Smart farms

: 29 August 2022; Hits: 2531

Nyamira farmer triples milk output crossbreeding exotic & indigenous cattle

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A farmer in Nyamira County farmer has increased his milk yield three-fold by crossbreeding local and exotic cattle after shunning tea farming, which is the dominant activity in his Nyankongo Village.

Because he never had enough capital to buy high milk yielding exotic breeds at once, Patrick Nyauma decided to uplift his local animals through artificial insemination (AI) three years ago.

Two of the three cattle were giving a total output of five to six litres a day depending on how much they were fed. The milk was for domestic consumption.

The upgrade with Arshire and Friesian semen has enabled three cows to yield at least 30 litres per day, a change he calls “phenomenal improvement”.

He sells 25 litres to two local hotels at Sh30 per litre, accumulating to a gross income of Sh22,500 every month.

“I have a quarter of napier grass to supplement ordinary grass in the rotational grazing paddocks. Even with buying of napier grass, I never miss a net profit of between Sh9,000 and Sh13,000 every month,” he said.

Given that the hybrids are based on local breeds, the cows easily adapt to the highland climate, therefore, reducing the cost of controlling low temperature diseases.

Nyauma, who is an animal health officer, administered the AI. The hybrids are tolerant to diseases, a characteristic typical of native cattle.

They are better direct grass grazers, whose milk quality and quantity has been uplifted.

“I do not intend to sell the calves. I will continue upgrading them to get the best hybrid. I started small, I need not remain there; I will move out gradually,” he said.

Cows may delay in being on heat because of ill health, imbalanced diet, stress, among other reasons.

One of his heifers was in the same situation in 2015, therefore, it could not be served.

“I injected the heifer with hormones and after a while it was on heat. I observe heat signs with a lot of care to ensure accuracy of service. Mucosal discharge is one of the best pointers of ripe time for serving the cows,” he says.

Infections like ovarian cysts and fibroids can reduce the chances of cattle being on heat.

University of Nairobi animal health expert, Dr Johnson Nasimolo, says balanced diet is key in boosting a cow’s demand for AI.

In delayed heat cases, farmers must ask veterinarians to diagnose and recommend appropriate corrective measure.

Commercial feeds have balanced rations of the required proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and other important components.

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: 26 August 2022; Hits: 2609

Steep egg prices to persist until October on maize & soya shortage

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By George Munene

As a tray of eggs currently retails for between Sh400-500, spare a thought for Kenyan bachelors. Unfortunately, according to feed manufacturers and egg wholesalers, these prices will be held at least until grain from Kenya’s maize basket, Rift Valley, comes into the pipeline in October.

“Feed manufacturers are facing a shortage of maize and soya--the most critical components in the formulation of layer feeds. From October, we expect significant maize supplies to soften feed prices and in turn egg prices,” explained Sammy Kigen, an eggs wholesaler.

He however caveats that Kenya still remains a net importer of most constituents crucial to layer formation.

“Traders are sourcing for soya as far out as Zambia add other constituents of feed such as premix-- micronutrients providing required nutritional value-- are sourced from outside Africa.

Despite the government waiver on import duty and all levies on maize and animal feeds for 90 days to cushion farmers from the high-cost feeds, manufacturers say there has been a shortage of raw materials in both regional and international markets.

Acquiring maize for human consumption itself has been a problem as a 90kg bag of maize has doubled from last year’s price, now costing Sh5,500 to Sh6,000.

The price list for raw materials used in making poultry feed keeps updating: A 70-kilogram bag of layer mash is currently selling for between Sh4,000 and 5,000, up from Sh3,800 in April.

Kenyan feed manufacturers who rely on imported raw materials have had to pay steeper prices for imports as the shilling continues to weaken against the dollar.

The strengthening of the global trade currency has seen traders having to part with a quoted price of Sh119.99 per dollar--a 10.4 per cent increase from this time last year.

On May 30, The Kenya Association of Manufacturers expressed worries over a dollar shortage, that has seen businesses such as Pwani oil suspending operations.

According to John Momanyi, a representative of Sigma Feeds-an animal feed manufacturer, the high cost of feeds can primarily be pegged to inflation in the cost of production.

“Raw materials such as maize remain high while overheads such as the cost of electricity are also steep,” he pointed out.

Lesser factors like weather are also not aiding the situation. Egg production often dips over the cold June to August months while diseases in birds rise with falling temperatures.

Farmers are often forced to invest in heating sources or increase their flock’s feed intake to sustain optimal production. If they can help it, many poultry farmers, avoid rearing chicken over this period.

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: 24 August 2022; Hits: 2618

WFP: Drought, fertiliser prices, & armyworm drop Kenya’s agri production

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By George Munene

According to a World Food Programme report on Kenya’s food security outlook; drought, rising fertiliser prices, and armyworm attacks have led to a steep drop in agricultural production.

Across marginal agricultural areas, the below-average and poorly distributed long rains resulted in below-average planted acreage and moisture stress. Crop failure was observed in Taita Taveta, Makueni, Kitui, Tharaka, and Embu (Mbeere).

The reduced cropping activities are resulting in below-average food availability and income from crop sales and casual wage labor opportunities.

In sampled regions like Nyeri (Kieni) and Meru (Meru North), maize production was 40-49 per cent below, while in Taita Taveta maize production was less than 17 per cent of the average.

Milk production in the pastoral areas in July ranged from 50 to 88 per cent below average across most pastoral areas.

By the end of May 2022, around 2.43 million livestock have likely died since the start of the drought, 17 per cent in Samburu, 11.3 per cent in Mandera, eight per cent in Isiolo 7.6 per cent in Lamu and Marsabit, and 6.8 per cent in Garissa.

The sharp rise in fertilizer prices following the start of the conflict in Ukraine and high fuel prices also contributed to a drop in the area planted by farmers due to the high cost of cultivation. Fertilizer prices in May were 60 to 200 percent above 2021 prices despite the government providing subsidized fertilizer prices similar to 2021.

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Projected food security outcomes, September 2022 to January 2023

Reports from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that the acreage planted for the long rains (March-May) maize crop is within the five-year average in the western region and six to 12 per cent above average in the coastal and central marginal agricultural regions. However, in the Rift Valley and Nyanza regions, farmers planted six to 10 per cent less than the average, with farmers in the Upper and Lower Eastern regions planting 15 to 31 per cent less than average.

In the Rift valley region, an African armyworm attack impacted an estimated 400,110 acres (around 60 per cent of total acreage) but was successfully controlled. In the central region, African and Fall armyworms affected around 56 per cent of the crop.

Generally, the Fall and African armyworm infestations are raising concern among farmers about their impact on yields. Still, all of the infested counties have received pesticides from the Ministry of Agriculture.

In the marginal agricultural areas, the main crops planted were maize, beans, green grams, and cowpeas. Generally, the area planted was below average due to the late onset and poor rainfall distribution, with farmers having to replant their crop

The March and April long rains were below-average and delayed. They we're also marked by dry spells.

However, farmers in high and medium rainfall regions of the North and South Rift, and Western and Central Kenya saw improved crop conditions on resumption of the rains in late March and late April. This is expected to drive near-average production, particularly for maize.

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