Smart farms

: 15 March 2019; Hits: 8428

Government to distribute one million bags of subsidised fertiliser to smallholder farmers as planting season begins

The Kenyan government through the National Cereals and Produce Board is set to distribute one million bags of subsidized fertilizer to smallholder farmers in preparation for the long season rains from March to May.

A 50kg bag of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) used at planting will be sold to farmers at Sh1800 compared to Sh3,000 to Sh3,300 current market prices.

Farmers can access the fertilizer by visiting the nearest National Cereals and Produce Board depots within their regions.

In this, farmers will be expected to fill in a form indicating the acreage and the types of crops they intend to grow and the quantity of fertilizer to be purchased. They must also have registered with the ministry of agriculture.

Of the one million bags, 635,000 were purchased under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (OGOA) while 400,000 bags were from previous imports into the country.

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fertilizer subsidy

Government subsidised fertiliser at the National Cereals and Produce Board depot. Photo/file.

In 2018, the government distributed 2.3m bags of subsidized fertilizer to farmers. However, this year there have been delays in procuring fertilizer worth two billion shillings due to procurement delays.

“The National Cereals Produce Board typically helps in the supply of the subsidised fertilizer but now that there will be delayed importation to June, the prices are likely to skyrocket during the planting season which has already began,” said Kipkorir Menjo, the director of the Kenya Farmers Association, Eldoret.

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: 14 March 2019; Hits: 13942

Murang’a farmer feeds cows with yeast, improves milk production by up to three litres a day

Dairy zero grazing

Murang’a County County farmer Boniface Mwangi has been recording gradual increase of milk from one litre to two litres over time to three litres a day after consistently mixing yeast with commercial feeds.

“Yeast expels oxygen from the digestive system of the cattle, making anaerobic bacteria to increase in number. Bacteria that live in the digestive system without oxygen support breaking down of food, therefore, no nutrient waste,” said Mwangi.

He buys 10 jericans of 20 litres of yeast in two weeks from kenya Breweries Limited’s Murang’a branch at Sh200 each. This is enough to last for about a month and a half.

According to Richard Webster Nutrition Limited (RWN), a UK online agriculture repository, yeasts boost feed conversion by between 10 per cent and 15 per cent resulting to one litre to two litres milk increase.

With consistency, the milk conversion can hit three litres, the site adds. Yeast raised the stomach PH by reducing acidity, therefore, making digestion efficient.

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Although he has not subjected the milk to content analysis, he said the quality has improved as he could tell from the taste.

RWN adds that the total feed dry matter intake goes up by about two kilos, translating to more milk, healthy and fertile cows.

Because of the increased intake of dry matter, cows take in more water.

Mwangi said two kilogrammes of feeds are mixed with half a litre of the yeast.

“I may not have concrete support for my claim, but I believe that, yeast being a b- product of alcohol, the liquor elements relax the cow. When a cow in relaxed, more prolactin is released to excite the mammary glands to produce more milk,” he said.

Prolactin is one of the main hormones that enhance production of milk.

Mwangi can be contacted on +254704622279.

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: 14 March 2019; Hits: 12436

How farmers can multiply clean banana planting material from existing plants instead of buying

Farmers can multiply clean banana planting material from existing plants in their farms instead of buying to save on production costs.

According to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, the cost of one banana seedling is Sh100 for Giant Cavendish variety, Grand Nain, Mbogoya, Uganda green and Aloe Vera while Vanilla costs Sh200 per seedling.

Giant Cavendish, Grand Nain and Mbogoya are used for ripening while Uganda green is cooked, Aloe Vera is used for cosmetics and Vanilla acts as a spice.

Banana is one of the staple foods in Kenya besides maize; however, its production has been declining due to poor management practices and lack of clean planting materials.

Banana yields dropped from 1.8m metric tonnes in 2016 to 742,000 metric tonnes in 2017 according to the 2018 Economic Survey Report releases by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics last year.

Farmers can increase yields therefore by planting clean disease free material from healthy selected plants in their farms.

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banana planting

As for the sword sucker, select a healthy plant (30 to 100cm or one to three feet high with narrow leaves. For the maiden sucker, select a healthy plant of about 1.5m for taller varieties and one meter for high for medium varieties.

Remove all the roots and cut off parts showing any signs of disease or insect damage from the selected suckers’ e.g. pale or yellow leaves.

Treat the suckers by heating water to 55 degrees Celsius and then dip the suckers in it for 20 minutes.

Fill quarter drum containers with clean sawdust and sprinkle water on them and place the suckers in the middle to ensure the dust cover the corm (rhizome). After six days, suckers will grow from the rhizome.

Prepare a nursery bed and apply compost manure. Apply mulch with dry grass to keep the soil moist then cut off the suckers and plant in the nursery. Water the suckers twice during the first week and once a day for the next two weeks to allow root growth.

Transplant the suckers to the field after four to six months. At planting, space the plants nine feet by nine feet on holes measuring three feet by three feet. Separate the sub soil from the soil and mix two wheelbarrows’ of farm yard manure per hole, 200g of DAP or TSP and nematicide (Mocap or bionematon) to control nematodes in the bananas.

Put the mixture back in the hole up to two feet. Cut the plastic bag or drum holding the seedling ensuring that the root plug does not break. Plant the seedling firmly in the moisture and pour 40 liters of water at planting.

Once grown, pour 20 liters of water in a week. To prevent weeds, apply mulch by placing dry grass six inches away from the plant or intercropping with leguminous crops such as beans.

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