite happy with the production and sale obtained”, said Mr. Paul Kairu, a farmer from Wangachi village also in Laikipia.

Lorries have been trooping to local townships such as Kinamba, Sipili and Karandi seeking out this elusive fruit.

Tomato retailers have also been complaining of high tomato prices.

“While we would want to buy and resell tomatoes, the pricing is prohibitive. Few household will afford the prices and we are forced to skip the tomatoes”, said Phyllis Njoki, a small shop operator who sources her tomatoes from Mukuyu Market, just outside Murang’a Town.

A crate of tomatoes is retailing at Ksh 6,000 at the market making it prohibitively high for retailers.

According to her, retailers would make little in profits and many are forced to buy little stock or skip the fruits all together.

With no storage facilities, many retailers have been forced to stock just enough tomatoes for sale within a few days.

In Kirinyaga County’s Kagio market- considered the Mecca of vegetable sellers, prices of tomatoes have been high as farmers sell to buyers from across the country.

“Demand for tomatoes has been high- as a result of less production during the dry period. Farmers using drip irrigation have been able to make a handsome profits as their costs have been low”, remarked John Muthike, a farmer from Ngurubani in Mwea.

Farmers in the region hope that the county and national governments can come up with a tomato sauce processing factory to ease on huge transport costs incurred getting their tomatoes to townships for sale.

Egerton University's indigenous chicken upgrade programme

2014-11-19T03:26:00.001-08:00

Indigenous Chicken programme by Mwangi Mumero

An indigenous chicken improvement programme has been launched at Egerton University, Njoro.

Funded by the European Union through the African Union, the Smallholder Indigenous Chicken Improvement Programme (InCIP) will combine research, breeding, value addition and marketing of indigenous chicken (IC).

This is a collaborative research involving Egerton University, which is the lead, University of Malawi and Wageningen University, The Netherlands.

“We are currently at the research level of the project where we are collecting genetic resources, producing the breeding stocks and hybrids for later dissemination to farmers”, observed Professor Alexander Kahi, the Project leader and a renowned researcher in animal breeding and genomics.

According to Prof. Kahi, the first step in IC improvement has been to identify various ecotypes available in the country and seek useful attributes that can be used for breeding and multiplication purposes.

“The main purpose of the programme is to improve IC egg and meat production through proper breeding, feeding, disease control and marketing. This will in turn improve on rural farmers’ income and reduce poverty. We are also working with government agencies and other players to link up with farmers as well as poultry product processors in value addition,” noted Prof. Kahi, who is also the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture at the university.

In the last year, InCIP researchers collected ecotypes from eight counties of Kenya, namely Narok, Bomet, Bondo, Kakamega, West Pokot, Lamu, Mwingi and Taita Taveta. The performance of these ecotypes has been evaluated.

Modern DNA techniques were used in identifying different ecotypes.

“Analysis from using DNA techniques indicate that the IC in Kenya can be clustered into three. The ecotype from Narok, Bomet, Bondo, Kakamega and West Pokot belong to the same cluster. So does the ecotype from Mwingi and TaitaTaveta. The Lamu ecotype is distinct are is referred to the Kuchi, originally from the Far East. The Kuchi is a big bird, stands upright and shows fast growth rates”, added Prof Kahi noting that selection of IC could be done on the basis of these three clusters to pursue either egg production or meat production depending on the traits in which the IC has shown superiority in performance.

Improvement and breeding of IC has already started at the station level within Egerton University’s InCIP Poultry Breeding and Research Unit.

InCIP has acquired Rhode Island Red (RIR) parent stock from Hendrix Genetics of Netherlands for crossbreeding with local ecotypes for hybrid production using artificial insemination (AI).

Another breed, the Black Australorp has also been suggested as a suitable breed for crossbreeding with the local IC and is currently being used in Malawi.

While the breeding programme is currently at the station level, a US $ 40,000 ‘Mega’ incubator with a capacity of 75,000 eggs has been acquired through the InCIP for the purpose of large scale chick production once the work moves to the on-farm phase.

At the same time, the programme has been formulating and marketing quality livestock feed for smallholder and large scale farmers across Kenya.

Through a feed miller that produces over 15 bags per hour, InCIP has been able to produce feed for poultry, dairy cattle, pigs and beef cattle.

A 70kg bag of broiler starter retails at Ksh 3,500 while that of finisher goes for Ksh 3,200 The price per bag of dairy meal ranges from Ksh 2,000- 2,700

Value chain mapping of the IC is also being carried out to streamline markets which have traditionally been unreliable and unpredictable due to price fluctuations.

To improve access on IC markets, the programme has incorporated a short message service (SMS) based marketing and information system.

With this system, rural farmers will be able to access different market prices cushioning them from exploitation by middlemen and brokers.

Another unique inclusion into the programme is the testing of a chicken greenhouse before a private company in Kenya rolls it out. While greenhouses have been popularized for use by horticultural farmers, the chicken one provides conducive environment for rearing chicken.

Researchers at InCIP note that the greenhouse effectively raises labour productivity, reduces pollution from manure and lowers infection from diseases in chicken. It also has special isolated covers to protect chicken from extreme hot or cold temperatures.

(ends)

cut flowers and EU export markets

2014-11-19T03:25:00.002-08:00

Cut-flower sector by Mwangi Mumero

Kenya’s floriculture sub-sector continues to grow earning the country over US$ 1 billion annually and employing over 500,000 directly and another 1 million indirectly.

A number of challenges however are impeding the full blooming of this sub-sector and its contribution to the national economy.

According to the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), the horticulture sub-sector contributed 3 per of the national GDP with 1.6 per cent coming from the cut flowers.

Data from the Kenyan Economic Survey 2013 indicates that the cut flower sector earned the country Ksh 65 billion ($ 813 million) in 2012 up from Ksh 58.8 billion ($ 735 million) in 2011.

The country is the lead exporter of cut flowers to the EU controlling 38 per cent of the market share.

Of the exports, 65 per cent are sold through Dutch auction for re-export, 25 percent to the United Kingdom with Japan, US, Russia, France and Germany taking up the rest.

According to horticulture validated report 2012 the main cut flowers grown in Kenya are roses at 53.6 per cent, Easter lilies at 26.5 per cent, Arabicum at 4.1 per cent, carnations at 3.1 per cent and Hypericum at1.98 per cent.

“Kenya supplied 55 per cent of the flowers sold at the Netherland’s auctions and 40 per cent of the produce in the EU, placing it in a unique market position”, observed Dick Raamsdonk, the president of HPP of Netherlands, a flower event organizer.

To streamline this lucrative sub-sector, Kenya is implementing the National Compliance Mechanism by the end of 2015. This will help flower growers and exporters meet stringent rules of the importing nations.

This code of conduct will also improve labour practices and environmental conservation efforts in the sub-sector.

The Netherland Government has contributed US $ 400,000 towards this programme that will require all flower growers to institute internal quality control audits.
Kenya has also been working to access the US markets directly providing an alternative outlet for horticultural exports.
Currently, there are no direct flights from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the US making it impossible to export flowers to that huge market.
“We are still negotiating for direct flights to the US to reduce cost of exportation. Currently, we have to access the US market through the EU - creating logistical problems and increasing costs”, said Dr Alfred Serem, the Horticultural Crop Development Authority (HCDA), the industry regulator.
Access to the lucrative US market is expected to cushion Kenyan growers from shocks brought about by the Euro crisis as well as fluctuations in the EU’s low season.
The main cut-flower production areas are around Lake Naivasha, Mt. Kenya, Nairobi, Thika, Kiambu, Athi River, Kajiado, Kitale, Nakuru, Kericho, Nyandarua, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and Eastern Kenya.
This wide geographical distribution of the flower growing regions has increased its economic impact to local communities, alleviating poverty in many parts of the country.
Even with the phenomenal growth of the cut-flower industry, teething challenges hamper its full exploitation.
Among these bottlenecks are stringent export conditions, taxation, high cost of inputs and increasing competition from regional nations of Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania.
Consequently, logistical costs and packaging demanded by flower buyers in the export markets have slowly eaten into the farmers’ margins, according to industry players.
To cushion themselves, growers have been advised to change their marketing strategies to be able to compete and increase earnings from flower products.

“Growers should form marketing firms and team up with exporters. This will give better returns compared with what they are getting through the Dutch auction exports”, observed Mrs. Jane Ngige, the chief executive council Kenya Flower Council.

But it is the imposing of a 16 per cent VAT on agricultural inputs, services and equipment that is worrying flower farmers.
“Increased cost of agricultural inputs will make our products uncompetitive as buyers seek cheaper alternatives. It will also lead to Kenya-based farmers to move to other markets due to the high cost of doing business”, lamented Mr. Stephen Mbiti, the CEO of the Fresh Produce Exporter Association of Kenya (FPEAK), the industry lobby.
Mrs Ngige, the Kenya Flower Council CEO adds that the issue is compounded by the delayed VAT refunds by the tax collector.

“The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is fast in charging VAT but slow to process refunds on zero-rated items. Our cash flow is affected”, she said.

High cost of credit is also another challenge hampering farmers as local bank interest rates head to 20 per cent.

While the Kenya’s Central Bank Rate has come down to a low of 11 per cent, commercial banks continue to charge 15- 20 percent interest on loans - slowing the uptake of credit for investment in agriculture and other sectors.

Speaking in a recent occasion, Kenya’s Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Felix Kosgey said the government has laid plans that would boost the horticultural sector.

“We will partner with financial institutions both government and commercial banks to ensure easy and affordable loans for farmers in the country”, he observed.

Emergence of Ethiopia and Rwanda as flower producers is also creating industry jitters in Kenya. While the cut-flower sector in the two East African countries is at its infancy, it is expected to eat into the Kenyan pie in the near future.

“Kenya will soon face stiff competition from Ethiopia in the export of flowers to the Middle East. We now have many links to the European countries and the Middle East”, observed Mr. Mikyas Bekele Woldeyes, a field officer with Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and Exporters Association which represent 80 flowers farmers in the country.

He was attending a flower event in Nairobi aiming at widening his contacts and markets for the flower farmers in Ethiopia.

But there is a sign of relief with the anticipated signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and the East African Community (EAC) before the 2014 deadline.

An EAC ministerial session in Arusha agreed to remove sticky issues such as exports taxes and clauses in agriculture.

The EU has also softened its hardline stance on a controversial demand for reciprocal treatment by African States, provided they do not give preferential treatment to China and the US.

“The negotiations for a comprehensive trade pact are 97 per cent complete. We hope they will be concluded before the 2014 deadline so that Kenya produce does not attract any import duty unlike those of its key competitors in Latin America”, said Mrs Ngige of the KFC.

During a visit to Kenya in August 2013, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said both groups had settled most the issues, paving way for the comprehensive EPA after years of intensive negotiations for a World Trade Organisation (WTO) compatible trade regime. (ends)

African bees potential

2014-11-19T03:23:00.003-08:00

African bee disease research by Mwangi Mumero

African bees hold the key to unravelling resistance mechanisms for diseases that have decimated colonies in Europe and the United States, a new joint study by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe) and the Pennsylvania State University Center for Pollinator Research, now says.

The study findings published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE indicates that honey bee population in East Africa appear largely resistant or tolerant of parasites and pathogens that threaten bee populations in other parts the world.

The East African bees are also not significantly affected by environmental toxins, according to the study.

“Our results suggest that the common causes for colony losses in the United States and Europe – parasites, pathogens and pesticides – do not seem to be affecting Kenyan bees, at least not yet,” said Christina Grozinger, professor of entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State.

Researchers further note that while more than 90 percent of he honey bee colonies in the US contain pesticide residues, only four chemical residues were detected in the colonies sampled among the East African bees.

“The low level of pesticides in hives from across Kenya, particularly when compared to levels in developed countries, suggests pesticide residues play only a limited role in honey bee health in Kenya at this time”, noted the study.

Researchers also found that bees appear resilient to a fungal parasite, Nosema apis, as well as three honey bee viruses namely deformed wing virus (DWV), black queen cell virus (BQCV) and acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV).

“Our East African honey bees appear to be resilient to these invasive pests, which suggests to us that the chemicals used to control pests in Europe, Asia and the United States currently are not necessary in East Africa,” said Dr. Elliud Muli, the lead icipe beekeeping scientist on the study and a senior lecturer in entomology at South Eastern Kenya University.

According to the researchers, African bee keepers should avoid aggressive chemical treatments for these diseases since the honey been health systems seem entirely unaffected.

While African bees may be resistant to common diseases affecting colonies in the West, researchers observe that decline in populations is instead tied to loss in habitat and deforestation as cities expand and pristine habitat is converted into agricultural and other uses.

This has reduced availability of bee food in form of nectar and pollen as well as water.

The value of bees in food pollination across the world is immense. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), bees pollinate 71 of the 100 food crop species in the world.

“Honey bees pollinate many food crops as well as those important for economic development, and their products, like honey and wax, are vital to the livelihood of many families. Their decline would have profound impacts across the continent,” said Harland Patch, research scientist in entomology at Penn State.

Although estimates vary, the global value of insect pollination services provided for the most part by honey bees was recently placed at $US 212 billion worldwide, equivalent to just under 10 percent of total food production for human consumption.

In Kenya, only 20 percent of an estimated 100,000 metric tonnes honey production potential has been tapped in Kenya, according to the National Farmers Infomration Service (NAFIS).

With over 80 percent of the country comprising arid and semi-arid areas, honey production potential is high and can becoem a major economic activity in these regions.

Notable for their high honey production- Kitui and Baringo Counties produce most of the honey consumed in the country.

Even with the increased uptake of modern hives such as the Kenya Top Bar and Langstroth hives, over 80 percent of the honey countrywide comes from traditional log hives.

Experts say that the quality of honey is affected by the type of hive, methods of harvesting and processing among other factors.

The farmers lack adequate skills on managing bees and handling hive products. Farmers also lament on limited access to appropriate beekeepign equipment, extension services and local and international markets.

Agricultural uses of geothermal power in Kenya

2014-11-19T03:20:00.001-08:00

Geothermal other uses by Mwangi Mumero

While the focus on geothermal power in East Africa has mainly been on electricity generation, experts now say that its potential goes beyond into agriculture, health, tourism and hotel industries.

“Steam from geothermal power stations has potential use in agriculture, tourism and in the health sectors. Very little of this potential is currently in use in the country although it has fully been exploited in Europe and other countries”, observed Ms Marietta Mutonga, a Geoscientist Resource and Development officer with the Geothermal Development Company (GDC), at the recently ended Nakuru Agricultural Society of Kenya Show.

This comes at a time when the Geothermal Development Corporation (GDC) – the government body responsible for geothermal power – is wooing investors to develop this huge potential.

With an estimated geothermal power potential of between 7,000 MW and 10,000 MW, Kenya is yet to fully benefit from their renewable energy as only 200 MW is exploited.

The country expected to generate 50 per cent of its power needs from geothermal by 2018. GDC has identified 14 high temperature sites in the Great Rift Valley that have potential of producing over 15,000 MW of power if fully developed .

According to Ms Marietta, steam for power generation must have an optimal temperature of 250 degrees Celcius and above. Once this heat has been utilized to turn the turbines, the cooling temperatures can be harnessed for other uses.
“Between 90 and 100 degrees Celcius, the heat can be used in drying grain, wool, hides and skins, vegetables. Already, pyrethrum drying is taking place at Eburru in Naivasha using steam”, she said.
However, it is in horticulture where the biggest potential of geothermal steam use in agriculture lies.
In Oserian Flower Farm in Naivasha, the steam is currently being used to heat greenhouses. In particular, horticulturalists are using heat from steam to control dew point temperatures.
“Dew point temperatures are critical in the proliferation and spread of fungal diseases in the green houses. Once this is controlled, there is reduced use of fungicides, allowing horticultural exporters to escape stringent chemical checks in the European Union market”, added Ms Mutonga.
Increased temperature in the greenhouses has also boosted horticultural production by 40 per cent in companies using steam, according to GDC.

For instance, cucumbers grown at 25-27 degrees Celcius and tomatoes at 22 degrees Celcius mature fast and reach the market quickly compared to those grown in other conditions.

With the many flower companies located near Naivasha, where Ol Karia geothermal stations are based, the potential for growth in the use of steam in horticulture is immense, according to officials.
According to the Kenya Flower Council (KFC) at least 1,200 hectares are under roses in Naivasha. Rose also form the bulk of all flowers produced in the area constituting over 70 per cent and form the main flower exports from the country.
Another use of this steam heating is in aquaculture- warm water fish farming.

While this practice has not been tried in Kenya, officials note that in Iceland and Tunisia, steam from geothermal plants has been used to warm water to 30 degrees Celcius for fish farming.

Research has shown that fresh water fish such as tilapia-common in the tropics- required temperatures of 25- 30 degrees Celcius for better performance.
Pasteurization of milk and fish preservation in cold rooms have also been cited as potential uses of steam from geothermal plants.
GDC officials however acknowledge that the major challenge of using steam in agriculture and other sectors has been the expensive pumping and lagging systems.
According to these officials, it is quite expensive to take steam for long distances without losing heat along the way and therefore, it can only benefit industries that are close to the geothermal plants.
In the hotel industry and health sectors, geothermal steam is already in use in hot water spas and swimming pools.
“A 50 degree Celcius spa has already been developed in Ol Karia Geothermal station in Naivasha although it is yet to be opened to the public. It has been developed within the area under Kenya Wildlife Service meaning tourism will also be boosted by the presence of these saunas”, asserted Ms Mutonga.
A warm water swimming pool is already open to the public in Lake Bogoria in Baringo County- one of the areas where natural hot water pools are found.
Development of Menengai Geothermal plant, expected to produce 5,000 MW of electricity by 2030, will spur growth other sectors such as hotel and flower industries in Nakuru County.
The plant on the dormant Menengai Crater overlooking the fast growing town as well as ever busy Lake Nakuru National Park which received thousands of local and foreign visitors annually.

The World Bank has pledged to inject $ 118 million to toward the project - underpinning the value the Bank puts in green energy.

(ends)

Grain warehousing: A way to go in ensuring proper storage of grains and Kenya's food security

2013-06-16T11:15:00.003-07:00

Grain warehousing by Mwangi Mumero

Across the East African region, many farmers suffer from post-harvest losses mainly due to poor grain handling, low storage capacity and poor skills. From wheat, rice, sorghum, maize and millets – foods that supply most of the carbohydrates in the region- losses have been immense, threatening food security.

During the 1997/98 El Nino rains, Nduku Nzioka, a farmer from Kitui, Eastern Kenya could not handle the huge harvest that came from her normally dry piece of land.

Kitui is a semi-arid region where residents have to periodically rely on food aid from the government and donor organizations especially during extended drought.

Yet, the El Nino phenomenon brought huge harvests and fortunes as heavy rains pounded their region.

“Our pigeon pea, beans and maize harvest was unprecedented. Many local persons had never witnessed such a boom in yields for over a generation. We made huge profits”, remember Nduku, a mother of four.

But even with these hefty yields, local farmers were unprepared. Their grain storage capacity was low and many did not even have granaries to store much grain.

“We lost a large part of the grain through decomposition as grain left uncovered outside got rain on. Brokers and buyers from Nairobi also took advantage of our precarious situation and bought the grains at throwaway prices. It was distressing”, added Nduku.

During this prolonged rainfall period, local media houses aired reports of exploitation of local farmers by brokers and buyers mainly from Nairobi, Nakuru and Mombasa who were buying to hoard awaiting a period of scarcity to re-sell to the same farmers at a higher price. Across the country, grain loses are huge especially after harvesting.

An agriculture think tank, Egerton University based Tegemeo Institute, estimates that post harvest losses in Kenya is around 30 per cent of all stored produce.

However, the advent of Larger Grain Borer and Aflatoxin, the loss can be over 100 per cent depending on the severity of the outbreak.

As recently as the October/November 2009, the harvesting period in Eastern, Central and Coast regions experienced wet weather.

This resulted in widespread outbreak of Aflatoxin contamination in these regions making grains unsuitable for human consumption and hence not marketable.

With this in mind, organization have come up with ways of working with farmers on grain storage capacity and value addition to get maximum benefits from their yields.

“Farmers deposit their grain at our certified warehouse and then the farmer can decide to sell immediately or store the grain longer waiting for better prices”, observed Samuel Munyasia, a food officer with the East Africa Grain Council (EAGC).

EAGC has offices in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and is supported by development organizations such as Sida, USAID, COMPLETE and Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya.

The EAGC has introduced a warehouse receipt system (WRS) where a farmer –now known as a depositor- can store grains with the organization and then use the receipt as security to obtain loans from financial organizations.

“While waiting for a better price, the depositor can use the receipt to access financing from banks which can loan up to 60 to 80 per cent of the prevailing market value of the grain. The funding allows the farmer to carry out normal business such a land preparation, purchase of farm inputs for the next season”, said Mr. Munyasia who is based in Mutomo, near Kitui.

With little harvest obtained in this dry part of the country, a big number of farmers in Kitui, Machakos and Makueni have not constructed modern grain storage facilities that can hold dry cereals over long periods.

“The warehouse system allows us to reduce post-harvest wastage, exploitation by brokers and buyers as well as cushioning the farmer from low grain prices”, said David Kasyoki, another farmer in the region.

According to Mr. Munyasia, this warehouse receipt system allows for aggregation of larger and tradable volumes from small scale farmers while using professional managers to store grain and ensure good conditions that reduces post-harvest loses.

“ There is also increased financing of the agricultural sector to bring about investment in infrastructure such as warehouses, trucks and grin processing thereby increasing efficiency in grain value chain”, he said.

Accordingly, this system is credited with helping farmers access a larger and more formal market even to distant places because buyers have knowledge of quantity and quality of tradable grains.

Through the system, it has become possible to transfer grain from one owner to another without the added cost of transporting the commodity from one store to the next along with handling on and off the trucks, bagging and re-bagging, spillages and pilferage.

The Government of Kenya in its 2010/11 budget statement committed itself to supporting the development of WRS and other related exchange infrastructure, building on a pilot initiated by the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) (ENDS)

Goat plague- a menace of pastrolist farmers in Kenya

2013-06-16T11:13:00.001-07:00

Goat plague outbreak by Mwangi Mumero

Veterinary officials in Kenya have launched a massive vaccination exercise targeting over 50,000 livestock in Marakwet County after an outbreak of goat plague that has already killed 2,000 animals.

The Kabete Veterinary Laboratories in Nairobi have confirmed that the deaths in Kerio Valley in northern Rift valley were attributed to Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR) –also known as goat plague.

Results of the lab samples ruled out Rift Valley Fever and East Coast Fever. The disease mainly affects small ruminants- goats and sheep and can cause a large number of deaths over as short period.

“This disease has in recent years spread through Turkana, Kerio Valley, Isiolo and Garrissa but was contained”, said Mr. Bernard Moenga, a Ministry of Livestock official in charge of veterinary disease control.

Livestock farmers in the region are bracing themselves for huge losses as animals die as the viral disease spreads.

“The animals start coughing and show excessive diarrhoea before they die. A loss in our goats and sheep will affect our livelihoods as it is the mainstay of the local economy”, observed Kibyego Biwott, a local farmer.

The Marakwet Veterinary Officer Dr Joseph Kiyeng has said that his department has dispatched PPR vaccines and is sensitizing farmers as vaccinations of their animals commences.

Beyond Marakwet County, the disease outbreak has been reported in Central Pokot, Baringo East, and Baringo North all in Kerio Valley.

The disease- also known as goat plague killed over 2 million small ruminants in Kenya from 2006 to 2009, according to the Ministry of Livestock development.

First reported in the country in 2006 at Oropoi and Lokichoggio divisions of Turkana district- close to the Sudan border- the disease has spread to 16 other districts across the country.

PPR is a severe, fast spreading disease of mainly small ruminants. Signs includes onset of depressions, fever, discharges from the eyes and nose, sores in the mouth with difficult breathing and coughing. There is also the production of smelly diarrhea and finally death.

The disease has also been known to attack wild relatives of goat and sheep like gazelles, gemsbok and Nubian ibex with many researchers attributing these as the sources of the periodic viral outbreaks.

Interaction of small ruminants with their wild relatives in the open fields has been suspected as the source of the virus. It is closely related to rinderpest of cattle.

The virus is spread through discharges from eyes, nose, mouth as well as loose faeces. The fine droplets in cough and sneeze spread quickly pass the virus especially when animals are in close contact.

Contact of animals in the markets, especially when coming from different regions, exacerbated the problem. Equally, a recent history of animal movements and gathering of small ruminants of different ages with associated changes in housing and feeding, boost the spread of the virus.

Other predisposing factors include the introduction of recently purchased animals into the village flock and animals sent to the market and returned unsold. Development of fattening units where animals are concentrated has promoted the spread of the scourge.

Changes in weather such as the onset of the rainy season as the harmattan season in West Africa have also been culprits to the outbreak of the virus.

The disease has infection rates of 50 to 100 per cent with 60 to 80 per cent of the infected dying. Some households have lost half their flocks from the disease. In endemic regions, most of the sick and dying animals are over four months and up to 2 years of age.

With the death, comes economic hardship, as most of the activities in arid and semi-arid areas (asals) are centre around livestock. The animals are the source of meat, milk, blood and income.

“In pastoralist communities, sheep and goats belong to the poor and women. They sell them to buy cattle, an upward economic mobility. With their deaths, poverty becomes pervasive”, said Dr Maina Kibata, a Kenyan veterinary officer who has worked in Southern Sudan and has wide experience in PPR.

Dr Kibata added that barriers to the international markets are a major blow to livelihoods in these regions.

There are approximately 10 million goats in the Kenya’s drylands. They are hardy and able to survive on poor pastures and go for long periods without water. They are also resistant to many internal parasites.

Further, over 90 per cent of these goats are indigenous and contribute 30 per cent of the total red meat consumed nationally.

Traditionally, goats are also used as sacrifices to the deities during times of calamities or diseases. They are also slaughtered to celebrate bumper harvests or peace between communities.

Small ruminants are always exported as live animals to the Arab world, a market closed due to the outbreak of goat plague.

Local markets effects include loss of business for various actors who rely on small ruminants production such input dealers, livestock traders, butchers, hides and skin dealers, and consumers.

“With the outbreak of this disease in our region, we expect quarantine to be impose with the closure of the local livestock markets. We will be unable to sell our livestock and this will affect our ability of buy food, pay school fees for our kids as well as meet the other social-economic demands”, lamented Mr. Biwott, the Marakwet livestock farmer, calling on the government to move quickly and contain this disease to avert the economic fallout. (Ends)

Use of 'kickstart' pumps in Kenya boost small scale irrigation

2013-06-16T11:11:00.001-07:00

Simple irrigation technologies by Mwangi Mumero
Smallholder farmers across the country face serious problems during the dry season.
Relying heavily on rain-fed agriculture, these farmers must confine their farming to months when rain is available.
This pattern compromises food security - both for their families and their livestock.
“Availability of food especially vegetables is a challenge during the dry months of December to March ands around September. Prices for these foods skyrocket as little is being produced in our farms during these periods”, observed Onesmus Kariuki, a farmer from Githagara Village in Murang’a County during a recently held agribusiness exhibition at Ihura Stadium in Murang’a.
Like Kariuki, many farmers across the country suffer from this scarcity- abundance farming cycle.
“Even forages for livestock become scarce during this period affecting milk production and earning power of the rural populace”, noted Mr. Kariuki, a retired veterinary officer and also a dairy farmer.
But now uptake of simple irrigation technologies by rural farmers in the country is helping avert the shortage of vegetables, fruits and livestock fodder for animals.
“Cheaper hand and leg operated pumps are the way to go for farmers with less than 5 acres. They require little technical skills and are low in maintenance costs”, said Mr. Japheth Waititu, Kickstart Regional Representative for Murang’a County as he explained to farmers the working of these irrigation technologies.
Kickstart is a non-profit organization that provides low-cost technologies to local entrepreneurs to establish profitable enterprises.
The manually operated pumps known as Moneymaker, have in the last couple of years transformed smallholder farming, and especially for horticulture crops such as cabbages, tomatoes and kales.
Smallholder irrigation technologies like Kickstart’s help to break the long dry spells and in turn reduce the food insecurity experienced in many parts of the African continent.
According to Mr. Waititu, there are two types of Money Maker pumps. The hand-operated, working more like a bicycle pump, retails at Ksh 6,300 ($ 74) and comes with a 10 metre hose pipe to connect to a sprinkler and another 7 metre pipe for taking water from the source such as well, dam or river.
The bigger pump-costing Ksh 11,990 ($ 140) is operated by legs and comes with the same sizes of hose pipes.
Ridden like a bicycle, the pumps can draw water from wells 10-15 metres in depth. The pumps can push water to 200 metres of a flat ground and be able to operate 5 sprinklers.
“The smaller pump can irrigate 1.25 acres with the bigger one capable of supplying water within 2 acres. We train farmers on usage and maintenance of the simple pumps. Depending on usage, there is minimal maintenance cost and farmers are able to recoup their investment within the first 6 months”, added Mr. Waititu.
With these pumps, smallholder farmers can irrigate and sell high value crops throughout the year. Water for domestic use and for livestock can also be pumped and later treated in the homestead.
One farmer who has benefitted immensely from these hand operated pumps in the last decade is retired teacher Wachira Njoori, a fruit farmer in Wangwaci Village of Sipili location in dry Laikipia County.
In the mid-90s, Njoori and other farmers in Sipili location in Laikipia district invested in a manually operated water pump which he has used to irrigate his three-acre orchard.
Drawing water from a neighbouring wetland using the pump, Wachira has grown a variety of fruits ranging from oranges, tangerines, paw paws, mangoes, fruit tomatoes, avocadoes, grape fruits and bananas.
Having established the orchard over a decade ago, Wachira now sells 100 kg of fruit weekly. At a rate of Ksh 20 ($ 0.23) per kilogram, he has been making over Ksh 100,000 ($1,180) annually from fruits alone.
“If anyone tells me to go back to class, I will protest as I am my own boss today and can support my retirement comfortably from fruit sales”, say the Wachira, a father of five fully grown and independent children.
But the pump has been able to support other enterprises on the farm. A progressive farmer, he has raised 100 layers and 150 broilers on the farm.
With water being a scarce commodity in this area, the pump has been vital in drawing water for the chicken enterprise.
“The pump has been a major boost for the chicken enterprise. Without it, water would have been difficult of obtain making the chicken enterprise difficult”, he noted.
With 90 eggs laid on daily basis, he has been able to get a monthly income of Ksh18.900 ($222), at a price of Ksh 7 per egg.
Jointly with other farmers, he has been supplying a Nyahururu based tourist hotel with broilers netting him an income of over Ksh 30,000 ($350).
But other farmers like Wachira have used the pumps to grow profitable fruits and support for the poultry enterprises.
Farmers can buy the pumps from local dealers with the prices ranging from Ksh 5000- 12,000 ($ 59-141) a piece.
“Maintenance cost of the pumps is minimal other than regular oiling and sometimes replacement of piston rubber cups”, notes Wachira.
Occasionally, hired labour is necessary for farmers whose land size is larger.
So far Kickstart has operations in Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda and Mali.
With the uptake of these technologies across the East African region, Kickstart reports that 800 farmers take up the pumps every month. (ends)

Naivasha Flower Fair: A link fpr service providers and growers

2013-06-16T11:09:00.002-07:00

Horticultural show by Mwangi Mumero

With exports currently valued at $ 640 million, the Kenya horticultural sub-sector has continued to attract investors and service providers in the last couple of years.

The sub-sector now employs about 4.4 million people in the

country directly in production, processing and marketing ,while another 3.5 million benefit indirectly from horticulture.

It is a big contributor to the nation’s GDP, competing with tourism and tea for the top slot as the biggest earners in the economy.

With its huge potential, horticulture has become an attraction in many trade and business fairs in the East African region.

Recently, the Naivasha Horticulture Fair attracted more 250 exhibitors -50 of whom were multinationals in the flower, vegetable and fruit industries. Exhibitors included flower breeders, marketing firms, transporters and logistics as well as service providers.

The Naivasha region in the Rift Valley- 80 km from Nairobi- is considered the Silicon Valley of the global flower industry.

Most of the flowers exported to the European Union originate from this region known for its saline lake- which provides most of the irrigation water used by the flower farms.

“The horticulture industry continues to contribute to the Kenya economy through generation of income, creation of employment opportunities for rural people and foreign exchange earnings in addition to providing raw materials to the agro processing industry”, observed Joram Kiarie, Kenya Commercial Bank Director of Mortgage Business and one of the guests at the two- day event.

Currently on its 10^th year, the Naivasha Fair has in the last three years been sponsored by the Kenya Commercial Bank- one of the oldest and biggest financial institutions in the region.

“As a leading financier of agribusiness in the region, the KCB Group has invested Ksh 12 million ($ 140,000) in the fair over the period”, noted Mr. Kiarie during the opening ceremony which was also graced by Kenya’s Agriculture minister Dr Sally Kosgei.

According to Dr Kosgei, the Naivasha Horticultural Fair is a ‘one-stop shop’ that brings together all industry stakeholders to showcase their products and services and take stock on the way forward.

“As the government, we have received complains from producers on the slow pace of VAT refund and we are working closely with the ministry of finance to streamline the payments. We have also removed tax on farm inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides to increase access to farmers and also reduce production costs”, sad Dr Kosgei, highlighting on the incentives the government has offered farmers to boost production.

The government, Dr Kosgei offered, has worked closely with large scale and small scale horticulture producers to make their operations smooth by removing hurdles.

“The horticulture industry is in private hands and the only thing the government can do is to create an enabling business environment for the private sector to achieve their targets”.

Exhibitors interviewed by African Farming felt that the Fair provided a good opportunity to interact with farmers, breeders and service providers. It is also a forum where new business contacts are made for further consultation.

“The fair has provided us with a platform to show case our irrigation kits and other farm technologies from the smallholder to large scale horticulture farmers. We have been able to interact closely with the consumers of our products and services”, said Yariv Kedar, the deputy managing director of Amiran Kenya Ltd.

In the last decade, Amiran, an Israeli firm, has pioneered in the introduction of affordable irrigation technologies that have seen smallholder farmers initiate green house project for the production of vegetables such as onions, cabbages, tomatoes and capsicum.

The company has rolled out an irrigation kit suitable for schools colleges, and even for small scale farmers.

“A minimum land requirement is an eighth –acre. At affordable prices, the schools can access a greenhouse, collapsible tank, drip lines, agro-chemicals, fertilizers and a spray pump. We also offer protective gear and formal training for at least 3 persons in a school on irrigation techniques”, he observed.

Depending on the size of greenhouse, prices vary. A 15metre by 8 metre greenhouse retails at Ksh 177,000 ($ 1,770) while a bigger one of 24 by 8 metres will go for Ksh 240,000 ($ 2,400).

According to Mr. Kedar, the company offers training and extension services to buyers of their products for over two years.

Information technology was also well represented the fair as companies showcased solutions for horticultural farmers.

“With this mapping software, a farmer will be able to identify parts of land according to the yields obtained from that section. This will enable the farmer to evaluate how their piece of land yielded – where most grain was harvested and where the least produce was obtained”, remarked Mr. Khurram Mohamed, the Precision Sales Engineer with Crop Nutrition Laboratories.

He was showing farmers a new software- known as FARMWORKS- that can map a piece of land on their yield production capability.

Mounted on a combine harvester, the device collects data using GSM and then transmits it to a nearby laptop for interpretation to a map, which is a shade of colours.

“With this information the farmer may decide to add more manure or fertilizer on the poor yielding areas, may change farm practices such as ploughing or may decide to introduce new crops to boost soil fertility”, said Mr. Mohammed.

Another company Two Way Communications was showcasing new communication gargets.

“Communication within the flower farms- mainly on operations and security are a must for any grower. Over 99 per cent of the flower farms are users of our products”, noted Stephen Ndung’u, the technical sales officer with the firm as he explained to farmers on their latest products.

Farmers attending the fair also had the opportunity of learning new farming technologies and skills.

“We always come to this show to seek new ideas. As a small-scale farmers, it is important we keep up with the trend in the horticultural industry so that we are abreast with emerging issues in the sub-sector”, said David Kibyego, a youthful smallholder farmer from Kericho County, about 150 km from Naivasha.

Like many farmers in his region, Mr. Kibyego grows cabbages, kales and tomatoes on his 5 acre piece of land that overlooks the Mau Escarpment.

“I have acquired an irrigation kit and I plan to expand my horticultural enterprise in the coming years. I have to learning to be better informed on the new ideas”, he said.

Over the last decade, smallholder farmers have been credited with producing most of the vegetables and fruits consumed in the country.

(ends)

Carbon credits and coffee production in Africa

2013-06-16T11:04:00.001-07:00

Smart Carbon credit coffee by Mwangi Mumero

Coffee farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia may soon benefit from a ‘smart carbon credit’ compensation scheme that is already earning cocoa farmers in Ghana a handsome income.

Experts are already in discussion with the African Union and COMESA officials on the program that will see coffee farmers insured from lost income brought about by climate change.

“We are in discussion with regional officials on the possibility of initiating such a program in the East African region”, observed Dr John J. Mason, the developer of the ‘Climate Smart Cocoa initiative’ in an interview with this writer in Nairobi.

The risky nature of agriculture in the continent has resulted in few organizations getting interested in financing farmers.

“The biggest challenge facing African farmers is lack of insurance, credit and farm inputs. Farmers face risks ranging from effects of climate change, changes in prices, pest and diseases but there are few insurance companies willing to underwrite this risk”, observed Dr Mason, the Founder and Chief Executive officer Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) – a leading NGO in West Africa and a grantee of the Rockefeller Foundation.

Cocoa production in Ghana has increasingly been threatened by climate change, as deforestation continues, with demand for food and cocoa production opens up more land.

“Over 80 percent of the forest cover in Ghana has been lost as land for growing cocoa is being sought. There has been a need to increase cocoa production without compromising forest cover in the country”, Dr Mason said, adding that players in the global cocoa sector have been helpful in dealing with effects of climate change.

The ‘Climate Smart Cocoa Program’ involves cocoa farmers, insurance companies, the government and global cocoa millers such a Cadbury and Nestle.

Under pressure from the European Union and climate change activists to reduce their carbon emissions, multinational companies such as Cadbury and Nestle have come out to pay for their emission to cocoa producers in the developing world.

This Climate Mitigation Income from these companies is then channeled to insurance companies in Ghana which then underwrite the risks cocoa farmers face in producing their beans.

“Farmers are given a production threshold say of 800 kg of cocoa per acre. If production drops below this threshold, insurance companies compensate farmers for the loss occasioned by climate effects such as drought or other risks. As with other risks few of the farmers are compensated annually making it a profitable business for insurance companies”, he asserted.

The compensation is channeled through local banks which have also agreed to finance individual farmers – increasing usage of farm inputs and other crop requirements.

While the scheme is currently at pilot stage with the 60,000 farmers involved, cocoa production has risen for the farmers currently under the program.

According to Dr Mason, participating farmers have seen cocoa production in their farm rise from an average national yield of 300-400 kg per acre to over 1,200-1,500 kg.

“Once farmers realize that they can be compensated for loss in yield, they are bound to improve their crop husbandry practices impacting positively in overall crop performance. They are also eager to employ practices that absorb as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere”, noted Dr Mason adding that the involvement with the farmers has seen an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from cocoa farms from 20 tones to 2 tones under this climate smart initiative.

He laments that carbon credit schemes in East Africa have been weather indexed unlike the more beneficial yield indexed insurance in Ghana.

But for cocoa farmers to increase yield, they have had to change their farming methods.

“They have had to increase shade in their cocoa farms from the common 4-5 per cent to 40-50 percent as cocoa is badly affected by too much sun. Availability of farm inputs as banks and other financial organizations are assured of their returns has also improved yields”.

A Canadian national, Dr Mason has worked in Ghana for over 30 years and is regarded as a leading voice for conservation in West Africa. He was one of the first to draw attention to the long-term threat of climate change to the crucial cocoa sector.

His organization has been working closely with the agricultural extension in the government to increase knowledge on climate smart cocoa to local farmers.

“ We have also be in negotiations with insurances companies, local banks and input companies to bring them on board in developing the system where all players can benefit”, he said noting that to improve information sharing information technology is used.

Accordingly, every cocoa farm is mapped with GIS and the owner/ land use information digitalized and supplied to banks, insurance companies and extension personnel.

Using this information, it has become easier for banks and insurance companies to authenticate land ownership and reduce fraud cases as it is hard for anyone to present fake documents.

Dr Mason believes that under the program, Ghana may be able to produce over 2 million metric tones of cocoa – a 40 per cent increase in a few years.

With this increased production, Ghana will need to reduce its land under cocoa- otherwise global cocoa prices will plummet –affecting the national economy. The freed land will then be put under reforestation program. (ends)

Investors use PDAs and GPS in agriculture production

2013-06-16T11:02:00.002-07:00

Precision agriculture by Mwangi Mumero

Kenyan investors are being sought to partner with an Indian company to provide IT based agricultural extension services.

With the poor agricultural extension service across Africa, an Indian company is introducing an IT solution that links up farmers, meteorological department, satellite imaging and agricultural experts from the comfort of their sitting rooms.

“We are allowing farmers to participate in seeking solutions to their farming issues by linking them with experts without leaving their farms. Together with data obtained from the Met department and satellite images, possible solutions on various issues can then be communicated back to the farmer via GPS”, observed Mr. Prasenjit Gupta, a lead technician at Stesalit Limited, an India firm behind this precision agriculture solution during an interview at a recent Food Expo at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC).

But for the farmers to benefit from this solution, they will be required to purchase a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) a hand-held device similar to a mobile phone that is connected to a GPS network.

GSM is a satellite based communication network –similar to GSM used by local mobile service providers- but with a wider reach.

The farmers will also need to register their farms and then subscribe to this agricultural information service offered by the company.

“Currently, we sell the GSM PDA at $ 690 (Ksh 60,000) with all the accompanying software. In India, we have been selling these devices and service to the state governments which are the sole providers and regulators of agricultural extension services”, noted Mr Gupta adding that the company is looking for a Kenyan company to partner with and offer the service directly to farmers.

This form of precision agriculture incorporates the PDA, intelligently processed satellite images displaying plant health parameters status such as fertilizer usage; data from sensors in the farms that provided information on possible pest or insect attack; and a decision support system for providing suggestion to farmers based on the input received from the above components.

The system seeks agricultural experts-mainly on retainer basis – to provide interpretations on various data obtained from farmers, met department and sensors in the field.

For instance, a farmer in Kitale- over 500 km from Nairobi may feel that they need information on the expected maize yield in the year even before they have established the crop.

“With the PDA, the farmers will input relevant data such as size of the land, maize variety they want to grow, the yield they obtained the year before etc.

They will then send the information through to a central computer system which has satellite information on Kitale and specific area the farmer comes from. The satellite image has information such as soil type, Ph, etc.

Information from the weather department will also be used to project rainfall, temperature and other parameters within the planting season. With this information, agricultural experts will be able to analyze and give possible scenarios to the farmers which will allow the farmer to make informed decision on the way forward”, explained Mr Gupta.

The collection of information, analysis and feedback is provided directly to the farmers without them making the arduous journey to Nairobi or other research stations.

At an extra expense, a farmer may install sensors within the farm that will provide real-time information on possible disease and pest attack allowing farmers to make corrective measures in advance- lowering risk and improving profits. Experts will use this information to advice farmers on different pesticides to use, their costs and hazards.

“This Decision Support System therefore integrates information from farmers, satellite images from the farms, weather reports from the metrological department. Agricultural experts then analyze the information and give farmers answers vital in decision making”, he said noting that in Indian, the company has dealt only with the government which has purchased the PDAs and given them to farmers. The government also hires experts to interpret data and provide farmers with the information they need in their farms.

According to Mr Gupta, the company is seeking a Kenya company that will partner with them.

“We will provide the PDAs and other software while the local company will hire experts to interpret the raw data and give farmers feedback on time. Since it is a subscription service, a local company will be able to make profit from the service if well marketed”, he said.

The Kenyan company will also seek out farmers through aggressive marketing campaigns.

This West Bengal based company will then maintain the system’s hardware and software for the next 6 years. (ends)

Dolichos beans: Improving plant protein sources

2013-06-16T11:00:00.002-07:00

hoto: A Dolichos beans plot Photo: Mwangi Mumero

Dolichos beans by Mwangi Mumero

While demand for dolichos beans in the United States and Europe continues to rise, local farmers in dry part of the country where the crop thrives perpetually suffer poor from farm gate prices.

Farmers in Laikipia have hoarded their harvested beans awaiting good prices expected in December and early next year.

“I have threshed 5 bags each weighing 90 kg and I am waiting for better prices later in the year. At the current farm gate price of Ksh 70 per kg, we will be making losses. We anticipate that the prices per kilo will peak Ksh 150 by December when we will sell and make a handsome profit”, said Margaret Warukira Mwangi, a dolichos farmers in Wangwaci, area of Sipili in Laikipia East.

Hardy and tolerant to harsh environmental conditions, dolichos are rich in proteins and provide value addition to land use in marginal areas of the country.

The beans are black eyed and come as the black or brown seeds. The beans are rich in proteins, vitamins C, mineral salts such as copper, potassium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus. They are also rich in fibre.

Known as Njahi- they have a special place in Kenyan local diets and are usually cooked when there are dowry ceremonies or when a new born child arrives.

It is also used as animal fodder and green manure in mixed crop-livestock systems. Bean plant is an excellent nitrogen fixer and is sometimes grown as a cover crop or for livestock fodder.

Despite its importance, dolichos bean is still a neglected crop with unexploited potential. But now farmers in marginal areas have been looking forward to low-input drought tolerant crop that mature within short period.

“Its short maturity period of 5 months and its regeneration potential has endeared local farmers to the crop. The crop does not require large space and has the potential to creep like sweet potatoes “, notes George Kamau, a field officer with Tree is Life Project, a Nyahururu based non-governmental organisation that works closely with farmers in arid parts of Laikipia and Nyandarua.

Kamau says that a new Katumani variety recently introduced in the areas has interested farmers though some challenges of raising the crop persist.

To obtain maximum benefits in terms of input and extension services, local farmers have formed Kauka Livestock Keepers Group which has become the focal point of exchanging ideas on emerging issues such as dolichos growing.

“Unlike other beans that are uprooted during harvesting, dolichos continue to produce pods even after the initial harvesting.. They resprout and can continue to produce new pods from the fifth month to eight months when they are uprooted. Demand for the bean is quite high locally and internationally though prices per 90 kg bag can sometimes be erratic”, said Peter Chege, the treasurer of the 16- member Kauka Livestock Keepers Group.

At present, a least 14 members of the group have planted dolichos in their farms with about 14 acres under the crop.

Most farmers in the region have pure stands under dolichos which are planted at a spacing of 3 feet by 2 feet.

“At Ksh 225 per kg of seeds, no fertilizer application, the cost of production in quit low initially. But regular spraying against pest and blight presents the biggest challenge to local producers. As a new crop variety, farmers are quickly learning the challenges associated with raising the crop, whose yields are high compared to indigenous varieties”, observes Kamau.

According to the extension officer, spraying against pest –mainly mites, thrips and cut worms has to be done every ten days especially at the flowering stage. This has led to high overhead cost for the farmers as the majority are spraying crops for the first time.

“Too much rain during flowering promotes blight and farmers have to spend huge amounts on spraying to save the crop. Otherwise, with minimal rainfall, the crop will earn the farmers huge profits as happened a few years ago when prices hit Ksh 150 per 90 kg bag fetching farmers Ksh 13,500 for the bag”.

With her crop awaiting second harvesting period, Mrs. Mwangi- who has already harvested and stored 5 bags from her one-and-a-half plot under dolichos- expects to get another 15 bags.

“If favourable prices of Ksh 150 per kg are attainable by early next year, I will be able to cover all my overheads and still earn some good profit. Considering that ours is mixed farming where we keep chicken, goats and grow other crops like maize, dolichos add value to our farming and cushions us from dire time when other crops fail”, she says.

Another challenge that dolichos farmers have to content with is threshing. While the maize thresher has in the past been used to thresh crops like indigenous dolichos, the Katumani variety has to be shelled manually to minimize loss of the beans.

While little marketing information of dolichos is available , reports from the internet indicate that dolichos has in high demand in the developed world as consumers become choosy –looking for food that have grown with low inputs.

In the West however, the beans are cooked as pods. Young immature pods have a strong flavor and are cooked and eaten like green beans.

Young leaves are eaten raw in salads and older leaves are cooked like spinach.

Flowers are eaten raw or steamed. The large starchy root tubers can be boiled and baked. The immature seeds can be boiled and eaten like any shelly bean.

“If local farmers could be linked with the huge markets in the West –particularly in the US and Europe, they will be able to get better prices for their crop with a bigger impact on their socio-economic status. The acreage will also increase as more farmers get interested in the crop”, observes Kamau, an extension officer with expansive knowledge on dryland farming.

The World Banks notes that increased access to better markets for the mainly rural based smallholder farmers will boost food production, reduce poverty and improve local income levels. It will also reduce food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia- two regions that occasionally require food aid. (Ends)

Rehabiliating landslide sites in KENYA

2012-10-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

Landslide rehabilitation by Mwangi Mumero

Across the rainy and hilly East African highlands, landslides have become a threat to farming communities and water resources.

Very often during the rainy seasons, huge tracks of land- sometimes measuring over a hectare- has been declared waste land after a massive landslides.

Farming communities have been rendered destitute after their farms and crops are washed off in a landslide.

In early 2010, landslides in Bududa, eastern Uganda, near the Kenyan border left 80 people dead as well as destroying their crops and livestock. Massive relief effort to supply food and other needs had to be instituted by the government and aid organisations.

But now organisations are working with local farmers in helping curb future landslides as well as making the degraded sites more useful.

For instance, when Jane Wanjiru, a resident of Mukurwe village in in Gatanga division, Murang'a County, Central Kenya woke up one morning in 2007, she could not believe how a part of her 4 acre piece of land had changed overnight.

“ It was a period of heavy torrential rains. Overnight, it was if a heavy load of load had been placed on a section of the land which had started sinking. We felt scared”, remembers Wanjiru, in her mid-thirties.

Hilly and sloppy, Gatanga nestles close to the shoulders of Aberdare Ranges close to Ndakaini Dam- the reservoir that supplies the city of Nairobi with over 70 per cent of its water needs. It is also a tea growing area with the region supplying three processing factories.

It is prone to massive landslides that have rendered big chunks of farms inaccessible and dangerous – threatening food security and household economies.

Degradation of this land also affects the rivers that serve Ndakaini Dam namely Thika, Chania Kayuyu and Githika.

“ Often, local farmers believe it is an act of God and do little in terms of thinking of the best ways to prevent future landslides. Others just leave the degraded sections unattended -reducing their food production capacity, increasing poverty levels”, observed Polly Wachira, project officer with Sustainable Agriculture Community Development Programme (SACDEP) , a Thika-based organisation working with landslide victims in rehabilitating landslide sites.

According to local experts, landslides occur in hilly areas with deep soils and heavy rains. Often with excessive removal of trees, such areas are usually bare and prone to erosion.

During heavy rains, part of the land soaks up huge amount of water and cannot hold the weight of the soil and slides downwards leaving huge gullies in their wake.

“ Part of this hilly land moved and almost covered up our spring- the only source of water for local households. We suffered immensely with the destruction of our water source”, remembers Lucy Wanjiku, a resident of Gitiri village in the same region at another degraded site near Gitiri dispensary.

Like other villagers , the prospects of rehabilitation of landslide site would revive their water source as well as prevent future landslides that threatens a local dispensary constructed under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

“ We need to stabilize this land before all our efforts are wasted by landslides. With little development areas left out during land subdivision in the 1950s, the local community has had to raise funds to buy land for the construction of the dispensary and school now threatened by the malignant landslide. Action is needed now to save the land”, said John Nyagia, an official of Thika Water Resources Users Association.

With the immediate and urgent nature of the problem, different ways have been sought to stem the tide of landslide destruction.

“ Our approach is landslide rehabilitation entails two issues- stabilization and healing. Stabilization involved stopping further loss the land mass of the affected area and healing involved a permanent solution to curb any chance of sliding in future”, observed Kennedy Mwashako, project officer with SACDEP in charge of landslide rehabilitation.

According to Mwashako, an agriculturalist, farmers in the degraded areas plant Vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) for stabilizing the area.

Research has shown that vetiver grass barriers accumulates soil on their up- slope side which helping to restore degraded soil. It has been recommended as live barriers on steep slopes typical of those cultivated by small-holder farmers

Later indigenous trees such as Meru Oak( Vitex keniensis )and Elgon teak(Oleo capensis) are planted. Giant bamboo are also being used.

According to SACDEP officials, the planting of indigenous trees in the region has been boosted by the Kenya Tea Development Agency's directive to local farmers to avoid growing of Eucalyptus in the farms.

Even though indigenous trees take longer to mature compared to exotic trees like Eucalyptus, their products- timber and fuel wood are more profitable.

“ Increasingly, the giant bamboo (Bambusa oldhamii) are also being planted on landslide sites. With their fast growth and extensive fibrous roots, the bamboo has become a vital tree in rehabilitating degraded areas”, notes Mwashako.

Using funding from Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme, SACDEP has been able to mobilize 22 affected farmers aiming at rehabilitating the degraded sites.

“ Farmers raise the seedlings and the project buys them. They are then planted in the landslide sites by the affected farmers or community groups”, says Ms Wachira.

And some farmers are earning huge returns in raising seedlings.

“ At Ksh 500 ($ 5.60) per a giant Bamboo seedlings, one can make some good returns even though it is demanding raising them. Survival rate are just around 30 per cent but returns are good”, asserted Paul Kuria, a retired banker and one of the farmers raising seedlings for the landslide rehabilitation.

The neeed to prevent future landslide incidences in the East Africa remains a matter of concern to regional goverments.

A recent report from Bulambuli in Eastern Uganda, close to Mt Elgon shows that food supplies are running low after farms were destroyed by landslides. Sanitation and school attendance have been affected as famine makes many residents leave the area -seeking better fortunes elsewhere.

(ends)

South Sudan joins East Africa agriculture research

2012-10-29T07:21:00.002-07:00

Agriculture research network by Mwangi Mumero

South Sudan has joined the 11th member Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (Asareca) during its first general assembly that was held in Entebbe, Uganda, recently.

This development signals South Sudan closeness to the East African Community just a few months after its independence in July 2011.

“South Sudan is lucky because it will get started with the latest and best agricultural technologies as it embarks on developing its economic base,” said Harvard professor Calistous Juma, key speaker at the conference.

Professor Juma added that agriculture is the most viable industry the country can tap into and reap substantially as the new nation is endowed with unfarmed soils and plenty of irrigation water from the Nile.

“It has potential to feed the region and generate more for selling into a food deficit world”.

A young Sudanese researcher studying in Kenya at the Kenyatta University’s department of biotechnology Rashar Omer made history by developing the first drought-resistant maize gene that was unveiled at the conference and named Asareca gene.

The gene is slated for commercialization in 6 years time and has been touted by scientists in the region as a future panacea to food insecurity in the Horn of Africa.
According to Asareca director General Seyfu Katema, 60 per cent of the world’s arable land is in Africa but the continent has failed to mine this potential due to low uptake of technology and poor leadership condemning it to perpetual food shortages.
Experts say African scientists are coming up with continent specific research products while the political leadership that has for long shunned agriculture is beginning to lead from the front.

Agriculture and Kenya's economic growth 2012

2012-10-29T07:19:00.001-07:00

Kenya’s growth projections by Mwangi Mumero

Surging information and telecommunication sector would spur Kenya’s economic growth this year, even with the imminent challenges of elections and establishment of a new system of governance, the World Bank says.

This comes in the wake of reduced economic growth of 5.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012 down from the 5.7 percent projected last year.

"The continued economic crisis in the European Union and the U. S. which are significant markets for Kenya's exports will slow down economic growth in Kenya," observed Justus Nyamunga, Director of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, during the launch of the public sector hearing of the 2012/13 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

According to data from the ministry of finance, over the last nine months of the 2011, the Kenyan economy grew by 4.2 percent down from 4.9 percent in the similar period in 2010.

"This lower projection is not unique to Kenya as many countries including fast growing economies in the East African region including Rwanda and Tanzania have done the same," the ministry official said.

Following the launch of the latest Kenya Economic update, a WB report says that despite facing the challenges in 2012, growth in information and telecommunications could boost the performance of a number of sectors, including transportation, agriculture and infrastructure.

“Africa is on a growth path, but Kenya, particularly, has two advantages. Human resource and great location”, Wolfgang Fengler, the World Bank’s lead economist for the East African region said.

On its part, the International Monetary Fund has said that it expects the Kenyan economy to grow 5.3 percent in the 2011/12 fiscal year before accelerating to expand 5.8 percent in 2012/13.

Kenya's budget review and outlook paper for 2012/13 financial year is projecting total revenue of $ 10.6 billion against expenditures of $ 13.19 billion.

"Treasury hopes to fund part of the deficit by borrowing a total $ 2 billion, about 4.6 percent of the GDP with external funding accounting for $ 1.15 billion," Nyamunga added.

With the rising inflation, reduced trade with European partners and the ongoing war with Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia, Kenya’s economy is headed for a bumpy year, according to analysts though past resilience is expected to weather the storm.

The roll-out of new administrative structure brought about by new Constitution is also expected to put pressure on financial demands this year.

Increased salary demands from public servants and the need to service increased external debt are some of the issues the government has also to grapple with.

Officials in the Finance Ministry report that high inflation and a volatile exchange rate slowed down domestic borrowing from the projected one billion dollars by the December 2011 as the government only managed to collect $ 161 million locally.

Kenya is looking to borrow $ 119.5 billion in total domestically in 2011/12.

Already, the Kenya Revenue Authority has decried the 17 per cent drop in revenue collected by December 2011.

The treasury is optimistic that the economy will remain resilient with most expansion coming from growth in agriculture, tourism and exports especially in the East African region.

The Treasury expects to seal a deal for a $600 million short-term external loan early in the year to help plug its budget deficit this fiscal year after it shelved plans to issue a Eurobond. (ends)

Termite resistant timber in Kenya's drylands

2012-10-29T07:18:00.001-07:00

Termite resistant timber by Mwangi Mumero

While acacia may be the most useful tree species in dry parts of the country, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) has highlighted the need for farmers in these regions to diversify into other useful trees.

Among the most useful tree species is Mukau tree (Melia volkensii) that does well in dry parts of the country.

Mukau is mainly planted for its timber, which is durable and termite-resistant.

According to ICRAF researchers, the timber is used for construction industry as well as for furniture. It is also the timber of choice for those in the bee-keeping industry because it is well suited for making log hives as the wood is easy to work with and shape.

The prices for Mukau timber are usually good. The timber fetches four times higher prices compared to cypress timber, between Kshs.600 and 1,000 in Kitui.

In lower parts of Embu, the prices range between Kshs.2, 500 - 3,000. The timber is valued locally for door and window frames, doors shutters, rafters, poles and furniture.

Harvested poles, felled in less than four years can fetch up to Kshs.60 on the farms and over Kshs.150 in Kitui town.

Mukau is a deciduous tree, 6 to 10m tall. Its diameter is typically about 25cm.

First of all, the natural range of Mukau tree (Melia volkensii) is the Eastern African counties of Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Somalia.

In these countries, it is found at altitudes ranging from 350m to 1700m, the mean annual rainfall being 300-800mm. The common English name is 'Tree of Knowledge.'

It is found common in deciduous bushland in association with Acacia-Commiphora vegetation.

Mukau can grow on most soils, although it prefers well-drained soils: sandy soils, clays, shallow stony soils. Some of the districts it grows in Kenya include Embu, Samburu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Meru, Kitui, Machakos, Taita Taveta, Wajir and Kilifi Districts.

This natural range is characterized by much climatic variability and seasonal drought. As a coping strategy, the water content in the roots, leaves and stems of this tree increase with increasing water stress.

“Even with the dry weather, the leaves of this tree remain green and watery- good fodder for livestock”, observes Kilonzo Wambua, a farmer in Kitui County.

It coppices well and is fast-growing with a rotation of 10 to 15 years. The flowers of the wood also provide excellent bee forage.

Its twigs, leaves and fruits are good as fodder for livestock, especially during the dry season.
Farmers believe leaf fodder is of high quality for both cattle and goats. The tree comes into leaf and is pruned for fodder towards the end of the dry season, a time when fodder is extremely scarce.

Goats eat the large, fleshy drupes after they fall. The fruit pulp is reported to contain almost 10 crude fat and over 12 crude protein while the mature leaves are reported to contain over 5 per cent crude fat and 21 per cent crude protein.

The tree is also usually planted around homesteads for provision of firewood and shade.

Like the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), the tree also contains compounds that are toxic to insects; extracts from its fruits were traditionally used to control tick and fleas.They are said to be particularly effective on goat kids.

Research has also shown that extracts of Mukau possess larvicidal, growth-inhibiting and anti-feedant effects on insects. In fact, extracts from the tree have been used against the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) - an added benefit for the arid lands. And because of the fact that both neem tree and Mukau belong to the same family and as a result of possessing similar phytochemical profiles, they may have similar bioactivity characteristics.

This would be a boost to traditional medicine, which has so far been using mainly neem tree.

In human medicine, Mukau may have some properties against some tumor cell lines.

Mature seeds can be collected all-year-round. One grown Mukau tree can produce up to 300kgs of fruits a year. At harvesting time, the fruits have high moisture content about 40 per cent- and must be dried.

The tree is currently in high demand by Kenyan farmers because of its compatibility with other crops, its insect- and drought-resistant traits, use as fodder and timber, and also because of the high demand for timber in the country because of the ban on logging in place.

Its seedlings can fetch a high a price as Ksh. 200.

The tree has unorthodox germination. Its biggest constraint would be the propagation problems: it exhibits poor germination performance, with high mortality in young seedlings. (ENDS)

Getting the best of agricultural extension in Kenya

2012-10-29T07:17:00.001-07:00

Agricultural extension by Mwangi Mumero

With a ratio of one agricultural extension worker for 1,470 farmers, Kenya still fall short of the recommended one worker to 400 farmers, a recent conference in Nairobi was told.

The conference brought together some 400 leading global experts in agriculture development from 75 countries

However, experts at the conference agreed that technology that can disseminate information to farmers beyond face-to-face interaction is crucial to filling this gap.

Farm extension and rural advisory services occupy a strategic position in the agricultural production cycle.

They link farmers to information about appropriate farming practices, when and what to plant, and how to use new technologies like seeds and soil management techniques developed by researchers.

Extension service providers also pass on feedback from farmers to policy makers and help to ensure that government policies are effectively meeting the needs of farmers.

“We are the link between new knowledge and the farmers. Without extension officers, new ideas in farming, soil and water conservation and agricultural economics will remain just abstract ideas. We interpret these ideas into practical solutions”, observed Charles Njogu, an agricultural extension officer in Murang’a County.

Over the years, agricultural extension services have received lip service by government leading to a major disconnect between researchers in organizations like KARI, ILRI, ICRAF and others producing volumes of new research which were never implemented .

Seventy-five percent of the world's poor live in rural areas, and most of them depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Studies have shown that agricultural growth reduces poverty by twice the rate of growth in other sectors.

It has therefore become imperative that agricultural extension service be strengthened to boost food production as global population soar.

"With the global population approaching nine billion by 2050, we need widespread adoption of farming practices that can sustainably increase yields in a changing climate to feed more people, while also creating new job and market opportunities to address high unemployment and poverty," said Michael Hailu, executive director of CTA—the Netherlands-based Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation at the conference.

Mailu added "Smallholder farmers—particularly women—produce the bulk of food in developing countries, often under difficult circumstances. National governments and international donors must redouble their efforts to boost smallholder agricultural production if we are to reverse persistent food insecurity and rural poverty."

But for African farmers to fight hunger and food insecurity, new ideas must be able to get to the grassroots according to the speakers at the conference.

"To unlock the potential of smallholder farmers to fight hunger and food insecurity, and to bring prosperity, these innovations must reach farmers. Extension agents and advisory services are critical in transforming Africa's agriculture," said Dr. Namanga Ngongi, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

He added that new technologies and access to seeds and inputs and better management practices are critical to changing this dire food situation.

Availability of extension services is slowly changing with the entry of better equipped players.

Recently, agricultural extension systems in many countries have changed from under-funded, centrally controlled, top-down programs to initiatives where many different entities are providing information and advice to farmers—from NGOs to bulk commodity purchasers and research institutes to state agencies.

These demand-driven reforms have made them cost-effective, efficient and sustainable.

At the same time, ray of hope in filling the gap in extension services across the African continent has come in for of emerging technology.

The rise of community radio stations across Africa, combined with the mobile phone revolution, have the potential to transform the extension and advisory sector, according to experts at the meeting.

Call-in programs have turned radio into an interactive tool that gives a voice to farmers, and SMS services provide farmers with timely market information.

“Radio has become a very vital way of getting information on any aspect of agriculture. We only need to call or text on a certain designated number and our queries are answered”, says Ngari Maina, a Kirinyaga- based farmer who is a regular listener to Mugambo wa Murimi (Farmer’s Voice)- a programme aired by a local vernacular radio station in Central Kenya.

In West Africa, there are several projects that are testing the use of SMS to give farmers market prices, extension advice, and even information on appropriate social and health-related issues.

The Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) project uses Bluetooth technology to transmit videos that provide farmers with farming and health advice, such as control strategies for insects that attack cowpea plants and cholera prevention.

"These communications technologies are part of a new age of extension that serve farmers well. They provide information to farmers when they need it; they give farmers a voice in development," said Doug Ward, chair of Farm Radio International, a Canadian-based organization working with hundreds of broadcasters across sub-Saharan Africa to educate farmers on best practices and inform them of innovations to improve their harvests.

While communications innovations are extending the reach of advisory services, farmers themselves are also leading the way in sharing information with other farmers.

"Farmers are able to see the benefits firsthand on my farm. They know my advice is based on experience," said Mary Gichuki, a farmer who has been working with the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project to promote the use of fodder trees to feed dairy cows.

Experts also noted that revitalizing extension and advisory services is not simply a matter of allocating more money.

It about reforming the way these services work and their systems of governance, and making sure that the reforms that are already underway are effective and achieve the desired impact. (ends)

Where to get sorghum market in Kenya?

2012-10-29T07:16:00.001-07:00

Sorghum market by Mwangi Mumero

East African Breweries (EABL) has extended its commercial sorghum growing project to Siaya, Western Kenya in an effort to secure more supplies for its low-cost beer brands.

The project is expected to boost earnings of farmers in the region as the company provides a reliable market for their crop.

According to EABL officials, the company’s demand for sorghum is high. Two sorghum varieties- Gadam and Sila- are hugely popular with the company.

EABL has in the past few years increased its partnership with sorghum growers in various parts of the country as it seeks to reduce reliance on the relatively expensive imported barley.

In 2011, the company launched a similar sorghum-growing scheme in 17 districts in Eastern Province as part of an overall plan to have more arid and semi-arid areas grow the plant to supply its demand for raw materials.

The international price of barley stood at $212 per tone last month compared to $190 per tone in December 2010, representing an increase of 11.5 per cent.

The price of the commodity is expected to remain high due to increased demand from rival brewers. (Ends)

Want to become an agricultural tourist in Kenya?

2012-10-29T07:15:00.001-07:00

Agrotourism by Mwangi Mumero You have always wanted to know how a specific crop is grown with an aim of introducing it to your home area. You have always wanted to know more about the Ankole cattle in Uganda, understand the goings-on of the flower sector, experience the growing, processing and milling of tea or coffee or how rabbits and chicken are raised processed and sold? Well, agro-tourism provides farmers and agro-enthusiasts the chance to experience all that- a fee. A new concept in Kenya, agro-tourism has gained prominence and is now a must-have for local and international tourists visiting the country. At the same time, firms specializing in this form of tourism are also taking Kenyans to visit regional countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda and further a field to South Africa, Netherlands, Belgium and Israel. “Agrotourism has developed an interest in farmers seeking for more profitable ways of farming and as a result, it has become a sustainable business. We have provided a platform for farmers to interact, exchange and learn new skills from professional small and large scale farmers”, notes Leah Njoroge, a youthful chief executive officer of Zuru Africa Safaris Limited , a 9- years tour company that specializes in Agrotourism. The company organizes tours to agricultural research institutes, farm equipments factories, processing factories, tractor dealers, local markets as well as coffee and tea production areas in East Africa. They will also take you to fish farms, rabbit farms, and wheat, rice and barley farms, let you visit and interact with potato, cassava and sweet potato farmers and give you a chance to taste honey as you talk to both small scale and large scale bee keepers. “Our tours are tailor made considering the interest of our clients. From product our clients decide to choose, most of our trips can be done throughout the year. For those traveling to Europe, our trips are dictated by the seasons”, she adds All the packages are inclusive from accommodation, meals, ground fees and transport, airport to airport. If the farmers (visitors) were picked from point for instance Nyeri they will be brought back to the same venue after the trip. For those interested in mushrooms, they will be able to visit and interact with farmers. Flower farms are also a major attraction and provide the bulk of visitors especially from Europe where over 80 per cent of flowers produced in the country are marketed. Dairy and beef cattle production, sisal and pineapple estates at the Coat and Central Kenya will also give a visitor a chance to learn on aspects of their production. Depending on the interest of the visitors-farmers- the itinerary will take you to dairy farms in Kericho and Nyandarua; cereal farming in Narok, Timau and Mwea regions, tea farms in Kericho, fish farming in Dominion farm in Western and Sagana fisheries among other regions. The company has a total permanent staff of six members. However, they contract drivers and professional guides depending on demand. The company owns two small cars, three tour vans and a 23- seater bus which are available for renting throughout the year. “We work closely with successful farmers across the country. Some charge the visitors to enter and learn from their farm while others do not prefering to use the chance to network with prospective customers of their products”, said Ms Njoroge, a diploma in tourist management holder. Previously, Ms Njoroge was a mountain guide having climbed all the important peaks in the continent including Mt Kenya and Mt Kilimanjaro. Specifically, the company organizes a 3-day local tour, a 7- day local tour and a major foreign tour to the Netherlands. Charges levied depend on the hoteliers, farm ground fees and Kenya Wildlife Service fee together with other touristic attractions charges. At a cost of Ksh 13,000 per person sharing, a visitor will be able to interact with the dairy sector at Brookside factory in Ruiru, visit macadamia farms, rabbit farms, coffee farms and factories and horticultural farms mainly in Central Kenya and Central Rift. The tour will allow farmers to visit farms in Thika, Nyeri, Sagana fisheries, chicken farms in Nyeri, Nakuru and Naivasha. In Naivasha, visitors will also tour Keroche industries and learn first hand how barley is finally converted to alcoholic products. The longer 7-day tour costing around Ksh 112,000 ( $1240) per person sharing is more ambitious taking visitors to Amiran Kenya for horticulture products, Del Monte for pineapple growing and processing , Suera Farm in Nyahururu and Cereal Board of Kenya godowns in Nakuru. This package also incorporates a visit to tourist sites like the Aberdare and Nakuru National Parks. The Netherlands tour will cost the farmer at least Ksh 260,000 which will include transportation, hotel accommodation, meals, guide and a few other services. Structured in days, the Dutch tour will allow visitors to see the fame Dutch Flower Auction, interact with tractor dealers, and learn about biogas installation and windmill technologies as well as seeking ideas on mushroom farming. “Beyond the agriculture sites, visitors will also visit tourism attractions in Netherlands as well as conducting business on agricultural inputs”, she adds. For it to reach a bigger farming client base, the company has embarked on serious public relations through online advertising via Website as well as promotional materials such as D.V.D, C.DS, magazines, brochures ,fliers, direct emails and word of mouth. “We attend agricultural trade fairs across the country, farmer’s forums and other avenues to pass the message across. Over the years, we have established a very good support from successful farms where we take our visitors to get first hand experiences”. However, Njoroge laments that lack of financial resources to promote agrotours locally and internationally is one of the major challenges. “Few farmers have enough expertise knowledge in farming practices, meaning we do not have enough professional farms to show case. At the same time, climate change, deforestation and desertification has slowly affecting farming”, observes Njoroge, who created the company from the scratch to its current status. (ends) Contacts Information Company offices are located on; Garden Estate off Thika Rd, Mukima Drive Tembo Sacco Building P.0 Box 7969-00200 Nairobi. Tel +254 20 2349509 Tel/Fax +254 20 8565033 Cell+254 720302218/+254 735889350 www.zuruafricasafaris.com

Avocado markets in Kenya

2012-10-29T07:13:00.001-07:00

$ 5 million avocado factory by Mwangi Mumero The Alivando Group of Companies is investing $ 5 million in the construction of an avocado factory in Murang’a County, Central Kenya. The factory which will take three years to complete will benefit many avocado farmers in the region who have to bear with low producer prices. Alivando chief executive Gary Hannan said that the company had engaged farmers in various parts of the province to improve production of avocado. Already, the firm has also contracted and trained 1,030 farmers to grow high quality avocado. The factory produces avocado oil, which is sold in the domestic and export markets where the demand is higher than the current production. The oil is mainly exported to the UK, Belgium, France, Holland, Russia and Germany and Asia. The new facility is expected to boost avocado earnings through value addition and benefit farmers. Over the years, the mainly smallholder farmers have been exploited by middlemen and brokers fleecing them of their labour with getting little income from their investment. “It will give us incentives to produce better quality avocadoes since we will be making better return. Previously we could only wait for our sweat to go down the drain with middlemen”, observed Kariuki Macharia, a smallholder farmer at Kiangunyi within the County. But even bigger farmers are elated with the prospects of an avocado factory. Simon Ngang’a King’ara of Ruiru Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who is also an avocado farmer, said that the factory will offer them better earnings compared to middlemen. With an avocado plantation of 7,000 trees, Mr. Simon Ng’an’ga from the neighbouring Kiambu County notes that the factory pays Ksh150 ($1.9) for a kilo of avocado fruit while the middlemen buy at Ksh80 ($ 1) - a better bargain for local farmers. The factory officials say that the region is better placed to produce high quality avocado products noting that those grown in hot, humid climates have saturated fat and too much wax for oil production. Central Kenya- hilly and rainy- provide suitable climate for avocado growing compared to other regions in the country. “To meet demand, Alivando needs upwards of 750,000 litres monthly. In the next five years, Kenya should be able to of produce 0.3 million litres of high quality avocado oil monthly for export and local consumption if farmers embrace the practice” Gary noted. Over the last few years, avocado production in the country has been on the rise. Reports indicate that in 2009, 2500 tonnes of avocadoes compared with 1800 tonnes the year before. Since the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) introduced the fruit in Central Kenya in the late 70’s the country has grown just two varieties. Hass, a warty, medium sized, roundish fruit that turns purple at full maturity, has a tough, pebbly skin, with an impressive shelf life. Fuerte, a Mexican-Guatemalan hybrid is a shiny-green, pear-shaped fruit that weighs 250 to 450 g with high oil content. More than four fifths of the trees in Kenya are Fuerte, which was in high demand in the late 1970s and early 1980s when most farmers were establishing their orchards. But market trends now favour Hass, with horticultural companies like Alivando Kenya and KARI encouraging farmers to plant Hass or invest in grafting services that change Fuerte into Hass. However, across both types of avocado the market is growing. The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) has also been working at ways to increase the fruit’s shelf-life – from 5 to as many as 10 days – by slowing the production of the ethylene hormone responsible for its normal ripening. “Many of our avocados have been rotting in the farms or as they awaited being exported and that is bad for our exports. Everyday we are looking for new strategies to ensure our fruits stay a little longer and thus increase our exports,” notes Mr. Kori Njuguna, a fruit research coordinator at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). The Kenya Horticulture Competiveness Project released a report last year highlighting the scope for increased avocado exports to the EU, if current Kenyan production can be expanded. Demand for avocadoes in the European Union has recently shot by up to 23 per cent since 2006. This is attributed to increased awareness of the fruit and its potential uses and benefits. Producing countries such as South Africa, Chile, Israel and Peru have been among those recently been running consumer awareness campaigns in Europe. France is currently the largest EU consumer of avocados, and, along with Spain and Netherlands, is an important redistribution centre for the trade. Of the main African producer, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon together accounted for 12 percent of world output in 2008, but at present Kenya’s share of the EU avocado market is currently at 7 percent. (ends)