Smart farms

: 16 January 2018; Hits: 12661

Dryland Seed Limited to aid Kitui farmers increase green grams yields to 900 kgs

N26 Green Grams Variety.jpg

The N26 green gram variety.

A farmer from Kasiokoni area in Kitui is hoping to increase his green gram yields from 500kgs per season to 900kgs thanks to the N26 green gram variety developed by Dryland Seed Limited (DSL) to adapt to dry climatic conditions.

John Nzau, who owns a one and half acres farm, has been planting uncertified seeds leading to low yields. He is one of the farmers who last year benefited from the Kenya Red Cross (KRCS) agency and the county government partnership where the two parties launched Ndengu Revolution food security project targeting 200,000 small holder farmers in Kitui County.

“I am sure that the new seeds that can withstand our harsh weather conditions will lead to the increase of my yields by March and April, the planting season when we expect rainfall,” said Nzau.

“I have been planting seeds I bought from a friend which I keep on replanting every season and the produce have been decreasing with time.”

The N26 variety matures within 60-65 days after planting and is tolerant to harsh climatic conditions such as Kitui’s hot semi-arid condition with annual rainfall ranging between 300mm-1050 mm.

According to the county government, ndengu revolution is appropriated for the region because it has the best soils for growing the crop which does not require a lot of rainfall.

RELATED STORY: Green grams sprout in arid Makueni

Towards the end of last year KRCS issued 200 tonnes of certified green gram seeds worth Sh50 million to the farmers.This was part of the agreement where the county government paid Sh250 for each farmer while KRCS topped up the balance of the other Sh250 for 2kg of the seeds which costs Sh500.

The county government expects increase in production and cash in the coounty. A kilo of N26 green gram seeds can yield 90kg which can further produce 36m kilograms and when sold at Sh100 per kilogram gives a total of Sh36b in one season.

To further help farmers like Nzau, the humanitarian agency has set aside Sh500m to buy the produce which is locally known as ndengu in Kiswahili from local farmers to shield them from exploitation by unscrupulous middlemen.

According to KRCS’s secretary general, Abbass Gullet, there is high demand for Kenyan green grams in Asian countries, including India, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan among others.

“Dealing with brokers who mostly come from Nairobi has been a problem. They dictated the price of our produce after making us feel desperate thus selling just to avoid missing the market,” said Nzau.

“It is encouraging that our county government will also assist us access agricultural extension services and technical advice from agricultural experts, upping yields.”

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: 15 January 2018; Hits: 25171

Grafted mango variety doubles Kitui farmer’s yields

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A Kitui County farmer is enjoying improved annual yields from grafted mangoes in his one acre farm from 500 fruits per tree to 1000 fruits after abandoning growing local varieties of mangoes

Stephen Musyoka who used to grow traditional variety of mangoes is one of the beneficiaries of free trainings on grafted mangoes offered in 2016 by Rise Kenya, a non-profit organization which also built a fruit’s processing equipment in the county to help farmers with the ready market.

“I am growing Ngowe variety of mangoes using grafting technique and I harvest more fruits from my 100 tress than I used to two years ago,” said Musyoka.

“Moreover, growing mangoes by seeds takes longer to produce fruit and are more difficult to manage than those that have been grafted, thus mango tree grafting is my preferred method of growing the fruit.”

This technique has also seen other farmers who used to grow other crops such as maize abandon the venture for grafted mangoes due to climatic change that has seen the county receive little rainfall making such crops unsuitable for the area.

“Kitui is one of the arid and semi-arid areas. Farmers in these areas are now forced to adjust and or adopt new farming techniques or embrace crops that are suitable for such conditions such as mangoes. Grafting technique adopted by Kitui mango farmers is a big hope,” said Charles Muthui Kang’ethe, National Farmers Informational Service (NAFIS), Kitui County.

“Mango tree grafting is the most reliable and economical method of mango propagation.”

Musyoka who is currently harvesting his mangoes sells the fruits to the processing plant by Rise Kenya via the agents of the factory who come sort and ferry the fruits to the company. He ripens the remaining fruits which are then sold in the nearby business centres.

RELATED ARTICLE: Drying mangoes saves farmers post-harvest loses

The mangoes are packed in 5kg cartons which carry mangoes sizes between 9 and 10. He is paid in a week time after delivery depending on the weight of the mangoes delivered.

Before farmers sold all their mangoes in the market, resulting in lower prices and wastage with many unsold mangoes left to rot.

The trainings by Rise Kenya has helped farmers like Musyoka reduce post-harvest losses which is 40 per cent in Kenya. This is due to poor harvesting and post-harvest handling methods, wanting storage, transportation and packaging.

Ngowe mango variety accounts for 17 per cent production in Kenya and it is preferred by processors, in addition to Tommy Atkins, Van Dyke and Kent. It is also resistant to anthracnose disease.

Mwingi District for example has one of the highest population of indigenous mangoes in the whole country. However, eight out of every 10 ripe mangoes go to waste while in the hands of farmers according to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) research.

During the mango peak season, a sack of ripe mangoes fetches a paltry Sh1000 therefore selling to the factory becomes more profitable.

RELATED ARTICLE: Kenyan mangoes have a ripe market in Japan

Kerio Valley Development Authority sells grafted mango seedlings at Sh120 each and they can be reached on +254 (053) 20633661-2

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Wednesday, 28 October 2020 [quote=June J. Kimeli]Thanks for the information. I am based in Nakuru, Kenya. W...

Wednesday, 28 October 2020 Thanks for the information. I am based in Nakuru, Kenya. Where can I get Kent va...

: 12 January 2018; Hits: 14169

Agriculture ministry launches avocado farming in Embu

The ministry of agriculture in collaboration with the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) launched avocado farming in December in Runyejes, Embu County as part of empowering farmers to grow the fruit for export in the international market.

Kenya’s dried avocado export has been rising, with the country selling 46.7 tons to the international market in 2016. The figure was higher by 7.8 tons than what was exported in 2015. Kenya earned Sh6.5 billion and Sh5.2 billion in 2016 and 2015 respectively, according to the Kenya national bureau of Statistics. Kenya ranks third behind Peru and South Africa in the international avocado export market.

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The country has about 7500ha under the crop with more than 70 per cent of the total avocado production coming from smallholder farmers. Most of the Kenyan avocado farmers are found in Muranga, Nyeri, Kiambu, Kisii and Meru.

"The seasonality of the Kenyan production allows it to participate in these markets at a time when many of the world's largest exporters - Mexico, Chile, Spain, Israel and the United States - are less active on international markets” said Dr. Johnson Irungu, the Director of Crops at the State department of agriculture.

“We believe that planting avocadoes will upscale the standards of living for farmers and entrepreneurs who sell the fruits locally but have not fully ventured into the export market”

KEPHIS staff(in green polo shirts) explain the management of pests and
diseases on avocado and mangoes to farmers, stakeholders and the public
during the avocado and mango awareness field day in Runyenjes, Embu.
The event was organized by KEPHIS in conjunction with the County Government of Embu. PHOTO/KEPHIS

Farmers in the region were encouraged to grow the Hass avocado variety which is in high demand in the European Union (EU) market. Hass variety contributes 70 per cent of the total EU market share with green skin avocadoes (fuerte) and pinkerton covering the remaining 30 per cent according to the Export Promotion Council.

Embu has two rainy seasons; long rains occur between March and June while the short rains fall between October and December with rainfall quantity averaging 1067.5mm per annum. These climatic conditions are well suitable for growing Hass avocado which thrives well in areas receiving annual rainfall between 1000 to 1800mm.

The County relies heavily on agriculture as the backbone of the economy with the sector employing 70.1 per cent of the entire population. Cash crops grown include coffee and tea, other crops such as maize; beans, cowpeas, sorghum, tomatoes and avocadoes are grown for subsistence use.

In this, farmers can explore the untapped avocado farming to earn extra income for their families as the fruit fetches three times higher as compared to the current prices in the local market.

At the avocado field awareness day, farmers were trained on crop production, compliance to market requirements and access, nursery certification, pest management and the varieties required for international market access.

Hass avocado seedlings can be obtained from Kukenda- Kiamumbi fruit tree nursery and training centre, phone number +254 720 614 591 0r +254 721 286 289.

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Friday, 30 October 2020 [quote=Catherine Kinyanjui]I want to buy hass seedlings near my farm in Runyenje...

Friday, 30 October 2020 I want to buy hass seedlings near my farm in Runyenjes.

Monday, 05 October 2020 This was really helpful. I am looking forward to using this information as I eng...